audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - The conflict in Syria began in early 2011 following a series of demonstrations that took place in key cities across the country. With over 100,000 dead and millions displaced, the UN estimates that 9.3 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid from the nearly three years of conflict that erupted when originally peaceful protestors sought the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. More than 6 million people are in critical need of sustained food assistance. There are believed to be as many as 1,000 armed opposition groups in Syria, commanding an estimated 100,000 fighters. Many of the groups are small and operate on a local level, but a number have emerged as powerful forces with affiliates across the country or formed alliances with other groups that share a similar agenda. Aid agencies estimate that over 100,000 people trapped in and around the Damascus suburb of Yarmouk are now in severe risk of starvation, with reports of chronic child malnutrition and health problems caused by a lack of access to vital nutrients and safe drinking water.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Homs, Syria - AL AUMDA, 45, is the mayor and FSA leader of the group that holds the Safir hotel above the town and the monastery. They are called the martyrs of Maaloula.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabroud, Syria - ABU MOUAAYAI says the fighters don't have enough ammunition.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Maloula, Syria - AMJAD HAMAD, 26, leader of the Katiba, exits a hole in the wall.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Maloula, Syria - The old church of Maaloula is partly destroyed after the regime bombed it.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Rima, Syria - RAIJA, comes from Bab Amr and has a cancer. She has a bag of chemicals but no one knows how they should be administered.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Maloula, Syria - AMJAD HAMAD, 26, raises the flag of the Free Syrian Army.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Maloula, Syria. - A church in the town of Maaloula. The picture is taken from the rebel side towards the city where the regime has its stronghold.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabroud, Syria - A group of FSA fighters guards one of the entrances to Yabroud in a camp captured in December 2011. On the wall are pictures of Hafez Bachar, the eldest son of the Syrian President Bashar.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Maloula, Syria - AL AUMDA, 45 years old, is the mayor and FSA leader of the group that holds the Safir hotel above the town and the monastery. They are called the martyrs of Maaloula.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Yabrud, Syria - A three hour old baby boy is being taken care of by a nurse as his mother is suffering from an infection. The hospital is a secret hospital.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Yabrud, Syria - A young boy gets treated for shrapnel wounds from a bomb in a secret hospital.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Homs, Syria - AL AUMDA, 45 years old, is the mayor and FSA leader of the group that holds the Safir hotel above the town and the monastery. They are called the martyrs of Maaloula. He used to cultivate fruits in the area.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 19, 2013 - Maloula, Syria - AMJAD HAMAD (left), 26, is the leader of the Katiba. AL AUMDA (right), 45 years old, is the mayor and FSA leader of the group that holds the Safir hotel above the town and the monastery. They are called the martyrs of Maaloula.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Rima, Syria - A family sits together in a house. The children have become experts at listening to the sounds of different aircrafts and bombs and run immediately to the shelter.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
November 22, 2013 - Yabrud, Syria - A young girl is wounded and marked by the war.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabroud, Syria - AMJAD HAMAD, 26 years old, is the leader of the Katiba.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 20, 2013 - Deir Al Zour, Syria - ABU DUJANA,, 27, a bomb-maker from Deir Al Zour, joined Jabhet Al Nusra. He shows how he transforms Pepsi and Fanta cans into smokescreens or Katioja.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Al-Quasir, Syria - NOUR AM HAMMAD, 13, comes from al-Quasir. She lives with her grandfather, as her dad has been gone for three months.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabroud, Syria - The silver Colt 45 of Amjad Hamad, leader of the Katiba.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 21, 2013 - Yabroud, Syria - The FSA is planning an attack against the regime, together with several groups of Al-Qaida. Eventually the FSA didn't get involved in the attack.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabroud, Syria - 'Tomorrow we head back to Quara to help brigades over there. Though we've told them that we did not have much ammunition, they promised to give us what we needed out of their stock when we get there,' says Abu MouAayai.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 21, 2013 - Yabrud, Syria - The FSA guards a checkpoint at the entrance of the city.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabrud, Syria - The sun sets down behind the shattered houses as the war goes on.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Nov. 22, 2013 - Yabrud, Syria - A group of FSA fighters guarding one of the entrances to Yabroud in a camp captured in December 2011.
© Niclas Hammarstrom/Kontinent/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press