TUESDAY March 30, 2021: SYRIA Decade of WAR by Le Pictorium photographer Chloe Shamrock who specializes on Middle-East Issues: It has been 10 years since the start of the Syrian uprisings and the country is still mired in a war that has displaced millions and killed hundreds of thousands. In early 2011, a wave of pro-democracy uprisings swept the world, especially in the Middle East. In Syria, what began a decade ago turned into a civil war that is still going on. Raqqa, situated on the Euphrates River in Syria's north, was the first governorate capital to fall under opposition control after the start of the Syrian uprising. In 2014, the city was captured by ISIS, who declared it their capital, then was subsequently devastated by US-led coalition air raids during the anti-ISIL operations. According to some estimates, between 70 and 80 percent of the city was destroyed, and its infrastructure almost completely wiped out. A surge of COVID infections has made life even more difficult for war-weary families. Welcome to: SYRIA Decade of WAR
© zReportage.com Story of the Week #780: TUESDAY March 30, 2021: SYRIA Decade of WAR by Le Pictorium photographer Chloe Shamrock who specializes on Middle-East Issues: It has been 10 years since the start of the Syrian uprisings and the country is still mired in a war that has displaced millions and killed hundreds of thousands. In early 2011, a wave of pro-democracy uprisings swept the world, especially in the Middle East. In Syria, what began a decade ago turned into a civil war that is still going on. Raqqa, situated on the Euphrates River in Syria's north, was the first governorate capital to fall under opposition control after the start of the Syrian uprising. In 2014, the city was captured by ISIS, who declared it their capital, then was subsequently devastated by US-led coalition air raids during the anti-ISIL operations. According to some estimates, between 70 and 80 percent of the city was destroyed, and its infrastructure almost completely wiped out. A surge of COVID infections has made life even more difficult for war-weary families. Welcome to: SYRIA Decade of WAR
Riddled with bullet holes and filled with trash, all that remains of the National hospital in the city centre of Raqqa. Syria's northern city of Raqqa served as the seat of power for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) for four years.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A few market stalls offer local goods and produce as the sun sets in the city center of Raqqa. Although vendors are set up to sell, few people in the city can afford to buy anything due to what analysts are calling an unprecedented economic crisis and the sharp decline of the Syrian pound.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
In one attempt at renewal, Paradise Square, the site of public executions under ISIS, now has an 'I Love Raqqa' sign. The square has been given a facelift in an attempt to move past the painful memories associated with the rule of ISIS. According to some estimates, between 70 and 80 percent of the city was destroyed, and its infrastructure almost completely wiped out.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A medical worker walks through a war ravaged building at the National hospital in the city centre of Raqqa. In 2019 UN officials and aid workers say they have documented more than two dozen air strikes on clinics and hospitals in insurgent-controlled territory, ignoring protections protections under international humanitarian law.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
The Clock tower square in the centre of Raqqa, known for being at the centre of Daesh's (ISIS) propaganda machine the location was regularly used to display the heads of its victims.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
In the city centre of Raqqa, a colorful gown hangs on a mannequin as a reminder of life before the fighting.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A man sits on a chunk of rubble in one of the cemeteries of the city, in Salhiyeh neighborhood. Raqqa and many villages and towns in the province were devastated by US-led coalition air raids during the anti-ISIL operation between 2016 and 2017.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Bullet holes and graffiti on the walls of one of the cemeteries of the city, in Salhiyeh neighborhood. After the Islamic State (ISIS) took the city, tombs were desecrated and destroyed by members of the terrorist group. Still today, the cemetery bears witness of the war, with severe damage.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A young student walks past 'Back to School' painted in bright letters on a wall at the Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A single lightbulb glows over a newly repaired door in a stairwell filled with rubble. As much as 80 percent of the city of Raqqa was destroyed in the war. In October 2017, following a lengthy battle that saw massive destruction to the city, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared the liberation of Raqqa from ISIS.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A man prays in a corner of the Alfhazi Mosque situated in a popular district of Raqqa. According to his Muezzin (The one who gives call to prayer), the mosque is still frequented by supporters of the Islamic State.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Children playing and smiling in the playground of Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa. The school sits is across from a building that was used by ISIS religious police or 'Hisba' and the site of intense fighting during the retake of the city from the extremist group.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Dark clouds loom over destroyed buildings and rubble in the city centre of Raqqa after 10 years of war.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Young students sit at the desks with open textbooks during a class at Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa. All of the children at the school aged 10 or under have known only war since their birth.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A damaged bill poster from a time before war shows a family enjoying a peaceful park. What is left of the war torn city of Raqqa is seen behind.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Children line up to enter class after recess at the Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Life goes on in the centre of Raqqa. Ten years after the war began in Syria, Raqqa is slowly trying to move forward after being the centre of ISIS rule and some of war's greatest horrors. The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights placed the toll over 593,000 as of December 2020.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Intensive Care Association's clinic, an organization providing physical therapy treatment to the numerous war-wounded inhabitants of the city. According to UNICEF, an average of one child was injured or killed every eight hours over past 10 years in Syria.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A young student stands up to read to the class at the Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A headstone in arabic lays broken on the ground in one of the cemeteries of the city, in the Salhiyeh neighborhood.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Children listen to the teacher giving the class at the Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Residents walk past unkept graves in one the cemeteries in Salhiyeh neighborhood of Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Dressed in all black, a female teacher talks to her class during lessons at the Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa. During ISIS rule, women were forced to wear only loose black clothing covering their whole body, and a double veil over their face, or risk imprisonment.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
A child's sweater hangs in a room of a destroyed building in the city centre of Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Colorful art work brightens a wall as students line up for class at the Hawary Bu Medyem School in Raqqa.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
Residents walk in the city centre of Raqqa past destroyed buildings. The opposition's success in seizing Raqqa from Assad's authoritarian regime offered the promise of democratic reform, but it also contained the seeds of its demise.
© Chloe Sharrock/Le Pictorium via ZUMA Press
