Syria War Seven Years On: No end in sight as President Assad controls 70% of territory

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The Syrian civil war is considered one of the worst conflicts in recent memory. Millions of refugees are stranded around the world and nearly half a million people have been killed. The conflict is entering its eighth year, and there are no signs it will end soon. Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad's government now controls over 70 percent of the country. Alaa Ebrahim reports.

This is what safety looks like in today's Syria—long lines of civilians leaving Eastern Ghouta. They are fleeing what is now becoming the biggest battle of the Syrian war.

Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus is one of the last rebel strongholds anywhere in the country. Since 2012 – when rebel forces first occupied the area – it became one of their most important victories.

But times change and that couldn't be clearer than here in al-Dweir shelter center—a refuge for civilians escaping Eastern Ghouta.

The personal stories told by each of these families also tell the larger story of a devastating seven-year civil war.

AHMAD AL-KHASHEN FATHER OF FOUR CHILDREN EVACUATED FROM EASTERN GHOUTA "My son Anas was born in 2012. War is all he knows. When we arrived here he was amazed to see apples and oranges. We didn't show him bananas or biscuits yet. He knows when the shell will hit from its sound. He knows to run inside if he hears a fighter jet roaring."

The UN says that half of Syria's population is now displaced and this number is on the rise. Seven years of violence has kept over 1.75 million children out of school.

As this conflict enters its eighth year, one in every three schools have been destroyed.

The al-Khashen family remembers better days. They are now displaced. The good times—a distant memory.

FATIMA AL-KHASHEN 13-YEAR-OLD EVACUEE FROM EASTERN GHOUTA "This is the second time we had to leave our house. Our first house was so beautiful. We had a garden and trees. And, I named the trees and called them my friends. We had a pool, and I loved to swim, but all of it is gone now. Inside, school is a joke—only three hours a day and the curriculum is something they made up."

ALAA EBRAHIM DAMASCUS "It was in this square that rebels came the closest to reaching Damascus back in 2013. But since then the government went on the offensive and the situation changed gradually.

The Syrian Army has now captured more than 50% of the rebels' last major enclave near Damascus.

With the army's advance, some like to think that the war is coming to an end. A closer look suggests that is wishful thinking.

Here in this Syrian Army base, the officers invited reporters to film a weapons shipment they confiscated. Mortars, explosives and ammunition—all headed toward Eastern Ghouta.

A sign that peace may still be a long way off. Alaa Ebrahim, CGTN, Damascus."