Aleppo's limping recovery shows limits of battered Syrian state

Ghassan Batash, holds bread in al-Kalasa district of Aleppo July 13, 2017. REUTERS/ Omar Sanadiki

ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - In eastern Aleppo, bodies still lie under the rubble, graveyards are full, people are short of electricity and bread, and some children take classes in mosques because their schools have been ruined by war.

Seven months after the army drove rebels from their stronghold in the Syrian city, the state looks paper thin there, with most services seen by Reuters provided by residents or with help from international aid agencies or local charities.