Aleppo, Syria

Free Syrian Army fighters stand guard in Aleppo’s Karm al-Jabal neighborhood, as light enters through a wall peppered by shrapnel. 

In July, the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) entered Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and commercial capital. Rebel-held neighborhoods, initially in southwest Aleppo and later throughout the city, became battlefields, as government forces attempted to regain control.

Both rebel and regime forces deployed snipers, and the national army made use of heavy artillery and air power to bombard occupied areas. A UN-brokered ceasefire in late October was not honored by either side, and casualties rose steeply in November.