BeulalandBlog

WHEN WILL HUMANS LEARN HOW TO SAY NO TO WAR?

DEVASTATING IMAGES FROM SYRIA

A sandstorm hit Syria on Friday, leaving formerly ISIS-controlled neighbourhoods of Aleppo covered in debris. Residents of Bab al-Nasr and Karm al-Jabal (pictured above) walked through the streets evaluating damage following the storm

Photos of the northern Syrian city - the neighborhood of Karm al-Jabal pictured above - show dilapidated buildings covered in dust, hollowed out cars turned over and rubble covering the ground

Aleppo was Syria's most populous city before war broke out six years ago, but swathes of it have been destroyed and thousands displaced in the conflict gripping the country. Despite his home being ravaged with damage, Mohammad Mohiedine Anis, 70, smokes his pipe as he sits in his destroyed bedroom listening to music on his vinyl player in Aleppo's formerly rebel-held al-Shaar neighbourhood

Syrian children play in the once rebel-held Shaar neighbourhood in the northern city of Aleppo following the sandstorm. The trio appeared to have created a sled out of roller carts and a long string. Government forces seized Aleppo from rebels in December after months of intense fighting

Syrian children play during a sandstorm in the once rebel held Karm al-Jabal neighbourhood in the old part of the northern city of Aleppo. The sandstorm came just days after the Syrian army took control over the city's main water supply from Islamic State fighters

Outside his destroyed home, 70-year-old Mohammad Mohiedine Anis keeps his 1949 Hudson Commodor parked nearby, despite extensive damage to the roads of Aleppo, which were ravaged during months of fighting between IS and the Syrian army. It appears as though all of the Commodor's tires have been flattened and the windows have all been shattered

A Syrian boy walks with his sheep through the once rebel-held Bab Kinnisrin neighbourhood in the old part of the northern city of Aleppo during a sandstorm. It is unknown where the sheep - or the boy - live in the ravaged city

Syrian children play on plastic chairs surrounded by dilapidated buildings and rubble during a sand storm in the once-rebel held Karm al-Jabal. Pope Francis revealed earlier this week that he has sent 100,000 euros ($106,090) to the poor in the northern Syrian city

People gathered on the streets to evaluate the damage of the sandstorm, which hit the already destroyed city earlier this week. Pictured above, a Syrian man drives his vehicle past destruction in the once rebel-held Aghiour neighbourhood in Aleppo during a sandstorm

In parts of the city, like the once-rebel held area of Kastal al-Harami - debris is piled up storeys high on the streets where buildings used to stand

Some roads of the city, like in the once-rebel held area of Bab al-Nasr, debris has piled so high it blocks former roads in the city. Pictured above, a man walks amidst the destruction. Since mid-January, the Syrian government has taken more than 110 villages and towns from the jihadists, advancing behind heavy air and artillery bombardment

Syrians walk amidst destruction in the once rebel-held Bab al-Nasr neighbourhood in the old part of the northern city of Aleppo on Friday. In other parts of Syria, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces has been advancing on Raqqa

Among the dead were at least eight children and six women, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

IS jihadists are facing simultaneous offensives in northern Syria by government forces, Turkish-backed rebels, and a US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters. Pictured above, Syrian children play during a sandstorm in the once rebel held Karm al-Jabal neighbourhood

Elsewhere in Syria, Turkish troops and their rebel allies have pushed south from the Turkish border and driven IS out of the northern town of Al-Bab. Pictured above, Syrian girls walk past destruction during a sandstorm in the once rebel-held Bab al-Nasr neighbourhood

Russian-backed government troops have meanwhile swept eastwards from Syria's second city Aleppo and seized a swathe of countryside from the jihadists. Pictured above, a teddy bear is buried in the ground of a house in the once rebel-held Bab Kinnisrin neighbourhood in the old part of Aleppo during the sandstorm