Syria rebels use truce to unwind

Their guns propped up on a mattress nearby, Tarek Muhrem and his fellow Syrian rebel fighters plop down on their couch along Aleppo city's front lines for an evening of football video games.

Tarek Muhrem, head of the "Dawn of the Martyrs" Brigade and a rebel fighter play video-games as they sit in a room in their base in in Aleppo.

Instead of rifle triggers and walkie-talkies, they grasp small glasses of coffee and sweet tea between PlayStation sessions in their makeshift base in a battle-scarred neighbourhood. Since a fragile truce came into effect across parts of the country on Saturday, rebels in Syria's second city say the decrease in bombing has allowed them time to recover and visit their families.

"Things have gotten better over the past four days, as aerial bombardment of Aleppo city has stopped," Muhrem, 35, says. He heads the "Dawn of the Martyrs" Brigade, which has signed on to the cessation of hostilities deal brokered by the United States and Russia.


Although his fighters remain at the ready, anticipating possible regime violations, many are taking the opportunity to recover from wounds or take a long-awaited break from clashes. "Now, I spend my time checking up on the different forward positions that I'm responsible for to make sure fighters have everything they need in terms of food and drink," Muhrem says.

"We drink coffee late into the night and sometimes play PlayStation together," he says, smiling.
"Dawn of the Martyrs" militants are based in a crumbling apartment block in the Karam al-Turab neighbourhood of the city.

White sheets dotted with bullet holes hang across the neighbourhood streets to hide the remaining residents from snipers.