The severe earthquake in February 2023 has also brought northern Syria back into the international spotlight, a region that has long gone largely unnoticed. Yet a conflict has been smouldering here for years that could escalate at any time and have international repercussions: The terrorist organisation known as IS, which had its stronghold here and has been defeated militarily, could regain strength from here.

For 40 years, Ulrich Tilgner travelled throughout the Middle East as a reporter for German television. He revisits this region, devastated with the active support of Western powers.