THE SYRIAN CONFLICT has continued for more than 21 months, escalating into almost-all-out civil war.

About 40,000, including many civilians, have been killed since the uprising against Bashar Assad’s current regime began.

Despite United Nations attempts at a diplomatic and political solution, ceasefires have been ignored and, as fighting continues, the humanitarian situation worsens. More than half a million refugees have been registered or are awaiting registration in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. Numbers are still climbing and the UN has said about 3,000 people per day are being displaced.

Strict rules imposed against journalists and photographers working in Syria has made reporting the events of the conflict difficult for the world’s media but in the last few months, more images of what the Syrian people’s new everyday existence entails have started to emerge.

TheJournal.ie has taken a look at a year which has seen young men taking up arms, bringing violence to the doorsteps of residents struggling to carry out normal activities such as buying food and washing clothes. Many others have left their homes, settling in to temporary refugee camps where children try to go to school and play. In the midst of the conflict, death and hurt, some rare smiles and moments of joy are captured by the world’s bravest photographers. Warning: Some of the images are quite graphic.