The Syrian army recently gained full control of the city of Aleppo; let's see pictures of the city before and after it was overrun by militants some four and a half years ago.

On December 16, Russia announced that the Syrian military was in full control of the militant-held eastern Aleppo. A ceasefire agreement was reached which allowed the militants and their families safe passage out of the city.

Since 2012 until liberation, Syria’s second largest city was divided between government forces in the west and the militants in the east.

Since March 2011, Syria has been hit by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the UN have put the death toll from the Syria conflict at more than 300,000 and 400,000, respectively. This is while the UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.