"I don't need covering fire"

"It's coming, it's coming"

"Tank's coming"

Since defecting from the Syrian Army early in 2012, former colonel Abu Mohammed has been trying to

organise rebel forces.

"God is great"

"Takbir! Allah-u-Akbar!"

His new comrades aren't used to taking orders.

"Why is there always this hatred between us"

"I'm defending my land. I'm the one who faces the tanks. Do you really expect me to go out

like this"

"Put your ammunition back"

"Allah-u-Akbar"

"Most of the revolutionaries are civilians"

"In the army there are rules If you order a solder to do something and

he fails... ... you can discipline him, but you can't

do that here We have no discipline

"This is one of our biggest problems They don't follow directions

"We make plans and they don't abide by them If they follow 15% of the plan, that's a great

result!"

"Yes, Abu Hussein, I'm at my location

What can I do? I only have 6 rockets and about 600 bullets

600 bullets"

It's Abu Mohammed's responsibility to distribute ammunition

and the rebels fighting the Syrian Army on the frontline are running short.

:

"Mahmud Can you go to the car...

...and open the boot and take 3 bags Each bag has 100 bullets

Take them to the hospital road"

Salahuddin district in Aleppo

has seen the bloodiest fighting since the civil war began.

"The army has taken key areas of Salahuddin

"They push tanks forward... ...plant snipers and pull the tanks back

The snipers clear the area in front The next day, the tanks advance past the snipers...

...and then the snipers go forward again"

The rebels use anything available to build barriers in a war where the frontline is

constantly changing.

"The army is moving back and forth."

"We need local fighters, about 50 men"

Government soldiers have taken an important building

in a nearby residential area.

The rebels need to win it back, quickly.

They claim to have killed 5 enemy soldiers while the others fled.

But this can't be confirmed.

When they return to base, some of their own men are missing.

"We looked everywhere and couldn't find them"

"Maybe they went the other way"

The missing men reappear with a defector who has left the Syrian army to join the rebels.

"He has just defected"

"This soldier has just defected from Assad's dogs"

The government of Bashar al-Assad is mainly from the minority Alawites. But most of the

population is made up of Sunni Muslims who've suffered under Assad's repressive regime.

"I left the regular Syrian Army... ...because I didn't want to kill my own people

The Sunnis"

With two-and-a-half million people,

Aleppo is Syria's largest city.

It's the country's commercial centre

and its citadel is one of the oldest structures in the world

In one of its suburbs, a group of fighters are taking a

couple of days before returning to battle.

"Allah-u-Akbar!"

Their young commander, Abu Bakri, was chosen to lead having shown immense bravery on the

battlefield.

"I finished compulsory military service in 2006"

"Then I went back to my studies And by Allah's grace went on to study economics

at the University of Aleppo That was me, until the revolution started"

"Takbir! Allah-u-Akbar"

At first, Abu Bakri had joined

peaceful demonstrations. But everything changed when he was

arrested and tortured.

"The way they beat people, it became clear that...

...they had no conscience about their actions"

After his release, he joined the rebels

"We organised groups"

"And together we began to liberate the city"

One of his men filmed this footage as the rebels advanced

through the streets of Salahuddin.

But government forces have pushed back in recent days and the rebels were forced to

retreat to prepare a counterattack.

As they wait, the fighters receive an SMS message

on their mobile phones.

It's from the government.

"Abu Bakri, there's a message here The Syrian Army advises the rebels...

...to get out of Salahuddin. What do you think?

"What?"

"'Learn from Salahuddin and put down your weapons'"

"That's a new one"

"Tell them we're coming back to Salahuddin"

"So what do you think?"

"It's just propaganda When we were in Salahuddin, they said we weren't

in Salahuddin"

"Do you pay any attention to it?"

"Not at all"

"When we see this we laugh"

"'Look out Aleppo, the Syrian Army is coming'" "And also"

"'Protect Aleppo by informing on the terrorists'" "So we're terrorists"

In Salahuddin,

things are not going well for Abu Mohammed and his men.

They're almost out of ammunition.

But their biggest problems are

attacks from the air

and snipers

"They set up at the end of the park on top the buildings

Look over there On the mosque minaret and on the tall buildings

"They formed a line of snipers

"And targeted everybody, young, old and women

A man throws his arms around his wife in a last desperate attempt to save her.

Their young son lies in the back.

The rebels thought they had killed all the snipers.

But a shot narrowly missed our team,

forcing them to take cover.

They can't find the last sniper and the rebels must prevent civilians from wandering into

the line of fire.

This father and his daughters were stopped just in time.

"Can I come back tomorrow?"

"God willing"

"The situation changes every half hour You can't come this way for the sake of you

and your children"

"Are you telling me they will get killed?"

"Don't be scared"

Already, a quarter of a million people have fled Aleppo.

But many others remain, despite attacks from government jets,

Helicopter gun ships and tanks

Some blame the rebels for the destruction.

Because everywhere the rebels go, Assad's forces attack.

"Why are you destroying the world?"

"We started with one bullet We have God on our side

"But civilians are victims. We are being bombarded"

"The people of Homs put up with it for 18 months"

The father of these young boys tells us he can't leave.

Fearing the regime, he asks us not to show his face.

"It's not a question of danger

"I worked hard all my life to buy this house"

"Better for me to die here"

"We try our best to keep them inside"

"We're in God's hands It's His will if we live or die"

A young woman with only a First Aid certificate has to tend the wounded.

"They are babies,

they are little kids, two years, two years. Three years, four years.

"They are wounded. Injured. In their -- in their homes"

Anyone who can, is getting out.

"What's happening?"

"They're bombing everyone. We're scared for the kids"

"Most people have left, only the poor remain"

"Those without means can't escape"

"If you go out, you risk being killed by a sniper's bullet or a bomb"

"If you go out, you risk being killed by a sniper's bullet or a bomb"

Day and night, the bombing is relentless.

"Everyone get off the streets, everyone go home"

"Go inside" "Get off the streets"

In a nearby apartment, exhausted rebel fighters

Sing of love and sacrifice

"Mother, death has come to me

"Let your heart forgive me"

"Don't cry for me, mother

"Because I'm going to heaven"

"Don't cry for me mother Because I'm going to heaven

Let my blood touch the sand"

A new morning, a new death

As the toll mounts, public gardens have been converted into

makeshift graveyards to stem the threat of disease

from rotting bodies.

Fighting has broken out near 's headquarters on the edge of Salahuddin.

Syrian Army heavy machine guns are trying to clear a path for its soldiers to advance

towards the rebel position

"Is the 14.5 ready?"

"Yes, it's ready"

"Only fire if you see the target Make Amin come back and help"

As his men hold the government forces back, Abu Mohammed has dispatched a small group

to sneak around them

But now they've run out of ammunition.

"The guys told said go through the side streets"

"Yes, they are in the side streets"

"So there's definitely a way"

"So where are they now?"

"You'll see them at the 2nd junction"

They have to speed across junctions, where government snipers

have taken up positions.

The men waiting for him aren't happy, but he's giving them everything he can spare.

"Come, come come Stop arguing.

Look, I don't have any bullet cases This is two

This is three"

They have to account for every round.

"Tell him to shout, 'God is great'"

But their greatest problem is that this is a civilian army with little training

"He doesn't have good marksmen"

"Go go go! Run!"

"What's happening? Has the situation eased?"

"The military withdrew They tried to advance near al-Sai'd Bilaal

mosque But the guys stopped them"

As they rest for a moment,

they receive a radio message.

"There is a tank by Salahuddin roundabout We need munitions and snipers. Quickly"

"Get ready guys Where's the shooter?"

"Go, go Nimeer"

"Is that Abu Bakri?"

"There's a tank near Salahuddin roundabout"

Abu Bakri and his men have

Returned to action. They carry

rocket-propelled grenades as usual, but today

they have something more powerful

"I need electric tape"

"This is a bomb to destroy a tank It's hollow...

...and blows out here We plant it in the road

If we don't have anything else we use these We make them ourselves, big and small

It all depends on the target"

They head for Salahuddin roundabout

They're approaching the very edge of the frontline.

"There are soldiers over there"

"Call one of our snipers Who has a sniper rifle? There are 3 soldiers

there"

The rebels often exaggerate their successes and play down their failures. Abu Bakri demands

the truth.

"We're lying to ourselves about Salahuddin"

"There only one road between us and them"

"What's the real situation in Salahuddin?"

"Almost 90% is controlled by the regular Army"

"We've advanced to15th street The army stormed in...

...but it doesn't have the manpower to hold it"

"Your turn next. Ready?"

To get to the frontline avoiding snipers,

They make their way through empty apartment buildings.

"Secure the way... ...and you secure the Jihad"

Government forces are just 70 meters away

behind the burning building.

The tank sits just around the corner.

"Currently, we control this line We're trying to advance further to recapture

the parts"

"of Salahuddin we lost"

"If we stay optimistic and work hard... ...we'll progress, not them

Losing isn't an option for us, they will lose We've got to regain the areas we lost, God

willing"

But once again, the lack of proper training amongst the rebels is exposed

as one of their men loses control of his heavy machine gun, almost hitting own people.

"Look what he did! He fired over here!"

They're immensely brave, but bravery alone doesn't win wars.

"Check how many bullets we have in it"

Bashar Al-Assad's forces aren't winning this war either.

In recent weeks its propaganda machine spoke of the liberation of Aleppo.