Oded Balilty, Israel, The Associated Press
Settler struggles with Israeli security officer, Amona outpost, West Bank, 1 February
A Jewish settler resists Israeli riot police enforcing a Supreme Court order to demolish nine homes in an outpost of the Amona settlement, West Bank, on February 1. Residents joined by thousands of other protesters raised barbed wire barriers to protect the houses and clashed violently with police. Over 200 people were injured, including 80 policemen. Following hours of confrontation, the settlers were dragged away and bulldozers moved in to begin the demolition.
Spencer Platt, USA, Getty Images
Young Lebanese drive through devastated Beirut neighborhood, 15 August
Young Lebanese drive down a street in Haret Hreik, a bombed neighborhood in southern Beirut, Lebanon, on August 15. For nearly five weeks Israel had been targeting that part of the city and towns across southern Lebanon in a campaign against Hezbollah militants. As a ceasefire gradually came into force from August 14, thousands of Lebanese began to return to their homes. According to the Lebanese government, 15,000 homes and 900 commercial concerns were damaged.
Akintunde Akinleye, Nigeria, Reuters
Man at the scene of petrol pipeline explosion, Lagos, Nigeria, 26 December
A man rinses soot from his face at the scene of a petrol pipeline explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 26. At least 260 people were killed after a punctured pipeline caught fire. Thieves had tapped it to fill tankers with petrol for resale, and hundreds of people had gone to the scene to scoop up leaking fuel in plastic containers. Pipeline vandalism and fuel theft are common in Nigeria, the world’s eighth largest exporter of oil, where most people live in poverty.
