REPORT: Syria's Aleppo takes first tiny steps towards recovery

In the ruins of the Sabbagh textile factory in Aleppo's Belleramoun Industrial Zone, one wall smashed open by shellfire, a Belgian-made weaving machine stands idle while a family carefully strips the office of wood paneling for fuel.

The scene attests to the devastation visited on the economic infrastructure of Aleppo, Syria's most important industrial hub before the war, and the challenges facing any long-term plan to revive the city.

The government is gradually restoring some basic infrastructure in Aleppo: a train service has started operating inside the city, the airport is scheduled to open soon and bulldozers are clearing streets of barricades and other debris.

But the immense scale of destruction across swathes of the city, and the ongoing war nearby, means any wider redevelopment of Aleppo or its industrial base is unthinkable for now.

Unlike those cities, which benefited from massive, post-war Western aid, Aleppo is in a country still at war, economically shackled by international sanctions, without financial resources and deprived of expertise by years of emigration.

REUTERS

 

To watch the full report, please click on the video above.