Morukc Umnaber

For his series, “Battle of Raqqa,” Istanbul, Turkey-based photographer Morukc Umnaber found himself in Syria where he was embedded with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) while they carried out their campaign to liberate the ISIS capital, Raqqa. Umnaber spent 10 months with the SDF. Gaining access to Syria is a complicated and often dangerous task, Umnaber explains, but he’d taken trips to the country before and he trusted the militia he was documenting. “At times we were walking ten hours straight, navigating mines and explosives dropped on SDF fighters on the frontlines, and sometimes we were in hiding,” he recalls.

Today, 300,000 civilians are displaced from Raqqa, and Umnaber's hope is that his work will have a tangible impact. “I’m very happy if I see that the work helps someone or spreads the word,” he says. “It’s good motivation to keep working," especially given a difficult cultural climate. In Turkey, the profession is becoming increasingly risky and, under certain conditions, journalism is considered a crime. In mid-February, six journalists and media employees were sentenced to life in prison by a Turkish court, and according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, more journalists are currently being jailed in Turkey than any other nation worldwide. Says Umnaber, “Any kind of solidarity and support [from the outside world] is incredible right now.”

—Lindsay Comstock

Photos © Morukc Umnaber morukcumnaber.com