FOUR YEARS is how lengthy it took Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator, to retake Aleppo after a part of town fell to insurgents in 2012. Less than 4 days is how lengthy it took him to lose it. On November twenty seventh rebels launched a shock offensive in north-west Syria. By the night time of November twenty ninth they have been posting pictures of themselves on the historic citadel within the coronary heart of Aleppo. Most of Syria’s second metropolis is now beneath their management. It was a rout: Mr Assad’s military appears to have merely turned tail.
