More than a thousand people are believed to have been killed in recent weeks as Syrian government forces laid siege to the rebel-controlled region of eastern Ghouta outside the capital of Damascus. The United Nations estimates that 400,000 people still live in the villages and towns in the besieged region, trapped by several rebel groups who won’t let them leave and by Syrian government blockades that block their paths. Despite international pressure to call a ceasefire, Syrian ground forces and Russian-backed air forces have maintained their assault, recently gaining territory and splitting the region into three parts. This battle is just one of many still taking place across the fractured nation of Syria seven years since the start of its civil war.

1. Civil defense members with a firehose react at a damaged site after an airstrike in the besieged town of Douma, eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, Syria, on February 9, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
2. A Russian-made Syrian army attack helicopter drops a payload over the rebel-held town of Arbin, in the eastern Ghouta region, on February 20, 2018.
Amer Almohibany / AFP / Getty
3. Smoke rises from the rebel-held besieged town of Hamouriyeh, eastern Ghouta, on February 21, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
4. A Syrian man carries an infant rescued from the rubble of buildings following government bombing in the rebel-held town of Hamouria, in eastern Ghouta, on February 19, 2018.
Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty
5. Men walk through rubble after an airstrike in Douma, Syria, on February 7, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
6. People are seen inspecting the damage after an air attack in Douma on February 8, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
7. A Syrian opposition fighter from the Failaq al-Rahman brigade walks past damaged buildings on the front line in the rebel-held enclave of Arbin, in eastern Ghouta, on February 15, 2018.
Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty
8. A Syrian opposition fighter from the Failaq al-Rahman brigade looks through the scope of a sniper rifle in a damaged building in Arbin on February 15, 2018.
Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty
9. Syrian opposition fighters from the Failaq al-Rahman brigade communicate to each other from across the rooftops of damaged buildings in Arbin on February 15, 2018.
Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty
10. A Russian air force Sukhoi Su-34 fighter jet flies above the rebel-held town of Arbin on February 20, 2018.
Amer Almohibany / AFP / Getty
11. Syrian Civil Defense members help an unconscious woman from a shelter in Douma, eastern Ghouta, on February 22, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
12. An injured man is seen at a medical station in the besieged town of Douma on February 20, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
13. People inspect missile remains in a street in Douma on February 23, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters

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14. The body of a young Syrian child lies wrapped in a shroud on the floor of a makeshift clinic following Syrian government bombardments in Douma on February 22, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
15. Smoke billows following a regime airstrike on the besieged eastern Ghouta region late on February 23, 2018.
Ammar Suleiman / AFP / Getty
16. Ten-year-old Omar, who was injured in an airstrike that killed several members of his family in their home in Otaybah, Syria, receives treatment at a makeshift hospital in eastern Ghouta on February 25, 2018.
Amer Almohibany / AFP / Getty
17. Syrians walk past destroyed buildings in Arbin on February 25, 2018.
Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty
18. Smoke rises from the besieged eastern Ghouta region on February 27, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
19. A Syrian air force Su-17 fighter plane flies over the town of Hamouria on the outskirts of the capital of Damascus on March 3, 2018.
Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty
20. Smoke and dust rise from part of eastern Ghouta on February 27, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
21. Abu Mohammad Alaya, 50, holds a mobile phone with a picture of his son Mohammad, who was killed in Douma on March 2, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
22. A member of the Syrian government forces flashes the sign for victory while sitting in a tank after entering al-Shifoniya as they advance into rebel-held eastern Ghouta on March 4, 2018.
AFP / Getty
23. A man mourns over the body of a boy at a makeshift hospital in Douma following Syrian government bombardments on eastern Ghouta on March 4, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
24. Syrians try to identify bodies in a makeshift morgue at a hospital in Douma following Syrian government bombardments on March 4, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
25. Trucks from the Syrian Red Crescent and humanitarian partners are seen in Ghouta on March 5, 2018, in this picture obtained from social media. The convoy was only able to unload part of its supplies, cutting its mission short and returning amid continued violence in the region.
Syrian Red Crescent via Reuters
26. A scene showing several destroyed buildings in Douma, in the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta, on March 5, 2018.
Amer Almohibany / AFP / Getty
27. Syrian children stand in a basement being used as a makeshift bomb shelter in the rebel-held town of Douma on March 8, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
28. Wounded Syrians await treatment at a clinic in the rebel-held town of Hamouria on March 7, 2018, following reported government bombardments.
Abdullah Hammam / AFP / Getty
29. Children gather wood from a downed tree in the street in Douma on March 9, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
30. Fire flames rip through a building following a Syrian government bombardment in the town of Douma on March 10, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
31. Syrian firefighters use a hose to extinguish a fire following Syrian government shelling on the town of Douma on March 10, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
32. Syrian government forces drive tanks outside of the town of Jisreen on the southern edge of the rebel-held eastern Ghouta enclave, as they advance in the area on March 11, 2018.
AFP / Getty
33. People hold a warning leaflet dropped by a plane, entitled "Keep yourself and your family aware," in the besieged town of Douma on March 11, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
34. A Syrian child walks down a street past rubble from destroyed buildings in the rebel-held town of Douma on March 8, 2018.
Hamza Al-Ajweh / AFP / Getty
35. Smoke billows following a Syrian government bombardment on the rebel-controlled town of Kafr Batna on March 11, 2018.
Amer Almohibany / AFP / Getty
36. A woman gestures as she walks among the rubble and dust of damaged buildings after an airstrike in Douma in eastern Ghouta, Syria, on February 7, 2018.
Bassam Khabieh / Reuters