From Syria, an Atlas of a Country in Ruins

Recent satellite image analysis by Unitar-Unosat, an agency of the United Nations, reveals vast devastation in major cities across Syria from the civil war that started nearly four years ago. The four cities below are among those analyzed by the agency, which examined images taken before and during the conflict.

Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse – Getty Images

The predominantly Kurdish town of Kobani is devastated after months under siege by Islamist forces and airstrikes by a United States-led coalition.

Recent satellite image analysis by Unitar-Unosat, an agency of the United Nations, reveals vast devastation in major cities across Syria from the civil war that started nearly four years ago. The four cities below are among those analyzed by the agency, which examined images taken before and during the conflict.

Kobani

SYRIA

Damascus

100 miles

This small town on the border with Turkey was under siege for months as Islamic State fighters and Kurdish forces battled for control. Most of the residents fled to refugee camps in Turkey. The militants were finally pushed out in late January by Kurdish fighters with the help of American-led airstrikes.

BUILDING DAMAGE LEVEL

DestroyedSevereModerate

TURKEY

SYRIA

Location of

images below

Road to Damascus

about 280 miles

Euphrates R.

1 mile

BUILDING DAMAGE LEVEL

DestroyedSevereModerate

Euphrates R.

Deir al-Zour

SYRIA

1 mile

Satellite images by DigitalGlobe via Unitar-Unosat

Whole city blocks were devastated.

Sources: United Nations Institute for Training and Research; Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; Caerus Associates; news reports; OpenStreetMap.

Additional production and editing work by Josh Keller and David Furst.

The New York Times