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Intense Battle Scenes From Damascus

Jan 31, 2013 |

Reuters photographer Goran Tomasevic returned to Syria earlier this month, where he has been traveling the war-torn streets of Damascus with the Free Syrian Army. His past 24 hours were especially harrowing, as he accompanied an FSA group on an attack mission. Tomasevic captured the scene as one rebel was shot and killed in front of him by a government sniper. Just an hour later, he managed to keep taking photos as a tank shell slammed into a wall just above him and a group of fighters, sending chunks of plaster and concrete onto their heads. These images bring home with power and immediacy the frightening reality of Syria's urban warfare -- this all happened just yesterday -- but they offer just a few glimpses of this long, bloody uprising. [21 photos]

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A Free Syrian Army fighter photographs inside a mosque damaged by shells fired by Syrian Army in the Haresta neighborhood of Damascus, on January 29, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Men stand in the Haresta neighborhood of Damascus, on January 29, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters take position just before they were hit by Syrian Army sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

An FSA fighter looks at his comrade (right) as he is shot by sniper fire, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

The FSA fighter on the left is shot by sniper fire, as his comrade lies on him, wounded moments before, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters lie on the ground after being shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighborhood, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters pull a wounded comrade to safety, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

A badly wounded FSA member drops his weapon as he is dragged by fellow fighters, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters pull a comrade who was just shot by sniper fire during heavy fighting, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters do what they can to help a badly-wounded comrade in the Ain Tarma neighborhood, on January 30, 2013. The fighter died of his wound soon after. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters walk to attack a Syrian Army checkpoint in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters on their way to a Syrian Army checkpoint, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

An FSA fighter fires a rocket propelled grenade during heavy fighting in Ain Tarma, in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters run for cover as a tank shell explodes on a wall in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters run from a cloud of debris after a tank shell exploded on a wall above them, in Ain Tarma, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

An injured FSA fighter holds his head soon after a tank shell exploded on a wall in Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

An FSA fighter runs for cover in front of a burning barricade, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

An FSA fighter shouts "Allahu Akhbar" (God is Great) during fighting in Ain Tarma, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

FSA fighters stand along a wall in the Ain Tarma neighborhood, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #

A wounded FSA fighter cries after hearing that his friend died in a mission in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus, on January 30, 2013. (Reuters/Goran Tomasevic) #