COMMENT The battle of Aleppo ended yesterday after years of fighting,sieges and bombardment as a ceasefire was finally agreed.

As part of a larger civil war, that mutated into an ugly bloodshed of too many civilians, has ended with a battleground victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military coalition of Russia, Iran and regional militias.

This also spells out a crushing defeat for rebels whose aim was to oust Assad, whose efforts started during the 2011 Arab uprisings.

Ultimately, the siege and slaughter has stopped. Rebels claim moral victory, and the Assad administration claims reestablishment of control. Military advancements have stopped, the booms and bombardment are no longer heard. People will now stop dying.

But no, this is not something to celebrate.

Those who died are still dead. Assad who started it all off by firing gun shots at peaceful protesters is still in power and stronger than ever. The escalation due to the superpowers' proxy war, who are hell bent on regime change or regime preservation still happened. IS is still very much out there.

We are glad the death toll has stopped increasing, but the systemic problems that led to this, are all still there.

The innocent human beings and citizens of Aleppo, the civilians whose friends and loved ones have perished and they themselves were on the verge of being killed, are the only ones who we should be in solidarity with.

No, there is nothing to celebrate. There is no victory worth celebrating, as no victory brought on by bloodshed is worth celebrating.

For those who are now jumping on the bandwagon to claim victory for Vladimir Putin, for Assad, or even for the perverse democracy the Syrian government claims to practice, we ask for you to stop.

For those who want to claim credit for Turkey and Russia for brokering the ceasefire, we ask for you to stop. For the US and their allies for the defeat of their meddling ways, we also ask for you to stop.

It is now time to mourn, for those who have had friends, family, loved ones, and even part of themselves mercilessly taken away. They deserve the right to mourn peacefully.

It may even be too early to speak of rebuilding for the wounds of war along with the losses of lives and liberty do not heal quickly or easily, if at all.

But that is what we call for; the rebuilding of the lives and dignity of the people of Aleppo.

The youths of Aleppo whose shoulders now bear the burden to do just that, we understand that you have had your youthful years tainted by bloodshed. Many of you are also fleeing conscription, some of you luckier than others.

The battle of Aleppo may be over but the Syrian civil war is far from over.

You have our solidarity.

HOWARD LEE CHUAN HOW is the president of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY). He is also the state assemblyperson for Pasir Pinji and the international secretary for DAP Youth.