While the Twelver Shia villages of Nubl and al-Zahara’ in Aleppo province generally have a good internal security situation owing to the security forces placing checkpoints at the entrance to these villages on the Aleppo-Gaziantep highway and the confiscation of weapons inside the villages, the public services situation with regards to electricity and water remains poor. One of these problems predates the fall of the Assad regime, whereas the other reflects a more recent development. Both issues are intertwined.

