Each December, I like to finish the year with a focus on a single photographer’s work over the previous 12 months. Several years ago, Bassam Khabieh was an IT administrator working in Damascus, Syria, near his hometown of Douma. Then, the Syrian war began. Soon, Khabieh picked up a camera and returned to Douma—an area controlled by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad—to document the effects of years of shelling and urban warfare. Khabieh’s images often focus on the children still living in the neighborhood, showing fleeting moments of normal life, as well as the horror and struggle amid battle-scarred neighborhoods. Khabieh has worked as a freelancer for Reuters since 2013, giving the rest of the world a window into the ongoing conflict in Syria. His photos gathered here from 2015 are listed in rough chronological order, including two photos from an attack that took place earlier today, December 30.
A boy runs as he rushes away from a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on August 24, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Children dance around a snowman with a Free Syrian Army flag stuck into it, in Douma, near Damascus, on January 11, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Residents react and gesture to the sky, during what activists said were seven air-strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Douma on February 2, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man carries the dead body of a child after what activists said were at least 20 air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on February 5, 2015. The Syrian air force struck areas northeast of the capital including Douma city and Arbin town, killing 12 and wounding around 100, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
People inspect a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on February 9, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man runs for cover as smoke rises after what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the rebel-controlled area of Jobar, a suburb of Damascus, on March 2, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Boys play with a BB gun in Douma on March 4, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man carries a child amid rubble of collapsed buildings after what activists said were eight air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on March 15, 2015. Activists said there were more than 25 dead and many more injured after the airstrikes.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man cries over the bodies of relatives after what activists said were eight air strikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on March 15, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
(1 of 4) Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent unload parcels of medical and humanitarian aid in Douma Damascus on May 6, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
(2 of 4) Ghazal, 4, stands along a street near the Syrian Arab Red Crescent center, minutes before what activists said was shelling by forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on May 6, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
(3 of 4) Ghazal (left) and Judy, 7, carrying 8-month-old Suhair, run away after the shelling of a Red Crescent convoy in Douma on May 6, 2015. Photographer Bassam Khabieh: "I was covering the Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy's visit to Douma, which was carrying medical aid and supplies used to give psychological support to children affected by war. Every time the aid convoy arrived, children would gather around it, happy that they were going to be supplied with food and medicine. Before the shell landed on the convoy I was sitting on the pavement relaxing; the children gathered around me so I could photograph them. While I was taking these photos, the shell exploded. It killed a female volunteer and wounded many people and volunteers nearby. The children were terrified and began to scream and cry, especially when they saw a female volunteer covered with blood from a head injury. The challenge to portray this image was just like the challenges we face daily in time of war. I knew that there might be another shell falling within a matter of seconds; then one did exactly that a little further away. Do you want to protect yourself, like everyone else, by walking into a shop or home? Help carry the injured or be satisfied to take photos while others transfer them to ambulances? Do you want to calm screaming children? Or do you just want to cry because of what’s happened? All these questions need answers in a matter of seconds before you can capture such an image. In this particular photograph, it was the first time I had seen how children's innocent laughter could turn into screams, fear and tears. It was a very sad moment when I put my eye to the viewfinder to take pictures of laughing children; then when I looked back after taking the picture, I saw the same children crying, distraught. It takes only a few seconds for life to turn to ashes and blood.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
(4 of 4) Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent carry their colleague, who was killed by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, near the Syrian Arab Red Crescent center in Douma on May 6, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A general view shows war-damaged buildings in Jobar, a suburb of Damascus, on July 6, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Rebel fighters stand at attention as one of them wears a GoPro camera on his head during a military display as part of a graduation ceremony at a camp in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus, Syria, on July 12, 2015. The newly graduated rebel fighters, who went through military training, will join the the Free Syrian Army's Al Rahman legion.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Children carry bags of new clothes ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan in Jobar on July 15, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A resident inspects damage from what activists said was barrel bombs dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in Douma on August 22, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Residents inspect a building damaged by what activists said was barrel bombs dropped by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad in Douma on August 22, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
People attempt to identify bodies after what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on a marketplace in Douma on August 16, 2015. A Syrian government air strike northeast of Damascus killed about 80 people on Saturday, rescue workers and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Smoke rises from what activists said was a military position for forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad after clashes with Army of Islam fighters, on the eastern mountains of Qalamoun, overlooking the town of Douma, on September 13, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Damaged buildings viewed during a sandstorm in Douma on September 7, 2015. A heavy sandstorm swept across parts of the Middle East, hospitalizing scores of people in Lebanon and disrupting air strikes and fighting in neighboring Syria.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Clashes between forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the Army of Islam fighters, on the eastern mountains of Qalamoun on October 1, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Smoke rises after what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on September 16, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Puppies look out from under a damaged building in the town of Douma on October 26, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A resident carries an injured man through a site damaged by what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on the main field hospital in the town of Douma on October 29, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Civil defense members gather dead bodies inside their center after Syrian government forces fired missiles on a busy marketplace in Douma on October 30, 2015. At least 40 people were killed and about 100 wounded after Syrian government forces fired missiles into the market place in a town near Damascus, a conflict monitor and a local rescue group said.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Blood stained shoes, after Syrian government forces fired missiles on a busy marketplace in Douma on October 30, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A student stands in front of others as they attend a class inside a school in a rebel-controlled area of the eastern Ghouta reagion of Damascus on October 19, 2015. The new school year in eastern Ghouta was postponed several times this year due to airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A resident rides his bicycle near what activists said was an unexploded cluster bomb shell in the town of Douma on November 5, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Men remove a casualty from a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Douma, on November 7, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
In Douma, a man carries a candle and a placard with an image of the Eiffel tower in tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks, on November 14, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Doctors treat an injured civilian in a field hospital after what activists said was shelling by forces of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on November 19, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A baby lies inside a neonatal unit in a field hospital in Douma on December 8, 2015. The baby was born after a cesarean section after his mother died from shelling by what activists said was forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar al-Assad in Douma.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
An injured girl reacts, after she was injured in what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, inside a field hospital in Douma on December 5, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A school bag that belongs to an injured student lies on the bloody floor inside a field hospital after after what activists said were air and missile strikes in Douma on December 13, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A baby lies in a neonatal unit in a field hospital in Douma on December 8, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Orphans attend a gathering organized by Damascus Lovers, a group that helps with social support for orphans, in Douma, on December 24, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man takes pictures of warning leaflets dropped by Syrian army jets in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus on December 27, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A boy poses while carrying a warning leaflet dropped by Syrian army jets over Douma on December 27, 2015. The leaflet reads: "You are besieged. The Syrian army is coming. Al-Ghouta will soon be embraced by the nation."Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
Men pose while carrying warning leaflets dropped by Syrian army jets over Douma on December 27, 2015. The leaflets read: (right) "Get your green pass now to guarantee your safe passage at the Syrian army checkpoints," and (left) "The wise man learns from mistakes."Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man runs through a site damaged from what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on December 30, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
A man carries an injured child amid rubble near a burning vehicle in a site damaged by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Douma on December 30, 2015.Bassam Khabieh / Reuters
