THE FIGHT FOR ALEPPO
Asharq Alawsat (The Middle East)
August 4, 2012 Saturday
By Hussein Shobokshi The eyes of the world watching the impact of the
Syrian revolution have turned to the city of Aleppo; because it is the
largest Syrian city and the heart of the country’s economy…Aleppo
is now outside al-Assad’s realm of governance, and more or less 70
percent of its districts are in the hands of the Free Syrian Army
(FSA). Now it is the FSA that runs the bakeries, hospitals, traffic,
civil defense and ambulances, and occupies the police stations and
intelligence services.
In doing so, Aleppo has caused a huge shock to the Syrian regime,
which used to be “guaranteed” and ensured of Aleppo’s full loyalty,
whether through the Sheikhs in its mosques, directly associated to the
Syrian Grand Mufti, or through its merchants and producers who received
benefits granted to no one else. There was also an “affiliated”
group of tribes who had a strong relationship with the intelligence
and security services, who were entrusted with supporting the Shabiha
and providing recruits for them, eventually becoming the guarantors
of the loyalty of Aleppo and its people through force and intimidation.
Aleppo itself has always been an example of extraordinary coexistence,
for there is a mix of all races, sects and creeds. There is the
important and numerous Christian community, as well as the notable
and influential community of Armenians, not forgetting the Kurdish,
Italian and Turkish communities.
Aleppo has produced a number of memorable religious scholars,
such as Abdul Rahman al-Kawakbi, a prominent voice on injustice and
tyranny, Abdullah Siraj al-Din, Abdul Qadir Isa and so on. This is not
forgetting the highly influential and acclaimed names in the world
of politics, such as Rushdie Kikhia, founder of the People’s Party,
or Nazim al-Kudsi, former president of the republic at the heart
of Syria’s short-lived democratic era, and Saadallah al-Jabiri, an
extraordinary national political veteran whose name is immortalized
by the central town square in the heart of Aleppo.
Aleppo has not only provided such famous names in the fields of
religion and politics, it has also produced the most important Syrian
symbols in trade, industry and the economy, with notable family names
such as Maysir, al-Adas, al-Jabiri, Musalati, Hamami, al-Zaim, Kayyali
and so on. The city has also provided some of the greatest names in
Syrian art, in all its forms. Who could forget Louay Kayyali, the most
significant modern artist in Syria’s history, or the famous Syrian
singers Sabah Fakhri and Mayada Hanawi, or Walid Ikhlassi, one of
the most important Syrian novelists, all of whom were born in Aleppo.
This ancient Arab city also has a distinctive style of architecture
and renowned cuisine. The city’s original name was Halab ash-Shahba
[the milk of the ash-colored cow], because the Prophet Ibrahim, peace
be upon him, was said to have offered travelers milk from his cows as
they passed through. It contains one of the most important citadels
in Islamic history, the Citadel of Aleppo, and today Aleppo has also
become the citadel of the revolution, confronting al-Assad’s forces,
planes, tanks and missiles, and not allowing them to enter the city at
all, inflicting upon the regime an extremely significant psychological
loss and blow to morale.
The regime is aware that Aleppo falling into the hands of the
revolutionaries puts an end to any remaining debate about it being in
control of Syria, and its claims that what is happening on the ground
is a “war against armed gangs”. The rebels are well aware that Aleppo
is the grand prize; the greatest barrier that will bring down all the
arguments, lies, myths and fraud of the al-Assad regime. Therefore,
it is not only the mother of all battles, but the battle itself. The
fighting has not stopped in other Syrian cities, including the capital
Damascus, as well as Daraa, Deir al-Zour, Homs and Hama, but the focus
remains on the first and greatest city. This is especially after the
rebels’ success in securing a border line connected to Turkey in order
to deliver food, medicine and weapons, which will give the rebels the
determination, encouragement and time necessary to go all the way,
and victory seems very close.
For their part, the Turks are loading their borders with Syria with
equipment and soldiers for a preemptive strike against any Kurdish
movement. This would be facilitated by the Syrians and the Iranians
in order to bolster Kurdish ambitions to establish their own state; an
issue which is an impossible subject and a red line for the Turks. The
latest scenes in Aleppo will be the last nail in the coffin for the
regime, with the time now right to bury it once and for all.
Aleppo was known in the past for its cuisine and its festive nature,
but now it is known for its resilience and dignity.