2011年3月15日、「アラブの春」の影響を受け、アサド政権の退陣を求める大規模な反政府デモが起きた。4年後、シリアは血みどろの戦いが展開され、国は四分五裂した。およそ20万人のシリア人が殺害され、人口の半数近くが家を失って移住した。
2011年と現在のシリアの対照的な姿は、宇宙からも判別できる。中国の武漢大学とアメリカのメリーランド大学の分析によると、2011年3月の衛星画像で見られた多くの光が、現在は83％減少している。
研究グループのリーダー、シー・リー氏は「地上500マイル（約805キロ）上空から撮影されたこの画像を見ると、国土が破壊されるとともに、シリアの一般人が毎日苦しみと恐怖にさらされていることが理解できます」と述べた。この画像は世界130の人権団体と個人で結成された、シリア内戦の犠牲者を擁護する活動「#WithSyria」が3月10日に発表した。
#WithSyriaのメンバーの一人で、国際救援委員会（IRC）の代表兼CEOデビッド・ミリバンド氏は「シリア危機が発生して以来、この4年間でシリアの人々は暗闇に陥りました。貧困、恐怖、家族や友人を失った悲しみ、そして、かつての国が失われてしまった悲しみに満ちているのです」と述べた。
研究グループは、夜間の光はシリア全体で急激に減少しており、地域によってはほぼ完全に真っ暗になってしまったことを明らかにした。内戦で破壊されたシリア北部の都市アレッポは、2011年以来97％の光が失われた。一方、首都ダマスカスは今まで内戦の期間で夜間の光が33％失われている。シー・リー氏は「衛星画像は、シリアの荒廃が全国規模で進んでいることを示す最も客観的なデータとなります」と述べた。
シリア政府軍が投下した「樽爆弾」とみられる兵器で発生した火災を、シリア人の消防士が消火作業にあたる。アレッポ、3月5日。(ZEIN AL-RIFAI/AFP/Getty Images)
救援組織「シリアン・アメリカン・メディカル・ソサイエティ」のザハル・サウル氏は12日、国際社会がシリアで歴史的規模の人道危機に対処できてないないと警告した。
「毎日のようにシリアの医者や救援活動関係者、そして教師は近隣の人や家族を救うために、とてつもないリスクを背負っています。それなのに国際社会は政治的な解決、そして暴力と苦痛を終わらせることを模索しようとしないのです」
下の「Turn The Lights Back On（再び明かりを）」キャンペーン動画を見てみよう。また、援助する方法を知るには#WithSyriaのサイトへ。
シリア内戦（2014.11〜）
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Smoke rises from the Dareyya district after a Syrian Air Force barrel bomb attack in Damascus, Syria, on March 6, 2015. (credit:Majd el-Ahmad/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Damaged buildings are seen following clashes between regime forces and the Damascus Front in Damascus, Syria on March 6, 2015. (credit:Salih Mahmud Leyla/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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A Syrian man prays over the grave of his son, who was killed during shelling, at a cemetery in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma, on March 5, 2015. (credit:ABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images)
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A Syrian boy who took shelter in Turkey with his family crosses into Kobani through Mursitpinar border crossing in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey on March 6, 2015. (credit:Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Syrian fire fighters put out a blaze at the scene of a reported barrel bomb strike by Syrian government forces on the Qadi Askar rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, March 5, 2015. (credit:ZEIN AL-RIFAI/AFP/Getty Images)
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Syrians inspect the debris of houses in Dareyya district after a Syrian Air Force barrel bomb attack in Damascus, Syria, on March 3, 2015. (credit:Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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A rebel fighter holds his rifle inside a damaged building during clashes between regime forces and the Damascus Front in Damascus, Syria on March 6, 2015. (credit:Salih Mahmud Leyla/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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A Syrian girl who took shelter in Turkey sleeps on the ground before she crosses into Kobani through Mursitpinar border crossing in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey on March 6, 2015. (credit: Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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Supporters of Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who is held by Islamic State group militants, hold posters of him with Arabic that reads, \"we are all Muath,\" during a protest in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Anwar al-Tarawneh, the wife of Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who is held by Islamic State group militants, holds a poster of him as she weeps during a protest in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Syrian refugee woman who fled violence in Syrian city of Ain al-Arab, known also as Kobani, hangs clothes outside her tent in a camp in the border town of Suruc, Turkey, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Anwar al-Tarawneh, center, the wife of Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, who is held by Islamic State group militants, holds a posters of him with Arabic that reads, \"we are all Muath,\" during a protest in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A man walks by the burned offices of the local governorate of the village of A\'ai, the home village of the slain Jordanian pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, at the outskirts of Karak, Jordan, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this image made from undated video provided by Jordanian military via Jordan TV, explosions go off as the military carried out airstrikes at an undisclosed location in Syria. (AP Photo/Jordanian military via Jordan TV) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, smoke rises after rebels fired rockets and mortar shells that struck several parts in the capital Damascus, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/SANA) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Syrian civilians search for survivors at the site of reported air strikes by regime forces in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, on February 9, 2015. (ABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ABD DOUMANY via Getty Images)
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Syrian civilians search for survivors at the site of reported air strikes by regime forces in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, on February 9, 2015. (ABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ABD DOUMANY via Getty Images)
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Syrian civilians search for survivors at the site of reported air strikes by regime forces in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, on February 9, 2015. (ABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ABD DOUMANY via Getty Images)
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Search and rescue team search for survivors after the Syrian army hit the neighborhood of Ghouta in Damascus on on February 9, 2015. (Photo by Yousef Albostany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Search and rescue team search for survivors after the Syrian army hit the neighborhood of Ghouta in Damascus on on February 9, 2015. (Photo by Yousef Albostany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Search and rescue team search for survivors after the Syrian army hit the neighborhood of Ghouta in Damascus on on February 9, 2015. (Photo by Yousef Albostany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Search and rescue team search for survivors after the Syrian army hit the neighborhood of Ghouta in Damascus on on February 9, 2015. (Photo by Yousef Albostany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Search and rescue team search for survivors after the Syrian army hit the neighborhood of Ghouta in Damascus on on February 9, 2015. (Photo by Yousef Albostany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Syrian onlookers gather outside a damaged building as search continues for survivors at the site of reported air strikes by regime forces in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, on February 9, 2015. (ABD DOUMANY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ABD DOUMANY via Getty Images)
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Hundreds of Syrians walk on a street with damaged buildings before going out of town to buy food and other essential materials as they go through a military checkpoint in the town of Beit Sahm, south of the capital, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Hundreds of Syrians mingle amid rubble before going out of town to buy food and other essential materials as they wait in line at a military checkpoint in the town of Beit Sahm, south of the capital, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A photograph taken from Suruc district of Sanliurfa, Turkey, near Turkish-Syrian border crossing shows smoke rising from the Syrian border town of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) following the US-led coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets on January 16, 2015. (Photo by Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Protestors walk in the streets of the rebel-held part of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo holding Islamic banners during a demonstration on January 15, 2015, condemning the latest cartoon published by the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo featuring the Prophet Mohammed. (ZEIN AL-RIFAI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ZEIN AL-RIFAI via Getty Images)
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A displaced Syrian girl walks past tents at a camp located in a rebel-held area on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo, near the border with Turkey, on January 13, 2015. (KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:KARAM AL-MASRI via Getty Images)
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A general view of the destroyed houses covered with snow in the Cobar region of Damascus, Syria on January 11, 2015. (Photo by Lokman Saif/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A general view of the destroyed houses covered with snow in the Cobar region of Damascus, Syria on January 11, 2015. (Photo by Lokman Saif/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Syrians collect wood from the wreckages of their houses which were destroyed by the attacks of Assad regime forces in the Cobar region of Damascus, Syria on January 11, 2015. Syrians use woods to light a fire to get warm in the cold winter days. (Photo by Ammar Sulaiman/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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In this Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014 photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, speaks with Syrian troops during his visit on the front line in the eastern Damascus district of Jobar, Syria. (AP Photo/SANA) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A rebel fighter stands in a building overlooking the damage from fighting in the city of Aleppo on December 16, 2013. (ZEIN AL-RIFAI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ZEIN AL-RIFAI via Getty Images)
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The 67-year-old Mahmoud Kanu with the photos of his 42-year old son Izzettin Kanu who is dead at the clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and armed groups in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), holds on life at the refugee camp in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey on December 12,2014. (Photo by Binnur Ege Gurun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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The 25-year-old Ceylan Sihahmed whose husband was dead at the clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and armed groups in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), poses with her children Selem (L), Omar (L2) and Leyla (L3) and baby Disor at the refugee camp in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey on December 12,2014. (Photo by Binnur Ege Gurun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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The 65-year-old Zere Murat Beki (R) whose two sons were dead at the clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and armed groups in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), holds on life with her daughter-in-law Emine Mohammed Seho (L) and grandchildren 6-year-old Sirin (C) and 3-year-old Meshut (L2) at the refugee camp in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey on December 12,2014. (Photo by Binnur Ege Gurun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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An Islamic Front member is seen after they attack a building, being used as a headquarter by Assad regime forces, in Aleppo, Syria on December 14, 2014. (Photo by Mustafa Sultan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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An Islamic Front member is seen after they attack a building, being used as a headquarter by Assad regime forces, in Aleppo, Syria on December 14, 2014. (Photo by Mustafa Sultan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A building, being used as a headquarter by Assad regime forces, destroyed by Islamic Front members is seen in Aleppo, Syria on December 14, 2014. (Photo by Mustafa Sultan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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A fighter fires mortar shells from a rebel-held area towards Syrian pro-regime positions during the battle for control of the Handarat region, located just north of Aleppo, on December 15, 2014. ( KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:KARAM AL-MASRI via Getty Images)
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Fighters fire mortar shells from a rebel-held area towards Syrian pro-regime positions during the battle for control of the Handarat region, located just north of Aleppo, on December 15, 2014. (KARAM AL-MASRI/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:KARAM AL-MASRI via Getty Images)
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Smoke billows from a weapons depot allegedly belonging to rebel fighters during an operation by Syrian regime forces to take control of the Al-Maleh farms, west of the Handarat hill which is located just north of Aleppo, on December 15, 2014. (-/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:- via Getty Images)
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The body of an alleged rebel fighter lies on the ground during an operation by Syrian regime forces to take control of the Al-Maleh farms, west of the Handarat hill which is located just north of Aleppo, on December 15, 2014. ( -/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:- via Getty Images)
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SULAYMANIYAH, IRAQ - DECEMBER 15: Syrian Kurds, fled from the clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and armed groups in Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), roll their gasoline barrels in the mud at Arbat refugee camp in Suleymaniah, Iraq on December 15, 2014. Rain and winter worsens the living conditions of Syrian Kurdish refugees staying in the tents.\n (Photo by Idris Okuducu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Islamic Front members attack Assad regime forces in the northern of Aleppo, Syria on December 13, 2014. (Photo by Salih Mahmud Leyla/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Syrian Kurdish refugee children from the Kobani area speak after receiving food rations in front of living quarters separated by plastic sheets at a camp in Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A farmer works the land on a hill overlooking the Syrian city of Kobani, outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Syrian Kurdish refugee child from the Kobani area walks with a bicycle at a camp in Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Smoke rises from the Syrian city of Kobani, following an airstrike by the US led coalition, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Syrian Kurdish refugee child from the Kobani area stands next to tents on a cold morning at a camp in Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Armed people, believed to be Kurdish fighters walk between damaged buildings in the Syrian city of Kobani, seen from a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Soldiers walk at a Turkish military outpost overlooking the Syrian city of Kobani, on a hilltop outside Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A Kurdish man holds a flag during a religious service for two People\'s Protection Units (YPG) fighters killed in the Syrian town of Kobani, in Caykara, on the Turkey-Syria border Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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In this file photo dated Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, Syrian Kurdish refugee children from the Kobani area cover themselves in a blanket on a cold morning at a camp in Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, FILE) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A picture taken on Nov. 18, 2014 from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the Quneitra border crossing with Israel shows smoke billowing from buildings in Syrian territory, during reported fighting between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebel fighters. (Photo credit should read JALAA MAREY/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:JALAA MAREY via Getty Images)
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A man at Suruc district of Turkey\'s Sanliurfa watches the smoke, rising during the clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) members and armed groups in Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), through a binoculars on November 18, 2014. (Photo by Veli Gurgah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Smoke, rising from Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) town of northern Syria during clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and some armed groups near Syrian-Turkish border crossing, is seen from Suruc district of Turkey\'s Sanliurfa on November 18, 2014. (Photo by Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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