Aleppo

As we documented last autumn in “Syria Showdown: Russia, Iran Rally Forces, US Rearms Rebels As ‘Promised’ Battle For Aleppo Begins,” Syria’s largest city has been among the hardest hit of the country’s urban centers over the course of the last five years.

Newsweek documented the destruction in a series of stark and profoundly indelible images in 2012, perhaps the most striking of which was this:

Recapturing the city is critical to restoring Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power.

Even as all sides - including the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and select rebel groups - pretend to be working towards a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the five year conflict in Syria, actions speak louder than words, and to put it as succinctly as possible, everyone is still fighting.

The western media is drawing a miserable picture about civilians fleeing Aleppo in Syria as government forces encircle the city and liberate parts of it. According to veteran French journalist and geopolitical analyst Jean-Michel Vernochet some residents of Aleppo warmly received their liberators after suffering years of civil war. The duplicity of the Western-Arab coalition against ISIS/Daesh is beginning to come to light following Russia’s involvement in Syria and the success of the Syrian army.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is calling for a ceasefire in Syria and more aid access to Aleppo where the rebel-held areas are being cut off. As Syrian forces and their allies complete the encirclement of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, it is becoming increasingly obvious the US and its allies are responding directly to the collapse of their proxy forces across the country.

"It’s a joke. We couldn't wish [for] more than that. If they can do it, then let them do it — but talking militarily, this is not easy for a country already facing defeat in another war, in Yemen, where after almost one year they have failed in achieving any real victory.”

That’s what one source in the Iranian military had to say about reports that Saudi Arabia is preparing to send ground troops into Syria.