The reporters, visiting at the invitation of Turkey’s Prime Ministry Directorate General of Press and Information, told Anadolu Agency they found the city in the Aleppo province in much better condition than they expected, saying they were surprised to see this happen so quickly. 

“There are quite important developments and improvements here. It especially delights us to see that the children are very happy,” said Albanian journalist Beyza Cekmez.

British journalist Shamim Ara Chowdhury said, “We were expecting to see a lot of war damage and a lot of buildings completely destroyed, and that’s exactly what we saw, but we saw a lot of signs of recovery and construction as well.” 

Chowdhury said the people of the city generally seem to be happy, adding, “Clearly the Turkish government has done quite a lot to rebuild the city”. 

Operation Euphrates Shield, which began on Aug. 24 backed by the Turkish Armed Forces, is aimed at bolstering border security, supporting coalition forces, and eliminating the threat posed by extrem organizations, especially ISIL.