Workers protest in Aleppo to ask for their wages to be paid. Photo sent by Abu Maher al-Waleed.





Rumbling social discontent boiled over this week in zones held by the Syrian opposition in the northern city of Aleppo. Dozens of workers, angry about frequent delays in their salary payments, have rganised sit-ins at the interim government’s headquarters.Since July 2012, Aleppo has been divided between government forces and multiple rebel factions regrouped under the banner of the Free Syrian Army. In March 2013, a council made up of civil sociey local representatives took over the day-to-day administration of the rebel-controlled part of the town. The council tries hard to keep up a semblance of normal life in its part of Aleppo, despite the barrel bomb attacks regularly carried out by the Syrian regime’s army. It employs dozens of workers who take care of transportation, trash collection, and the maintenance of electrical and water sanitation systems.The interim government of the Western-backed Syrian Opposition Coalition, which is exiled in Turkey, contributes to the council’s budget, which is used to pay these workers’ salaries. However, for the past few months, these payments have been sent more than two weeks late. The city workers are outraged by the situation, especially since the prices of basic items – food, in particular – are skyrocketing in Aleppo.