°®Âþµº

While 2021 began with a sense of guarded optimism, with a , a transfer of power between and news of the increased rollout of , the year slowly unravelled to prove to be another difficultÌýand violent 12 months for the MENA region.

With photographers often on the scene toÌýcapture the tensions, crises and violenceÌýofÌýa tumultuous year, °®Âþµº has put together the most striking images of the region's key moments in 2021.

1. Gulf reconciliation

A bitter political rift in the Gulf region, which led to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposing an air, land and sea blockade against Qatar for three and a half years, .

Saudi Arabia and its allies signed a declaration to restore full diplomatic ties with Qatar and end the blockade followingÌýKuwait-led negotiations, with White House adviser Jared Kushner helping broker the deal.

Gulf leaders met in the Saudi city of al-Ula, posing for a photograph to markÌýthe end of the rift.

2.ÌýUS capitol riots

Violence in the Ìýmarked an end to after Joe Biden's election win.

The unprecedented scenesÌýof chaos showing mobs forcing their way in to damage and loot the Capitol building quickly spread across the world.ÌýVideos ofÌýÌýof the event quickly circulated online, with some gleefully mirroringÌýthe tone of Western media when covering events in the Middle East.Ìý

Several Middle Eastern leaders voiced concern over the clashes, with Turkey's foreign ministry issuing a statement advising the US to deal with matter calmly, using law and democracy.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani highlighted thatÌýthe events in the USÌýshowed "what a failure Western democracy is" and how Trump, as a "populist man", has "damaged the reputation of his country".

3. Egypt's Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship

A giant container ship the length of four football pitchesÌýwedged itselfÌýacross Egypt's Suez Canal, blocking one of the world's busiest trade routes. Dozens of vessels were subsequently stuck at the entrance of the canal as theyÌýwaitedÌýfor rescue boats to free the 400m-long (1,312ft) ship, which had first beenÌýknocked off course by strong winds.

The Ever Given, registered in Panama and operated by the shipping company Evergreen, had left China and was bound for the port city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands as it entered the Suez canal to pass northwards into the Mediterranean.

The blockage marked the latest blow in an already strained global-supply chain andÌýsent oil prices climbing on international markets.

4.ÌýSheikh Jarrah protests

The Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah became aÌýscene of frequent violence and crackdowns by Israeli police against Palestinians protesting the threatened expulsion of dozens of families from their homes in favour of hardline Israeli settler groups.

Much of the protests turned violent, with Israeli forces using stun grenades and sprayingÌýskunk water on Palestinian protesters, injuring and arresting dozens.

Among those arrested were renowned , who had been at the forefront of a campaign to stop the expulsion of Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood.Ìý

"No matter what they do to terrorise and frighten us, no number of arrests will scare us off,"ÌýMuna told reporters after her release in June.

5. Israeli war on Gaza Strip

In May 2021, the besieged Gaza Strip saw renewed bloodshed and destruction as Israel launched a devastatingÌý11-day military offensiveÌýon the impoverished enclave.

It was the fourth major offensive launched by Israel on the Palestinian territory in 14 years, compounding the already dire living conditions and the high rates of poverty and unemployment in Gaza which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since 2007.

The assault in May killed at least 260 people, including 39 women and 67 children, and wounded more than 1,900. The bombardment also destroyed 1,800 residential units, including thewhich housed Palestinian and international media outlets.ÌýÌýIsraeli air strikes also partially destroyed at least 14,300 other units.

6.ÌýTaliban takeover Afghanistan

A Taliban offensive in May 2021 took Afghanistan by surprise, bringing down the government based in Kabul and marking an end to the nearly 20-year-old war in Afghanistan, which begun with the US invasion of the country.

Some of the most striking images to emerge from the country during the Taliban takeoverÌýincluded a photograph from inside a US evacuation flight, which showed Afghans crammed aboard andÌýillustrated the desperation felt as the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan.

Another shocking scene to emerged amid the chaotic takeover includedÌýa video of two stowaways plummeting to their death from a US airborne plane leaving Kabul airport and Taliban militants taking over a glitzy Kabul mansion of former vice-presidentÌýAbdul Rashid Dostum.

7.ÌýBeirut gripped by deadly street violence

At least six people died in Beirut’s worst street violence in 13 years, as hundreds of armed militia men took to the streets and much of the city was forced into lockdown by heavy fighting. The bloody violence took on a sectarian tone that invoked images of the Lebanese civil war and alarmed residents who had long feared that the multiple crises ravaging the country could spark a deadly conflagration.

The trigger for the clashes in neighbourhoods near the law courts, which left dozens more injured, was a protest by members of Amal and Hezbollah, two predominantly Shia political parties, against a judicial probe into theÌýmassive blast in the city’s portÌýlast year.

8. Sudanese protest coup

On 25 October, theÌýSudanese military led by GeneralÌýAbdel Fattah al-BurhanÌýtook control of theÌýgovernmentÌýin aÌýmilitary coup.

CivilianÌýPrime MinisterÌýAbdalla HamdokÌýrefused to declare support for the coup and on 25 October called for popular resistance. The country's Sovereignty CouncilÌýwas dissolved, a state of emergency was put in place and a majority ofÌýthe Hamdok cabinetÌýand a number of pro-government supporters were arrested.ÌýAs of 5ÌýNovember, the list of those detained included government ministers, members of political parties, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders and protest leaders.

Key civilian groups including theÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýÌýcalled forÌýcivil disobedienceÌýand refusal to cooperate with the coup organisers.ÌýProtests started on 25ÌýOctober against the coup and have since become a weekly occurrence amid internet outrage and police crackdown.

9. Poland-BelarusÌýmigrant crisisÌý

In November, thousands of mainly Middle Eastern migrants camp out in freezing temperatures onÌýBelarus' border with Poland seeking to cross into the EU. The West accuses Minsk of engineering the influx in response to sanctions imposed after the brutal repression in 2020 of a protest movement against "Europe's last dictator",ÌýBelarusÌýPresident Alexander Lukashenko.Ìý

BelarusÌýand Russia deny stoking the crisis, and lash the EU for not taking the people in.

At least a dozen migrants die on both sides of the border, according to aid organisations.

10. Covid not going away

More than five million people die from the virus despite eight and a half billion vaccine shots being given, with poor countries still struggling to get their hands on doses. The world saw a resurgence of the pandemic late in the year, as the highly infectious Omicron strain spreads at an unprecedented rate.Ìý

With initial vaccine immunity wearing off, Middle Eastern nations try to counter the virus with booster shots and a return to restrictions.