Page 10 - aruba-today-24dec-2016

A10 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 24 december 2016
Assad won back Aleppo, but immense challenges lie ahead

in Syria’s nearly six-year civil staggering destruction:
war, and marked Assad’s Row after row of destroyed
most significant victory buildings, many with blown
since an uprising against his out doors and windows,
family’s four-decade rule and toppled floors, along
began in 2011. debris-strewn streets lined
But large parts of the war- with charred vehicles. Not
ravaged country remain a single building appeared
outside his control, includ- intact.
ing rural areas in Aleppo In the Sukkari, Ansari and
province south and west of Amiriyeh neighborhoods,
the city where opposition army experts were disman-
fighters still operate. tling explosives and booby-
Assad has said that the traps left behind by rebels
most important priority af- before they left.
ter securing Aleppo will be Hundreds of people walked
fortifying the countryside through the Bustan al-Qasr
around it before moving crossing, a passageway
on to other strongholds that separated rebel-con-
outside his control, includ- trolled eastern Aleppo from
ing the nearby province of the government-controlled
Idlib, al-Masharqa district, which
west of Aleppo, and the was closed years ago, cut-
This photo shows Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen stand in the Ansari neighborhood, city of Raqqa controlled by ting off links between the
east Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec 23, 2016. Syrian rebels outside Aleppo on Friday shelled a neigh- the Islamic State group in two sides of the divided
borhood in the northern city, killing three people in the first bombardment since government
forces took control of the whole city after opposition fighters in the eastern parts withdrew, state eastern Syria. city.
TV reported. Syrian TV said Friday’s rock- Ahmad Khayata was
(SANA via AP) ets which hit the south- among those who returned
western neighborhood of to see what remains of his
BASSEM MROUE picking through debris and hood in the city, killing Hamadaniyeh were fired home in Sukkari, one of the
ZEINA KARAM wreckage for personal be- three people in the first by insurgents based south- last neighborhoods to be
Associated Press longings blasted by years bombardment since gov- west of Aleppo. evacuated by opposition
BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of of fighting. ernment forces took full Associated Press footage fighters Thursday.
people returned to east- In a sign of the immense control of Syria’s largest from inside neighborhoods He was told by soldiers he
ern Aleppo neighborhoods challenges that still lie city a day earlier, state TV in eastern Aleppo taken needed to wait until they
on Friday to check on their ahead for President Bashar reported. over by the army after the finish de-mining the area.
homes after the last oppo- Assad, rebels outside the The rebel surrender in Alep- last rebels were bused out “It’s been five years since I
sition fighters left the city, city shelled a neighbor- po ended a brutal chapter a day earlier captured the left my home,” he said. q

Berlin attack suspect slain in shootout with Milan police

COLLEEN BARRY Europe can stop extremists loni called for greater cross- days. “He was a ghost,” Mi- outside a deserted train
FRANK JORDANS from moving freely across border police cooperation, lan police chief Antoio de station in the dead of night.
Associated Press its open borders, even suggesting some dismay Iesu said, adding that Amri Amri, who had spent time
MILAN (AP) — A routine re- amid an intense manhunt. that Europe’s open frontier was stopped because of in prison in Italy, was con-
quest for ID papers outside Italian police said Amri trav- policy had enabled Amri basic police work, intensi- fronted by the officers in
a deserted train station in eled from Germany through to move around easily de- fied surveillance “and a the Sesto San Giovanni
Milan at 3 a.m. Friday led to France and into Italy after spite being its No. 1 fugitive. little luck.” Like other cities, neighborhood of Milan. He
a police shootout that killed Monday night’s truck ram- Amri, whose fingerprints Milan has been on height- pulled a gun from his back-
the Tunisian fugitive want- page in Berlin, and at least and wallet were found in ened alert, with increased pack after being asked to
ed in the deadly Christmas some of his journey was by the truck that plowed into surveillance and police pa- show his ID and was killed in
market attack in Berlin. rail. French officials refused Christmas market outside trols. Italian officials stressed an ensuing shootout.
While authorities expressed to comment on his passage Berlin’s Kaiser Wilhelm Me- that the two young officers One of the officers, Chris-
relief that the search for through France, which has morial Church, killing 12 who stopped Amri didn’t tian Movio, 35, was shot
Anis Amri was over, his four- increased surveillance on people and injuring 56 oth- suspect he was the Berlin in the right shoulder and
day run raised fresh ques- trains after recent attacks ers, was caught seemingly attacker, but rather grew had surgery for what doc-
tions about whether he had in France and Germany. by chance after eluding suspicious because he was tors said was a superficial
any accomplices and how Italian Premier Paolo Genti- police for more than three a North African man, alone wound.q