Children welcome rebel fighters as they enter the town of Azaz in Aleppo Province in Syria.
Video obtained by Reuters shows a town marked by the scars of war.
Antigovernment slogans are written on the walls.
Activists say the town has only 5,000 residents. Originally there were 60,000. Many fled the violence.
Before the rebellion, Azaz was a known as commercial market for the trade of goods from Turkey. Now its is a rebel stronghold.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEMBER OF THE FREE SYRIA ARMY ABDEL MALEK SAYYADEH, FIRST LIEUTENANT IN FREE SYRIAN ARMY SAYING:
"At first it was one of the regime's games to create the illusion for us that there are armed terrorist gangs that we are fighting but it was the opposite. These armed gangs were the security and Assad's gangs."
The town has also become a training ground for rebels.
Many civilians are joining the ranks.
Rights groups say more than 17,000 people have died in Syria since the uprising began last March. As the conflict rages on, there still is no end in sight.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
