Aleppo is drowning in a sea of darkness, even the various intelligence headquarters and mayor's palace, which could always be seen basking in light even as the night enveloped the surrounding areas have now gone dark. The city is used to these blackouts, they've been very frequent ever since the rebel assault on the city in the summer of 2012. They might last anywhere between several days to a couple of weeks. But this time round it's a different kettle of fish altogether as the disruption is not caused by the usual clashes or damaged equipment, but by a premeditated assault and takeover of the main power plant by the Al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Starting at 6 a.m November 6th 2013, the ISIS launched an all-out assault to capture the power plant, which had up until then been a no-conflict zone in an unwritten agreement between the regime and rebel forces. In fact, the power plant had only a hand full of security guards at the time, and no significant military presence. What prompted this sudden assault and takeover is a mystery, especially since it has no military or strategic significance whatsoever. Although some observers have pointed to the recent regime takeover of the nearby strategic town of Sfireh as a possible cause, perhaps causing opposition forces to pull back, the fact remains that there were no ISIS forces fighting in that area. The on-site staff consisting of technicians and engineers is as of now safe and well (the ISIS has released this video), but have shut down the station to prevent a catastrophic explosion in the event that dangerous holding tanks and components are damaged due to fighting or stray ordnance. Meanwhile, a committee of civil activists and leaders have reportedly made their way over to the station, right on the southern outskirts of Aleppo city, to attempt to mediate its return to full operation. A vital matter indeed as it supplies power to the whole of Aleppo province, including the city, outlying towns and industrial complexes. Built in the 90's by the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation, the plant boasts its own electrolysis facility which produces hydrogen. The hydrogen gas is then highly compressed and stored in one of two main tanks, and several other smaller subsidiary tanks to be later used for cooling the main reactors. Those reactors are steam powered and can use fuel oil or natural gas as a power source. Needless to say, any damage to the highly pressurized hydrogen tanks or the fuel storage tanks would unleash a catastrophic chain reaction, resulting in massive explosions which would lay waste to large swathes of surrounding areas, not to mention cutting off power to millions of homes indefinitely. The fear is that the ISIS may purposefully, or through negligence in using the power plant as a base of operations cause such a calamity. Any stray bullet or shrapnel could potentially spark off a gargantuan explosion, akin to that of a small nuclear weapon, according to an engineer familiar with the plant's design. This danger is compounded by the presence of a nearby chlorine manufacturing plant, which stores large containers of the toxic gas on site. Any damage to those containers may cause a dangerous leakage which would cause massive poisoning and loss of life in the surrounding rural areas, heavily populated with farming communities and villages. In short, the power plant is a ticking time bomb which should not be taken lightly or toyed with by either side in the conflict. While the international community has gone to great lengths to neutralize conventional chemical weapons in Syria, it has completely ignored the unconventional ones such as the Aleppo power plant. While those don't pose a direct threat as weapons of war, their misuse or abuse can however lead to just as large a loss of life as the conventional kind. Which is why Syrian people of all affiliations urge that such dangerous facilities be left as neutral zones, and off limits in any armed conflict, preferably under oversight of international monitors or neutral parties.
