The battle for Aleppo

Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafiz al-Assad ruled the country with an iron grip and draconian state of emergency laws. Many experts believed that after Hafiz handed over the reins to his son Bashar, the latter would pave the way for a "Damascus spring" and usher in political and economic reform.

But instead, Bashar chose to stick to the old by suppressing the opposition with the help of Syria's dreaded security forces. His repressive leadership came under heavy pressure as it tried to stifle growing protests among its population with a brutal crackdown.

In early 2012, rebels took control of the rural areas northwest of Aleppo. Protesters were shot at for the first time in July and rebels started to fight for the city itself. Poorer eastern districts quickly fell to the insurgents.

People ran for their lives upon hearing a nearby plane dropping bombs during a protest against President Assad in the al-Katerji Tariq district in Aleppo February 22, 2013. After losing the international highway between Hama and Aleppo, the government fought to keep alternative supply lines south of Aleppo accessible.

In April 2013, the minaret of Aleppo's Umayyad Mosque, which was built between the 8th and 13th centuries, collapsed after being struck during fighting. After nine months of fighting that devastated many districts in Aleppo, rebels controlled more than half of the city.

A father mourns the death of his two children. The western, government-held half of Aleppo comes under almost complete siege as rebels briefly cut the alternative route. The first barrel bombs were dropped on Aleppo in December 2013.

Members of the Civil Defence rescue children in the al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, June 2, 2014. The government's control of the skies starts to show as it increasingly uses jets and helicopters to strike rebels.

A general view shows a damaged street with sandbags used as barriers in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district, March 6, 2015. A series of rebel advances put the government under pressure in northwest Syria.

Russian President Putin and Syrian President Assad met in Moscow, October 20, 2015. Soon after, the first Russian air strikes took place. Although Russia announced that its air force was ready to provide support to the Free Syrian Army in its fight against the "Islamic State", Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also stressed that his forces were still backing Assad.

Syrians reaching out for Russian food aid. The text on the bag, which shows the Syrian and Russian national flags, reads: "Russia is with you". In July, government forces fully encircled eastern Aleppo for the first time. The siege was broken ten days later by a rebel counterattack.

After months of intense bombardment in which many hospitals were hit, the Russian and Syrian governments urged rebels and civilians to evecuate east Aleppo. On December 13, insurgents agreed to withdraw in a ceasefire deal. The evacuation began the next day.