Aleppo is well into a civil war. The government forces and the rebels are busy mastering their skills for a guerilla warfare that could rage for a long time, taking into account the geography and demography of the strategic metropolitan.

It often seems to be a scene enacted from the decade-long strife in Beirut, wherein militias fought to bleed more than a million souls. Aleppo’s three million residents, too, are vulnerable and the situation has been further compounded with the additional element of alleged Turkish involvement.

If media reports are to be believed, there are indications that Ankara is eager to defend its borders from the exodus that is flowing from Syria, and also manoeuver for taking on many of the greener pastures inhabited by Kurds in the region. Apparently, this seems to be part of a master plot in the region, wherein the ethnic dimension is being put to test.

But why Turkey is kicking that loaded can on the street when it has enough of issues with its own Kurdish population is anybody’s guess. But if diplomatic diatribe is analysed between the lines, the United States and Turkey share a consensus in exploiting the regional linguistic card to weaken and oust President Bashar Al Assad.

This is why both the countries have agreed to beef up their support in terms of men and material to the opposition forces battling the regime.

The situation is so precarious that it has prompted President Assad to acknowledge that the street fighting will determine the fate of Syria. The revulsion in Aleppo has literally put unrest in Damascus, Homs and elsewhere out of the spotlight, which points to the sensitivity of this flashpoint.

Pitched battles and excessive use of force are of primary concern for the residents, and media reports also indicate human shields being taken by either side to drag on the standoff. This is a serious issue, and unfortunately has been undermined with the lack of a dialogue process between various stakeholders. Assad’s offer for reforms and a gradual process of transition is now nowhere in sight.

The sham parliamentary elections held early this year and the nomination of a prime minister hasn’t gone down well with the opposition, who are draggers drawn at the regime. Similarly, the diplomatic canvas is getting quite messy — with the intransigence being shown from the Baath Party and unrelenting approach of Moscow — there isn’t any hope for a thaw, at least if the ongoing push and pull continues.

What is needed urgently and without any pre-conditions is a ceasefire across the length and breadth of crisis-ridden Syria. The Afghan model of holding fire till the dialogue went on in the heydays of its civil war could be put to test in Syria. Aleppo should be saved from a major bloodbath.