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Power outages add to Aleppo’s suffering

The electricity network in Aleppo has been severely damaged by the war, with power outages of more than a year in some neighborhoods.
A student wears a headlight, due to electricity shortage, as he takes his year-end examinations at a school in Aleppo's al-Sha'ar district June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT EDUCATION SOCIETY) - RTX10CK8
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ALEPPO, Syria — A lonesome darkness hangs over this war-ravaged city. It is as if time has gone hundreds of years back, to an era when electricity was not yet discovered. Near the rubble of destroyed buildings, among dozens of desolate buildings, light emanates from some balconies that are still inhabited, which gives you the feeling that there is still life here. You are in Aleppo, the economic capital and second-largest city in Syria.

For Aleppo residents, electricity is no longer a basic requirement: Its continuous interruption has led them to gradually dispense with it. Having electricity has turned into a luxury.

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