Photo credit: Donatella Rovera / Amnesty International

War in Raqqa, Syria: Rhetoric versus Reality

Fri 18 October 2019

Queens' College

It has been 2 years since the US-led Coalition’s military campaign to oust the so-called “Islamic State” from Raqqa, Syria. This campaign was among the most destructive in modern warfare, leaving Raqqa the most destroyed city in modern times. The offensive, lasting from June to October 2017 (including aerial bombardments by UK forces) killed and injured thousands of residents and reduced their homes, businesses and infrastructure to rubble.

This panel features Amnesty and Cambridge researchers who investigated the devastation caused by the campaign. Amnesty's Senior Crisis Advisor, Donatella Rovera, Amnesty's Digital Verification Corps Manager, Sam Dubberly, and Cambridge Student Co-Lead of the Digital Verification Corps, Matt Mahmoudi, will discuss the investigation and the campaign in the context of current events in Syria. After the talk, there will be a drinks reception to launch Amnesty's art exhibition.

Amnesty International has been investigating the Raqqa military campaign for over 2 years (2018-19). Its investigators surveyed more than 200 strike sites; interviewed more than 400 witnesses and survivors.
Photographs, videos and 360-degree immersive experiences documented in Raqqa, combined with satellite imagery and maps, allow viewers to explore the stories of families who lived and died during the war in Raqqa. Throughout the exhibition, travel through the city to meet survivors, hear their stories and explore the ruins of their homes.
raqqa.amnesty.org

Cost: Free