This video was shot by RTR war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny on October 18th and obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. Filmed over the district of Jobar, it is apparently the first to show the extent of the damage to the city of Damascus, the Syrian capital, from the air.

A rebel-controlled area, Jobar is in Damascus’ eastern suburbs. President Bashar Assad still holds Damascus proper. From the AP:

Syrian troops have been fighting rebels in the frontline district, which lies on the northeastern edge of Damascus and only few kilometers (miles) from the presidential palace, since 2013. Neither side has been able to make a breakthrough in the fighting, although state media has reported Syrian army advances in the last week as part of a major army offensive.

Artillery shells and airstrikes on Jobar shake Damascus on a daily basis.

The video shows an elaborate network of long trenches used by rebels in the conflict. It also shows gunmen running from building to building as they try to dodge artillery and aerial bombardment.

The violence in Syria has displaced an estimated 9 million people since March 2011: according to the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees, 6.5 million Syrians have been displaced internally within the country; 3 million have fled to neighboring countries, and around 150,000 have declared asylum in the European Union.

Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.