Description
Workers chisel blocks and patch wooden lattice work as they repair the war-hit Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo. Syria's second city was battered by four years of fighting between rebels in the east and government forces in the west, until an evacuation deal at the end of 2016 brought it under regime control. One of the bloodiest frontlines was Aleppo's Old City, a UNESCO-listed world heritage site featuring the ancient covered market, centuries-old citadel, and famous Umayyad Mosque. Clashes in April 2013 reduced the mosque's minaret, which dates back to the 11th century, to an unrecognisable pile of blocks. IMAGES