Syrians start from scratch in Raqqa

Much of Raqqa, once an "Islamic State" stronghold, now lies in ruins. What remains of the city are destroyed building shells of concrete and mangled steel. Local traffic uses hastily cleared paths and roads to avoid any hidden IED’s (improvised explosive device).

Families use various modes of transport to get around the city. These include bicycles, motorcycles or a home-made wheelie box shown in the image above.

A familiar sight on the region's roads and streets: Here three young girls, two adults and a child squeeze on to a small motorcycle. It’s the quickest way to get around town.

Small rowing boats ferry people and goods across the river. Local say the Raqqa bridge over the Euphrates river was destroyed by IS forces in a preemptive strike to slow down the Syrian Democratic Forces approaching the city.

Teams of manual workers sit on street corners. With people returning to the city eager to rebuild their homes, these workers are in high demand.

Coffee, soft drinks and energy drinks are in high demand among the laborers drafted in to rebuild homes and businesses. The owners of make-shift food and drinks carts are doing brisk business.

A typical view of a residential area in one of the city’s neighborhoods. A woman with her two children walks past a family that has recently returned home. The father has rebuilt the apartment’s outer walls but with no running water and electricity, many obstacles remain.

As the sun sets a family arrives where a block of flats once stood. Each collapsed floor rests on the one below. Rummaging through the rubble two men covered in dust manage to salvage a king-sized mattress. A few moments later the father finds his son’s school book.

Two boys walking down one of the city streets hold two used shells. IED’s still present a real threat and are a common cause of death and injury. IS fighters booby-trapped bodies, money, toys and rubbish among other things.