The BBC has been reporting developments from across Syria today to try to get a snapshot of life in the country, which has been devastated by six years of war.
The day has seen fighting in many different areas, including a reported chemical attack during air strikes by the Syrian government in Hama province, denied by the Syrian military.
Civilian deaths have also been reported in air strikes near the IS stronghold of Raqqa, where the US-led coalition has been targeting the so-called Islamic State - the coalition has not yet commented on the reports.
The UN's refugee agency meanwhile says that more than five million Syrian refugees have now been registered in the Middle East alone, with hundreds of thousands more in Europe.
But fighting has also been replaced by negotiation in some places. The evacuation of fighters from a besieged area near the city of Homs is reportedly set to continue.
And above all there are stories of hope and resilience. We heard the story of Bara'aa - one of the most traumatised children our correspondent Lyse Doucet had met in Syria. She is now thriving at school and trying to put the memories behind her.
Many millions of Syrians will be trying to do the same in years to come.
Lyse DoucetCopyright: Lyse Doucet
Syrian schoolchildren in Homs, joyful at being back in school
Image caption:
Syrian schoolchildren in Homs, joyful at being back in school
'Food is rare and overpriced'
BBCCopyright: BBC
Saddam
Oday lives in the rebel-held district of Teshrin, in northern Damascus. As in many other areas of Syria, he complains that food is rare and, when available, overpriced.
He told the BBC:
Quote Message:
There are no jobs in the liberated areas, so I opened a small restaurant to make a living. Unfortunately the regime is targeting us no matter what we do.
There are no jobs in the liberated areas, so I opened a small restaurant to make a living. Unfortunately the regime is targeting us no matter what we do.
Quote Message:
Missiles launched by the regime destroyed my restaurant and the neighboring shops here. It was all destroyed including the cooking equipment.
Missiles launched by the regime destroyed my restaurant and the neighboring shops here. It was all destroyed including the cooking equipment.
Quote Message:
This district used to contain the main public market, it is all destroyed now and turned into rubble."
This district used to contain the main public market, it is all destroyed now and turned into rubble."
He says a loaf of bread, when found, can cost up to $4 (£3.20), while sugar costs $3.
Quote Message:
We can hardly ever find vegetables and goods, basic nutrition elements like bread sugar, oil and cane-stuff food are rare and very expensive."
We can hardly ever find vegetables and goods, basic nutrition elements like bread sugar, oil and cane-stuff food are rare and very expensive."
Syria's Step News Agency is reporting that an initial deal has been reached to begin the third phase of
the ongoing evacuation of fighters from al-Wair, a besieged area on the outskirts of Homs, on Saturday.
Those being transferred
out will be going to Idlib province after an agreement was reached
between the local committee and the Syrian government.
Previously, rebel fighters and their families being evacuated
from the town were being transferred to Jarablus in Aleppo province.
One girl's struggle to forget the horrors of Homs
Three years ago, our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet met the young Bara'aa, from Homs. A mortar had hit her kitchen, killing her brother and decapitating her mother. She was eight.
They have now met again. Bara'aa is at school, trying to forget the horrors she witnessed.
A local NGO, Banyan, has been teaching first aid and evacuation techniques to young Syrians in the southern city of Daraa.
Trainer Firas Tarbush said:
Quote Message:
We are training the young men in first aid and evacuation during bombings. And ways to protect people, paramedics and injured.
We are training the young men in first aid and evacuation during bombings. And ways to protect people, paramedics and injured.
Quote Message:
How to evacuate the injured from the battle field, the bombing area or the targeted area. Also evacuating women, children and injured entirely. This is the main target of our training."
How to evacuate the injured from the battle field, the bombing area or the targeted area. Also evacuating women, children and injured entirely. This is the main target of our training."
Syria's Smart News Agency has been filming inside the north-western city of Idlib, which has been under rebel control for two years.
The city has since received thousands of displaced people and is also a destination for some fighters who are evacuated from areas besieged by government forces under local ceasefire deals.
The Smart footage shows daily life in the city and hears from residents (in Arabic), some of whom say the influx of people means business is brisk.
BBCCopyright: BBC
More civilian deaths reported in air strikes near Raqqa
The anti-IS activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) says more civilians have been killed in air strikes near the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
They include the driver of a bulldozer who was attempting to clear a road that had been blocked after a flood caused by the opening of a gate on the Taqba dam. Red Crescent specialists had opened the gate to relieve pressure on the Euphrates River dam.
RBSS attributes the air strikes to the US-led coalition, which has been carrying out bombing raids in the area. The coalition has not commented.
Syrian girl guide: Girls should feel they're in charge of their lives
What is it like to grow up as a girl in a war-torn country? Zain Quaiter, 22, has written a letter about her experience of growing up in Syria.
She said: "Girls all around the world should feel what it's like to be strong, to stand up for your rights and beliefs and to be in charge of their lives."
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl ScoutsCopyright: World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl ScoutsCopyright: World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
IS radio airs claims of imminent victory
BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe
Al-Bayan radio station, which belongs to so-called Islamic State (IS), has been attempting to boost listeners' morale in its afternoon programming.
It has mixed upbeat "nasheed" (vocal songs) propaganda chants with claims that its fighters have the upper hand in battles in Syria and Iraq, where it faces being defeated in its strongholds of Mosul and Raqqa.
The station has also been exhorting listeners to join its fighters.
Al-Bayan has been broadcasting in Raqqa and Mosul since 2014.
Syrian rebels have seized large
areas from so-called Islamic State (IS) in southern Syria over the last two weeks
as the jihadist group prepares to defend its Raqqa stronghold in
the north, rebel commanders have told Reuters news agency.
The advances by Western-backed Free Syrian Army are designed to prevent IS militants regrouping in desert areas near Damascus and the Jordanian border if they are defeated in Iraq and Raqqa.
The FSA rebels have been given aid through Jordan in a programme overseen by the CIA, Reuters said.
Their gains follow months of covert
operations to cut IS communications lines along the border with Iraq.
Talas al Salameh, the commander of the Osoud al Sharqiya, the biggest of the FSA groups in the area, told Reuters:
Quote Message:
IS had cut roads and were in control and had been positioned in former Syrian army bases with a strong presence and with heavy armour. We cut links between their areas and as a result they began to retreat.
IS had cut roads and were in control and had been positioned in former Syrian army bases with a strong presence and with heavy armour. We cut links between their areas and as a result they began to retreat.
Quote Message:
In the event of the fall of Raqqa and Mosul, where would they go? They would be coming here. So we decided to work and kick them out of this area before they would come to us."
In the event of the fall of Raqqa and Mosul, where would they go? They would be coming here. So we decided to work and kick them out of this area before they would come to us."
Mr Salameh said at least 117 of his fighters had been killed in the fighting.
UN: Aid delivered to 6,000 in Damascus suburb
Aid has been delivered to thousands of refugees in Khan al-Shih, a suburb of Damascus, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The UN estimated that 13 million people were in need of assistance in Syria, with $3.4bn (£2.7bn) requested to provide them help. But less than 11% of that money had been raised.
There are reports that Syrian government aircraft have carried out a gas attack on a rebel-held area north of the city of Hama.
Opposition sources quoted medical staff as saying that air strikes in the area of the town of Latamina had left people choking, foaming at the mouth and with irritation of the eyes.
The Syrian military has denied launching any gas attack, and described the reports as rebel propaganda.
The Smart News Agency has been speaking to a doctor who says he treated those hurt before transferring the most severe cases to other hospitals.
Quote Message:
There are dozens of injuries, we have treated 30 to 40 injured.
There are dozens of injuries, we have treated 30 to 40 injured.
Quote Message:
The type of gas used, and from my personal experience as well as the symptoms that showed on the patients from suffocation, foam, pinpoint pupils, it is phosphorous.
The type of gas used, and from my personal experience as well as the symptoms that showed on the patients from suffocation, foam, pinpoint pupils, it is phosphorous.
Quote Message:
Today most of the patients were civilians in neighboring areas, they were farmers. A few days ago we had around 15 who were women and children.
Today most of the patients were civilians in neighboring areas, they were farmers. A few days ago we had around 15 who were women and children.
Quote Message:
We performed first aid and giving oxygen as well as Atropine. Some sever cases were treated, the patients were showing sever symptoms in reaction to these chemicals."
We performed first aid and giving oxygen as well as Atropine. Some sever cases were treated, the patients were showing sever symptoms in reaction to these chemicals."
Video 'shows Russian aircraft attacking Syrian town'
This video appears to show a Russian Su-34 aircraft bombing the town of Badama in northern Syria next to the Turkish border.
It has been uploaded by the independent Qasioun News Agency.
Russian jets have struck several rebel positions in that area amid rumors of an impeding rebel offensive against pro-government forces in the Latakia region, reports say.
The BBC's Riam Dalati says a claim by the Iraqi Shia al-Nujaba group to have defeated Islamic State (IS) in the town of Qamhana is misleading because IS was never present in that area.
The al-Nujaba group refers to all rebel groups opposing the Syrian government as "Daesh", a derogatory name for IS, our producer says.
The jihadist and rebel coalition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had attacked the town and seized some of its outskirts but most of the town has remained under government control, he says.
Millions forced from their homes
The UN refugee agency says 5,018,168 Syrian refugees have been officially registered in Middle East countries since the outbreak of the Syrian war.
But this does not fully reflect the numbers of those forced out of their homes. There are more Syrians elsewhere in the world - including more than 800,000 who have claimed asylum in Europe - and many more have been displaced inside the country, as this graphic suggests:
BBCCopyright: BBC
UN: Past months among worst for civilians
UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Stephen O'Brien says as many as 400,000 people are trapped in Eastern Ghouta.
As the BBC devotes a special day to cover the conflict, Mr O'Brien says the past few months in Syria have been "some of the worst for civilians".
Our UN correspondent Nick Bryant says he does not look forward to UN briefings on Syria because their details are frequently grim.
Live Reporting
Tom Spender and Paulin Kola
All times stated are UK
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Syrian schoolchildren in Homs, joyful at being back in school
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Latest PostWhen will the conflict end?
The BBC has been reporting developments from across Syria today to try to get a snapshot of life in the country, which has been devastated by six years of war.
The day has seen fighting in many different areas, including a reported chemical attack during air strikes by the Syrian government in Hama province, denied by the Syrian military.
Civilian deaths have also been reported in air strikes near the IS stronghold of Raqqa, where the US-led coalition has been targeting the so-called Islamic State - the coalition has not yet commented on the reports.
The UN's refugee agency meanwhile says that more than five million Syrian refugees have now been registered in the Middle East alone, with hundreds of thousands more in Europe.
But fighting has also been replaced by negotiation in some places. The evacuation of fighters from a besieged area near the city of Homs is reportedly set to continue.
And above all there are stories of hope and resilience. We heard the story of Bara'aa - one of the most traumatised children our correspondent Lyse Doucet had met in Syria. She is now thriving at school and trying to put the memories behind her.
Many millions of Syrians will be trying to do the same in years to come.
'Food is rare and overpriced'
Saddam Oday lives in the rebel-held district of Teshrin, in northern Damascus. As in many other areas of Syria, he complains that food is rare and, when available, overpriced.
He told the BBC:
He says a loaf of bread, when found, can cost up to $4 (£3.20), while sugar costs $3.
Sun setting over Homs
BBC Chief International Correspondent tweets...
Report: Third phase of al-Wair evacuation to begin Saturday
Syria's Step News Agency is reporting that an initial deal has been reached to begin the third phase of the ongoing evacuation of fighters from al-Wair, a besieged area on the outskirts of Homs, on Saturday.
Those being transferred out will be going to Idlib province after an agreement was reached between the local committee and the Syrian government.
Previously, rebel fighters and their families being evacuated from the town were being transferred to Jarablus in Aleppo province.
One girl's struggle to forget the horrors of Homs
Three years ago, our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet met the young Bara'aa, from Homs. A mortar had hit her kitchen, killing her brother and decapitating her mother. She was eight.
They have now met again. Bara'aa is at school, trying to forget the horrors she witnessed.
Click on this Twitter Moment for more:
Deraa activists teach first aid to young Syrians
A local NGO, Banyan, has been teaching first aid and evacuation techniques to young Syrians in the southern city of Daraa.
Trainer Firas Tarbush said:
Inside rebel-held Idlib
Syria's Smart News Agency has been filming inside the north-western city of Idlib, which has been under rebel control for two years.
The city has since received thousands of displaced people and is also a destination for some fighters who are evacuated from areas besieged by government forces under local ceasefire deals.
The Smart footage shows daily life in the city and hears from residents (in Arabic), some of whom say the influx of people means business is brisk.
More civilian deaths reported in air strikes near Raqqa
The anti-IS activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) says more civilians have been killed in air strikes near the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
They include the driver of a bulldozer who was attempting to clear a road that had been blocked after a flood caused by the opening of a gate on the Taqba dam. Red Crescent specialists had opened the gate to relieve pressure on the Euphrates River dam.
RBSS attributes the air strikes to the US-led coalition, which has been carrying out bombing raids in the area. The coalition has not commented.
Syrian girl guide: Girls should feel they're in charge of their lives
What is it like to grow up as a girl in a war-torn country? Zain Quaiter, 22, has written a letter about her experience of growing up in Syria.
She said: "Girls all around the world should feel what it's like to be strong, to stand up for your rights and beliefs and to be in charge of their lives."
IS radio airs claims of imminent victory
BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe
Al-Bayan radio station, which belongs to so-called Islamic State (IS), has been attempting to boost listeners' morale in its afternoon programming.
It has mixed upbeat "nasheed" (vocal songs) propaganda chants with claims that its fighters have the upper hand in battles in Syria and Iraq, where it faces being defeated in its strongholds of Mosul and Raqqa.
The station has also been exhorting listeners to join its fighters.
Al-Bayan has been broadcasting in Raqqa and Mosul since 2014.
Late afternoon sun in Homs
BBC Chief International Correspondent tweets...
FSA 'pushes IS out of Iraq border areas'
Syrian rebels have seized large areas from so-called Islamic State (IS) in southern Syria over the last two weeks as the jihadist group prepares to defend its Raqqa stronghold in the north, rebel commanders have told Reuters news agency.
The advances by Western-backed Free Syrian Army are designed to prevent IS militants regrouping in desert areas near Damascus and the Jordanian border if they are defeated in Iraq and Raqqa.
The FSA rebels have been given aid through Jordan in a programme overseen by the CIA, Reuters said.
Their gains follow months of covert operations to cut IS communications lines along the border with Iraq.
Talas al Salameh, the commander of the Osoud al Sharqiya, the biggest of the FSA groups in the area, told Reuters:
Mr Salameh said at least 117 of his fighters had been killed in the fighting.
UN: Aid delivered to 6,000 in Damascus suburb
Aid has been delivered to thousands of refugees in Khan al-Shih, a suburb of Damascus, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The UN estimated that 13 million people were in need of assistance in Syria, with $3.4bn (£2.7bn) requested to provide them help. But less than 11% of that money had been raised.
Doctor in Hama: It was a phosphorous gas attack
There are reports that Syrian government aircraft have carried out a gas attack on a rebel-held area north of the city of Hama.
Opposition sources quoted medical staff as saying that air strikes in the area of the town of Latamina had left people choking, foaming at the mouth and with irritation of the eyes.
The Syrian military has denied launching any gas attack, and described the reports as rebel propaganda.
The Smart News Agency has been speaking to a doctor who says he treated those hurt before transferring the most severe cases to other hospitals.
Video 'shows Russian aircraft attacking Syrian town'
This video appears to show a Russian Su-34 aircraft bombing the town of Badama in northern Syria next to the Turkish border.
It has been uploaded by the independent Qasioun News Agency.
Russian jets have struck several rebel positions in that area amid rumors of an impeding rebel offensive against pro-government forces in the Latakia region, reports say.
Brisk trade at Damascus fruit and veg market
Pro-government source Dimashq.Now has published a picture of a fruit and vegetable market on Baghdad Street in the capital, Damascus.
Today's prices per kilo are:
Strawberries $3 (£2.40) Potatoes $1.8 Beans $2 Sweet Pepper $3 Carrots $0.58 Zucchini $1.4 Cucumber $1.4 Oranges $0.8 Eggplant $1.87 Green Almonds $4.2 Sweida Apples $1 Lemons $1
Homs bells ring out
BBC Chief International Correspondent tweets...
Before the conflict started, about 10% of Homs's 1.5m population were Christians, many of whom lived in the old city.
Read more about Homs here
Qamhana 'never under IS control'
The BBC's Riam Dalati says a claim by the Iraqi Shia al-Nujaba group to have defeated Islamic State (IS) in the town of Qamhana is misleading because IS was never present in that area.
The al-Nujaba group refers to all rebel groups opposing the Syrian government as "Daesh", a derogatory name for IS, our producer says.
The jihadist and rebel coalition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had attacked the town and seized some of its outskirts but most of the town has remained under government control, he says.
Millions forced from their homes
The UN refugee agency says 5,018,168 Syrian refugees have been officially registered in Middle East countries since the outbreak of the Syrian war.
But this does not fully reflect the numbers of those forced out of their homes. There are more Syrians elsewhere in the world - including more than 800,000 who have claimed asylum in Europe - and many more have been displaced inside the country, as this graphic suggests:
UN: Past months among worst for civilians
UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Stephen O'Brien says as many as 400,000 people are trapped in Eastern Ghouta.
As the BBC devotes a special day to cover the conflict, Mr O'Brien says the past few months in Syria have been "some of the worst for civilians".
Our UN correspondent Nick Bryant says he does not look forward to UN briefings on Syria because their details are frequently grim.