Syria crisis This PowerPoint covers the crisis in Syria and is part of the News in Focus series produced by the Guardian Teacher Network. It can be used as a standalone resource in class to explain the Syrian crisis or with our handout. In this PowerPoint you will find seminal pictures on the crisis by photojournalists working in the region. You'll find captions and picture credits on each slide in the notes section of the PowerPoint. Notes to accompany each slide are also included (you will need to change the way you view the PowerPoint to include notes from your menu bar). Keywords: conflict resolution, revolution, Arab Spring, democracy, Bashar al-Assad, Middle East, politics, government, journalism, Homs, vote, dictator, Syrian, photo-journalism, Red Cross, photography 1

Horror in Homs A man runs carrying a toddler as children weep during fighting in the Syrian city of Homs on February 25, 2012. By the end of February 2012, 3,137 people had been killed by government forces in the city of Homs alone (in total 8,700 people have been killed across Syria). President Bashar al-Assad has blocked aid and help from reaching the people who need it. Image copyright: AFP/Getty Images 2

Image copyright: AFP/Getty Images Children always terribly suffer in conflict, as their parents and family members are killed and injured. This photograph has become one of the seminal images of the Syrian violence. A Syrian boy runs past damaged vehicles during fighting in the Bab Tudmor neighbourhood of the city of Homs. The picture was taken on February 25, 2012. Image copyright: AFP/Getty Images 3

Image copyright: REUTERS/Moulhem Al- Jundi/Handout A boy holds the remain of a mortar (a bomb) in this picture taken by anti-government Syrian National Council (SNC) member Moulhem Al-Jundi in Karm Al Zaytoon, a neighbourhood of Homs. Image copyright: REUTERS/Moulhem Al- Jundi/Handout 4

Image copyright: Guardian graphics Where is Syria? This graphic is how the country fits into the Middle East. Image copyright: Guardian graphics 5

Image copyright: Guardian graphics This map also includes major ethnic groups of the region – as you can see the majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslims but there are other important ethnic groups particularly the Alawites in the north west. Image copyright: Guardian graphics 6

Image copyright: REUTERS/Handout Demonstrators gather during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Homs on February 10, 2012. So where is the world? Well at the time of making this resource, all foreign journalists have either been killed or have fled/escaped from Syria. Foreign governments, including the UK, are considering military action – similar to that they carried out in Libya. But experts point out that Syria is not Libya. Many Syrians think bringing troops in would just make things worse, and unlike Libya, Syria has a very efficient army with loads of weapons. Syria's old allies Russia and China are distancing themselves from the Syrian regime – China called for an end to the violence on March 4 and Russian president Putin said he wouldn't back Syria if there was military action against it by the international community. Image copyright: REUTERS/Handout 7

Image copyright: AP Photo Anti-government protesters compare President Bashar al-Assad to Hitler for his treatment of the Syrian people. This photograph was taken on December 21, 2011 during a confident demonstration in the Baba Amr area of Homs. This was before things got really bad in Homs and the troops came in and opened fire. Image copyright: AP Photo 8

Image copyright: DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images French journalist Edith Bouvier smiles as she is carried into an ambulance after being brought home by plane France on March 2 2012. Edith Bouvier first escaped to Lebanon after being trapped for days under bombardment in the Syrian city of Homs. She was badly injured by a rocket attack on the media centre in the Baba Amr region of Homs – the same attack killed reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik. Image copyright: DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images 9

It's not only freedom fighters who are involved in the protests. Most protesters are ordinary people, including children. Many children have been caught up in the violence and have lost their lives. In this photo girl waves a Syrian opposition flag during a protest against Syrian President Bashar al Assad in Al Qusayr on February 27, 2012. Image copyright: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic 10

Image copyright: EPA/Sand handout The Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (right), with his wife Asma (left), photographed on 26 February 2012. In this picture al-Assad is casting his vote in Damascus, Syria - after the country held a referendum for about 15 million eligible voters. The opposition (the freedom fighters) announced a boycott of the referendum – held in 14,000 polling stations – as they said the vote would be meaningless. Bashar al-Assad's wife Asma was born in Britain. She worked in banking before she married the president. Image copyright: EPA/Sand handout 11

When Bashar al-Assad inherited power in Syria in 2000 he was seen by many as a fresh start, a youthful president who could turn Syria into a modern state. This photograph of Bashar al-Assad (right) with the then Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi (left) was taken in 2008. What a difference few years makes. Now Colonel Gaddafi is dead after revolution in Libya ended up in a military invasion of the country and the positive image of Bashar al-Assad has vanished in all but his most loyal supporters. 12

Image copyright: AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd Here people burn portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a demonstration against his regime in the outskirts of Idlib, northern Syria on February 26, 2012. Image copyright: AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd 13

Image copyright: STR/AFP/Getty Images) Not everyone in Syria is anti the government. Here is First Lady Asma al-Assad listening to a speech by her husband, President Bashar al-Assad, during a rare public appearance in Damascus on January 11, 2012. Bashar al-Assad insists people in his country still love him. He blames a foreign "conspiracy" against Syria and says that's the reason for the violence and demonstrations behind him. Image copyright: STR/AFP/Getty Images) 14

Image copyright: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic Women wait to buy bread in front of a bakery shop during winter in Al Qusayr, a city in western Syria about three miles southwest of Homs on March 1 2012. The conflict is even harming people who are not caught up in the violence, disrupting food supplies, education and medical care. Image copyright: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic 15

Image copyright: REUTERS/Afif Diab Some Syrians have managed to flee their homes to hopeful safety elsewhere. The photograph shows Syrian children refugees arrive in Qaa village, in northern Lebanon on March 4, 2012. Up to 2,000 refugees fleeing violence in Syria are crossing the border into northern Lebanon. They have had to run from their homes leaving everything behind. They don't even know if they will ever be able to return. Image copyright: REUTERS/Afif Diab 16

Image copyright (AP Photo) Civilians flee from fighting after Syrian army tanks enter the north-western city of Idlib, Syria, February 14, 2012. They hope to find safety elsewhere but have had to leave their lives and homes behind. On 6 March President Bashar al-Assad said he was determined to go on fighting what he called "foreign- backed terrorism": "The Syrian people, who have in the past managed to crush foreign plots… have again proven their ability to defend the nation and to build a new Syria through their determination to pursue reforms while confronting foreign-backed terrorism," Image copyright (AP Photo) 17