The Syrian conflict started as many other revolutions in the Arab Spring, with street protests and non-violent demonstrations. However, what began peacefully soon evolved into violence, as the Assad regime refused to relinquish control of the Syrian government, and started relentless and brutal attempts to crush any opposition. People are tortured, kidnapped, and killed in an attempt to quell the unrest. In the two years that have since elapsed, the situation has turned into an all-out war between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the government’s military, with both forces claiming to fight for the Syrian people. Both groups are backed mainly by their sectarian base; the FSA by the Sunni majority in the country, and the military by the Alawite minority. Trapped in the middle of the conflict are the civilians, many owing allegiance to neither side, living day by day and fleeing the country when possible. Current estimates put the number of refugees in neighboring countries at over a million, and internally displaced people nearing four million. Nothing has been able to stop the violence so far, and the death toll from the conflict is now estimated to be well over 70,000 people.
Syria is in ruins. A once beautiful and historic land built along trading routes, boasting some of the oldest cities in human history, cities are almost entirely reduced to rubble. Daily life in the country is . Government mortars and planes blindly bomb opposition held areas. Stories abound of children and elderly civilians gunned down by snipers in cities streets. Buildings are covered in soot and pock-marked with shrapnel and bullet holes. Bread lines last for hours. Husbands and sons are missing. Homes and businesses lay destroyed. Trees are all but chopped to their roots, harvested and burned for warmth.
The Syrian people have lost so much from a conflict that shows no signs of ending quickly. Even if the FSA is able to oust Assad from power, the growing threat of tribal warfare exists between the various groups within the nation, and the possibility of an even greater religious war with the growing number of hardline Islamic extremists looms large on the horizon. The situation is terrible and continues to deteriorate rapidly, and the conflict will only continue to decimate the nation if the course of events is not dramatically altered.
Based out of Chicago, Cengiz Yar Jr is a documentary photographer and freelance photojournalist. His photography focuses on human conflicts, and aims to encourage understanding by fostering interest and making the unknown familiar.
