"The assassin is still at large," reads the first Charlie Hebdo cover of 2016 — nearly one year after two gunmen attacked the magazine's Paris office and killed nearly a dozen people.

The cover shows a depiction of a God-like figure, strapped with an assault rifle, blood covering his hands and beard. Charlie Hebdo artists and staffers published the 32-page edition declaring that the satirical publication is still alive. Rather than depicting the Prophet Muhammad — a subject of many controversial covers the magazine put out before and after the attacks — it's naming religion as the root of recent violence in France.

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The edition claims Islamic fundamentalists, organized religion, an irresolute government and intelligence failures are to blame for the attacks that rocked France in 2015.

Seventeen people died in a series of attacks that began on Jan. 7 at the Charlie Hebdo offices, a kosher supermarket and at a warehouse. They were among the first victims in France last year that ultimately left at least 147 people dead and hundreds of others injured.

Laurent Sourisseau, the newspaper's director who also goes by the name Riss, drew the cover and wrote an editorial describing the horror he survived. Riss was seriously wounded in the attack. He described the newsroom's silence moments after the two gunmen opened fire, saying that was how he knew his colleagues were dead.

But Riss said the newspaper would remain alive because "never have we wanted so much to break the faces of those who dreamed of our deaths."

His piece also denounces “fanatics brutalized by the Koran” and other religions that criticized Charlie Hebdo and its contributors for "daring to laugh at the religious."

Religion has long been a target of the satirical paper's controversial commentary, and Muslim groups have criticized it in the past for depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Despite the initial outpouring of support for the publication that saw millions in funding pour in, some of the remaining staff feel forgotten.

“We feel terribly alone. We hoped that others would do satire too,” financial director Eric Portheault, who survived the attack, told The Guardian. "No one wants to join us in this fight because it’s dangerous. You can die doing it."

This week, commemorative plaques will be unveiled at Charlie Hebdo's former office and the kosher supermarket to honor the victims of the attacks.

A public memorial ceremony will take place in Paris' Place de la Republique on Jan. 10. French President Francois Hollande will attend.

Additional information from the Associated Press.

