Syrian Rebels in Aleppo Mostly Poor, Pious, Rural Most of the rebels fighting government forces in the city of Aleppo fit a specific mold: They're poor, religiously conservative and usually come from the underdeveloped countryside nearby. They bring to the battle their fury over years of economic marginalization, fired by a pious fervor, and they say their fight in the civil war is not only against President Bashar Assad but also the elite merchants and industrialists who dominate the city and have stuck by the regime. The rebels regard this support for the government to be an act of betrayal. The blend of poverty, religious piety and anger could define the future of Aleppo, and perhaps the rest of Syria, if the rebels take over the country's largest city, which is also its economic engine. They may be tempted to push their own version of Islam, which is more fundamentalist than what is found in the city. Their bitterness at the business class may prompt them to seek ways of redistributing the wealth. "Those who have money in Aleppo only worry about their wealth and interests when we have long lived in poverty," said Osama Abu Mohammed, a rebel commander who was a car mechanic in the nearby town of Beyanon before he joined the fight. They have been breast-fed cowardice and their hearts are filled with fear. With their money, we could buy weapons that enable us to liberate the entire city in a week," he said. In this Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012 photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter sits in a storage room in the Karmal Jabl district of Aleppo, Syria. Nearly every rebel fighting regime forces in the Syrian city of Aleppo fits a specific mold: He's poor, religiously conservative and most often comes from the underdeveloped nearby countryside. They bring to the battle their fury over years of economic marginalization, fired by a pious fervor, and they say their fight is not only against President Bashar Assad but also the pro-regime elite of merchants and industrialists who dominate the city. With neither side able to decide the battle after three months of fighting and with winter fast approaching, however, the rebels from the countryside in Aleppo province risk losing the popular good will they have enjoyed from their fellow impoverished Sunnis in the city. On Saturday, civilians pelted a group of rebels with broken glass as they headed to the front line because they feel the fighters' presence brings the regime's destruction down on them, according to an Associated Press photographer and cameraman who witnessed the incident. "The city of Aleppo has not really joined the revolution," acknowledged one 32-year-old fighter who goes by the name of Abu Ahmed and is from the nearby town of al-Bab. All of us are from rural Aleppo. Like some other rebels, he spoke on condition he be identified only with that nickname - by which he is widely known among his comrades - fearing that use of his real name could bring retaliation on his family. The battle for Aleppo is a stark illustration of how Syria's conflict, now in its 19th month, is as much a revolt of the underclass as a rebellion against the regime's authoritarian grip. The countryside surrounding Aleppo is dotted with small farming towns where the population is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, with a social fabric built around strong family and clan ties, primarily guided by local customs and a conservative brand of Islam. In contrast, Aleppo's estimated 3 million residents are a mix of Syria's main ethnic and religious groups - Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Alawites, Christians, Kurds, Turkomen and Armenians - with a relatively liberal lifestyle. The northern city is home to a powerful community of factory owners, manufacturers and merchants, mainly from prominent Sunni families, who were largely allowed to operate without government interference while the Assad family's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, kept its grip on political power. The flashpoints of the uprising have been the poorest parts of the country.