Syrian civil war - Wikipedia Syrian civil war This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. The readable prose size is 137 kilobytes. Please consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding or removing subheadings. ( April 2017 ) Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Spring, the Arab Winter, the spillover of the Iraq conflict and the Iran -- Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Military situation in May 2018 : Syrian Arab Republic Syrian opposition Democratic Federation of Northern Syria Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Tahrir al - Sham ( For a full list of combatants see order of battle ) ( For a more detailed, up - to - date, interactive map, see Template : Syrian Civil War detailed map ) Date 15 March 2011 ( 2011 - 03 - 15 ) -- present ( 7 years, 2 months, 2 weeks and 1 day ) Location Syria ( with spillovers in neighboring countries ) Status Ongoing Territorial changes As of 4 May 2018 : the Government held 60.2 % of Syrian territories ; ( SDF ) - held territory constituted 26.7 % ; 10.1 % was controlled by rebel groups ( including HTS ) and Turkey ; 3 % was held by ISIL Main belligerents Syrian Arab Republic Allied armed groups Hezbollah Iran Russia ( from 2015 ) Support : Iraq Syrian Opposition Free Syrian Army Turkey ( from 2016 ) Allied armed groups Support : United States ( 2011 -- 17 ) Saudi Arabia Qatar Ahrar al - Sham Islamic Front / SIF ( 2012 -- 15 ) Jaysh al - Islam Support : Turkey Saudi Arabia Qatar Tahrir al - Sham Al - Nusra Front ( 2012 -- 17 ) Guardians of Religion Organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( from 2013 ) Support : Al - Qaeda ( 2013 -- 14 ) Democratic Federation of Northern Syria ( SDF ) ( from 2012 ) YPG / YPJ Other armed groups Support : United States ( from 2014 ) Russia ( 2015 -- 18 ) France ( from 2016 ) PKK PUK ( from 2013 ) KDP ( 2013 -- 15 ) CJTF -- OIR ( from 2014 ) Current participants : Australia France Germany Jordan Netherlands Norway United Kingdom United States Withdrew in 2017 : Belgium Withdrew in 2016 : Bahrain Denmark Morocco Qatar Saudi Arabia UAE Withdrew in 2015 : Canada Commanders and leaders Bashar al - Assad ( President of Syria ) Ali Abdullah Ayyoub ( Minister of Defense ) Issam Hallaq ( Chief of Staff of the Air Force ) Suheil al - Hassan ( Commander of Tiger Forces ) Ali Mamlouk ( Director of the National Security Bureau ) Rafiq Shahadah ( Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate ) Ali Khamenei ( Supreme Leader of Iran ) Qasem Soleimani ( Commander of Quds Force ) Vladimir Putin ( President of Russia ) Killed in action : Issam Zahreddine ( Major General of the Republican Guard ) Assef Shawkat ( Deputy Minister of Defense ) Dawoud Rajiha ( Minister of Defense ) Rustum Ghazaleh ( Head of Syrian National Intelligence ) Hilal al - Assad Hossein Hamadani ( IRGC Major General ) Hassan Shateri ( Senior Commander of IRGC ) Samir Kuntar ( Senior Commander of Hezbollah ) Mustafa Badreddine ( Military Leader of Hezbollah ) Mohamad Issa ( Hezbollah Chief of Operations in Syria ) Jihad Mughniyah ( Hezbollah Head of Security ) Ali Reza Tavassoli ( Leader of Liwa Fatemiyoun ) Lt. Gen Valery Asapov Bashar al - Zoubi ( Commander of the Southern Front ) Jamal Maarouf ( SRF commander, 2012 -- 14 ) Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı ( Operations chief commander, 2016 -- 17 ) Lt. Gen. İsmail Metin Temel ( Operations chief commander, 2017 -- 18 ) Killed in action : Abdul Qader Saleh ( Founder of al - Tawhid Brigade ) Abu Yahia al - Hamawi ( Leader of Ahrar al - Sham ) Ahmed Issa al - Sheikh ( Leader of the Islamic Front, 2012 -- 15 ) Killed in action : Hassan Aboud ( Leader of Ahrar al - Sham ) Abu Khalid al - Suri ( senior al - Qaeda Commander, founding member of Ahrar al - Sham ) Zahran Alloush ( Islamic Front Military Chief ) Abu Mohammad al - Julani ( Tahrir al - Sham commander ) Abu Jaber Shaykh ( Tahrir al - Sham Shura council head ) Abu Humam al - Shami ( Guardians of Religion Organization commander, former al - Nusra Front military chief ) Killed in action : Abu Firas al - Suri ( Spokesperson of al - Nusra Front ) Abu Hajer al - Homsi ( al - Nusra Front military chief ) Muhsin al - Fadhli ( Leader of Khorasan ) Abu Bakr al - Baghdadi ( Leader of ISIL ) Abu Fatima al - Jaheishi ( Deputy Leader ) Abu Muhammad al - Maqdisi ( Leader of the Khalid ibn al - Walid Army, since 2016 ) Killed in action : Haji Bakr ( Former Deputy leader of ISIL and Head of Military Council ) Abu Ayman al - Iraqi ( Former Head of Military Council ) Abu Ali al - Anbari ( Deputy, Syria ) Abu Omar al - Shishani ( War Minister ) Abu Umar al - Tunisi ( Senior Leader ) Abu Sayyaf ( Oil Minister ) Abu Muslim al - Turkmani ( Deputy Leader ) Abu Abdulrahman al - Bilawi ( Head of Military Council ) Gulmurod Khalimov ( Minister of War ) Muhammad al - Baridi ( Founder of Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade ) Riad Darar ( Co-chairperson of the MSD ) Îlham Ehmed ( Co-chairperson of the MSD ) Salih Muhammad ( Co-President of the PYD ) Asya Abdullah ( Co-President of the PYD ) Sipan Hemo ( Commander of the YPG ) Stephen J. Townsend ( Commander of CJTF - OIR ) Strength Syrian Armed Forces : 180,000 General Security Directorate : 8,000 National Defense Force : 80,000 Ba'ath Brigades : 7,000 Hezbollah : 6,000 -- 8,000 Liwa Al - Quds : 4,000 - 8,000 Russia : 4,000 troops and 1,000 contractors Iran : 3,000 -- 5,000 Other allied groups : 20,000 + FSA : 40,000 -- 50,000 ( 2013 ) Islamic Front : 40,000 -- 70,000 ( 2014 ) Other groups : 12,500 ( 2015 ) Turkish Armed Forces : 4,000 -- 8,000 Ahrar al - Sham : 18,000 -- 20,000 + ( March 2017 ) Tahrir al - Sham : 31,000 15,000 -- 20,000 ( U.S. claim, late 2016 ) 1,000 ( U.S. claim, late 2017 ) SDF : 50,000 + YPG and YPJ : 57,000 -- 60,000 ( most, not all, part of the SDF ) Syriac Military Council ( MFS ) : 2,000 Al - Sanadid Forces : 4,500 + SDF Military Councils : 10,000 + Casualties and losses Syrian Government : 63,820 -- 98,820 soldiers killed 48,814 -- 62,814 militiamen killed 4,700 soldiers and militiamen and 2,000 supporters captured Hezbollah : 1,630 -- 1,800 killed Russia : 93 soldiers and 150 -- 200 contractors killed Other non-Syrian fighters : 7,686 killed ( 559 -- 2,062 Iranians ) 125,399 -- 166,399 fighters killed 979 protesters killed Turkey : 125 -- 155 soldiers killed ( 2016 -- 18 ground incursions ) 24,232 + killed ( per SOHR ) 20,711 + killed ( per YPG and SAA ) DFNS : 3,834 killed CJTF -- OIR : 6 killed 106,390 -- 110,218 ( 3,284 foreign ; mostly Palestinian ) civilian deaths documented by opposition 100 other foreign soldiers killed ( 60, 17 ( pre - ' 16 ), 16, 7 ) Total killed : 353,593 -- 498,593 ( March 2018 SOHR estimate ) 470,000 ( February 2016 SCPR estimate ) Over 7,600,000 internally displaced ( July 2015 UNHCR estimate ) Over 5,116,097 refugees ( July 2017 registered by UNHCR ) Since early 2013, the FSA has been decentralized with their name being arbitrarily used by various rebels. Turkey has provided arms support to the rebels since 2011. Since Aug. 2016, Turkey has fought alongside the TFSA in Aleppo governorate against the SDF, ISIL and later the Syrian government. Sep. -- Nov. 2016, the U.S. fought alongside the TFSA in Aleppo governorate solely against ISIL. In 2017 -- 18, the U.S. intentionally attacked the Syrian government 10 times, while in Sep. 2016 it accidentally hit a Syrian base, killing over 100 SAA soldiers. Syria maintains that this was an intentional attack. HTS 's predecessor ( the Al - Nusra Front ) and ISIL 's predecessor ( ISI ) were allied al - Qaeda branches until April 2013. An ISI - proposed merger of the two into ISIL was rejected by the Al - Nusra Front and al - Qaeda cut all affiliation with ISIL in February 2014. Ahrar al - Sham and Tahrir al - Sham 's predecessor, the Al - Nusra Front, were allied under the Army of Conquest from March 2015 to January 2017. Number includes Kurdish and ISIL fighters, whose deaths are also listed in their separate columns. The Syrian Civil War ( Arabic : الحرب الأهلية السورية ‎, Al - ḥarb al - ʼahliyyah as - sūriyyah ) is an ongoing multi-sided armed conflict in Syria fought primarily between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic led by President Bashar al - Assad, along with its allies, and various forces opposing both the government and each other in varying combinations. The unrest in Syria, part of a wider wave of 2011 Arab Spring protests, grew out of discontent with the Assad government and escalated to an armed conflict after protests calling for his removal were violently suppressed. The war is being fought by several factions : the Syrian government and its international allies, a loose alliance of Sunni Arab rebel groups ( including the Free Syrian Army ), the majority - Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ), Salafi jihadist groups ( including al - Nusra Front ), and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ), with a number of countries in the region and beyond being either directly involved, or providing support to one or another faction. Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah support the Syrian government militarily, with Russia conducting air operations since September 2015. On the other hand, the U.S. - led international coalition established in 2014 with a declared purpose of countering ISIL, have conducted airstrikes against ISIL in Syria as well as against government and pro-government targets. Turkey on the other hand has become deeply involved since 2016 and beyond actively supporting the Syrian opposition, occupied large swathes of Northwestern Syria. International organizations have accused the Syrian government, ISIL, and Syria rebel groups of severe human rights violations, and of many massacres. The conflict has caused a major refugee crisis. Over the course of the war a number of peace initiatives have been launched, including the March 2017 Geneva peace talks on Syria led by the United Nations, but fighting continues. Syrian Civil War Timeline Jan -- Apr 2011 May -- Aug 2011 Sep -- Dec 2011 Jan -- Apr 2012 May -- Aug 2012 Sep -- Dec 2012 Jan -- Apr 2013 May -- Dec 2013 Jan -- July 2014 Aug -- Dec 2014 Jan -- July 2015 Aug -- Dec 2015 Jan -- Apr 2016 May -- Aug 2016 Sep -- Dec 2016 Jan -- Apr 2017 May -- Aug 2017 Sep -- Dec 2017 Jan -- April 2018 May - Aug 2018 Casualties Cities map Terrorism Massacres Civil uprising in Syria ( March -- August 2011 ) Daraa Baniyas Homs ( May -- August 2011 ) Talkalakh Rastan and Talbiseh 1st Jisr ash - Shugur 1st Jabal al - Zawiya Hama Latakia Start of insurgency ( Sept. 2011 -- April 2012 ) Homs ( 2011 -- 14 ) Homs offensive 1st Idlib Gov. Syrian -- Turkish border Jabal al - Zawiya 1st Idlib City Saraqeb 1st Rastan Hama Gov. Shayrat & Tiyas ambush Daraa Gov. 1st Rif Dimashq 1st Zabadani Douma Deir ez - Zor ( 2011 -- 2014 ) Hatla Aleppo Gov. Azaz 2nd Rastan 1st al - Qusayr 2nd Idlib Gov. Taftanaz UN ceasefire ; escalation ( May 2012 -- Dec. 2013 ) 3rd Rastan Houla Al - Haffah Al - Qubeir Al - Tremseh 3rd Idlib Gov. 1st Damascus Bombing Aleppo Anadan Menagh Air Base Base 46 Khan al - Assal 1st Aleppo offensive 2nd Aleppo offensive Syrian Kurdistan Hasaka campaign Ras al - Ayn al - Yaarubiyah Tell Abyad Kurdish -- Islamist conflict Nubl & Al - Zahraa 2nd Rif Dimashq ( 1st Darayya ) Abu al - Duhur Airbase Quneitra Gov. 3rd Rif Dimashq 1st Yarmouk camp 2nd Darayya Darayya & Muadamiyat Aqrab 1st Hama offensive Halfaya 1st Safira Shadadeh 2nd Damascus 1st Raqqa campaign ( 1st Raqqa ) 1st Daraa offensive 4th Rif Dimashq Jdaidet al - Fadl Ghouta Al - Qusayr offensive 2nd al - Qusayr Eastern Ghouta 2nd Hama offensive Bayda and Baniyas 1st Latakia offensive Ma'loula Sadad 5th Rif Dimashq 1st Qalamoun Adra Rise of the Islamists ( January -- Sept. 2014 ) Inter-rebel conflict Northern Aleppo Markada 1st Deir ez - Zor offensive al - Otaiba ambush Maan Hosn Morek 2nd Daraa offensive 2nd Latakia offensive 4th Idlib Gov. Al - Malihah 2nd Wadi Deif 2nd Qalamoun Arsal Deir ez - Zor ( 2014 -- 2017 ) 1st Shaer gas field 1st Eastern Syria Tabqa Air base 3rd Hama offensive 6th Rif Dimashq 1st Quneitra Kobanî U.S. - led intervention ( Sept. 2014 -- Sept. 2015 ) U.S. - led intervention 3rd Daraa offensive 2nd Safira 2014 Idlib city raid Nusra -- FSA conflict 2nd Shaer gas field 1st Al - Shaykh Maskin 2nd Deir ez - Zor offensive 3rd Aleppo offensive An - 26 crash 4th Daraa offensive Southern Syria Eastern al - Hasakah offensive 1st Sarrin Hama / Homs offensive Bosra 5th Idlib Gov 2nd Idlib city Al - Fu'ah - Kafriya Nasib 2nd Yarmouk camp 1st Northwestern Syria 3rd Qalamoun 1st Palmyra Western al - Hasakah offensive 1st Al - Hasakah city Tell Abyad Daraa / As - Suwayda 2nd Quneitra 2nd Sarrin 5th Daraa 2nd Al - Hasakah city 2nd Kobanî 4th Aleppo offensive 2nd Zabadani 2nd Palmyra Al - Ghab 1st Al - Qaryatayn Douma market 7th Rif Dimashq Kuweires offensive Russian intervention ( Sept. 2015 -- March 2016 ) Russian intervention 3rd Quneitra 2nd Northwestern Syria 3rd Latakia offensive Su - 24 shootdown 5th Aleppo offensive Al - Hawl Homs offensive 6th Aleppo offensive 4th Hama offensive Tell Tamer Tishrin Dam 2nd Al - Shaykh Maskin al - Qamishli bombings Orontes River 3rd Deir ez - Zor offensive 1st Sayyidah Zaynab 7th Aleppo offensive 1st Ithriyah - Raqqa Al - Shaddadi Homs bombings 2nd Sayyidah Zaynab Khanasir 2nd Tel Abyad Al - Tanf 2nd Al - Qaryatayn 3rd Palmyra 2nd Maarat al - Nu'man Aleppo escalation and Euphrates Shield ( March -- December 2016 ) 8th Aleppo offensive 6th Daraa 9th -- 11th Aleppo offensives Al - Dumayr 1st East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict Al - Qamishli clashes Aleppo bombings 8th Rif Dimashq 3rd Shaer gas field Northern Raqqa Jableh & Tartus Manbij Tokhar 2nd Ithriyah - Raqqa 9th Rif Dimashq 12th -- 14th Aleppo offensives 12th 13th 14th 4th Latakia offensive 1st Abu Kamal 3rd Qamishli Atmeh al - Rai 3rd Al - Hasakah City Operation Euphrates Shield Northern al - Bab Dabiq al - Bab 5th Hama offensive 1st Western al - Bab 1st Eastern Qalamoun September bombings 4th Quneitra Deir ez - Zor airstrike Aleppo aid convoy attack 15th Aleppo offensive Khan al - Shih 1st Idlib inter-rebel conflict 2nd Western al - Bab 16th Aleppo offensive 2nd Raqqa campaign 17th Aleppo offensive 4th Palmyra Southern and Central Desert, ISIL collapse in Syria ( Dec. 2016 -- Nov. 2017 ) Wadi Barada 1st Syrian Desert Azaz bombings 5th Palmyra 4th Deir ez - Zor offensive 18th Aleppo offensive 2nd Idlib inter-rebel conflict 7th Daraa Qaboun 8th Daraa Eastern Homs offensive al - Jina mosque 6th Hama offensive Tabqa Khan Shaykhun US Shayrat strike Aleppo bus bombing Post-intervention Turkish airstrikes 2nd East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict 2nd Syrian Desert Maskanah East Hama 2nd Raqqa 9th Daraa Southern Raqqa Iranian Deir ez - Zor strike Jobar 5th Quneitra Central Syria 3rd Idlib inter-rebel conflict 4th Qalamoun 5th Deir ez - Zor 2nd Eastern Syria 6th Deir ez - Zor Euphrates Crossing Mayadin 2nd Abu Kamal 7th Hama offensive Turkish operation in Idlib Idlib escalation, Afrin operation and East Ghouta offensive ( Nov. 2017 -- present ) 3rd Northwestern Syria Atarib Harasta Beit Jinn 1st Southern Damascus Afrin Khasham Feb. 2018 Israel -- Syria incident 10th Rif Dimashq ( Douma ) JTS -- HTS conflict 2nd Southern Damascus US - led missile strikes Northern Homs 2nd Eastern Qalamoun 3rd Southern Damascus 7th Deir ez - Zor May 2018 Israel -- Iran incidents Syrian War spillover and international incidents Lebanon spillover Lebanese -- Syrian border Sidon Iranian embassy bombing North Lebanon clashes Syrian -- Turkish border incidents Turkish F4 shootdown Reyhanlı bombings Kurdish riots Russo - Turkish confrontation Russian Su - 24 shootdown Andrei Karlov Jordanian -- Syrian border incidents Israeli -- Syrian ceasefire line February 2018 incident May 2018 incident Iraqi -- Syrian border incidents Akashat al - Shabah Western Nineveh Western Iraq Spillover in Europe Spillover in Iran 2017 Tehran attacks 2017 Deir ez - Zor missile strike Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War Since 2011 protests Qatari involvement Al - Nusra Front ( 2012 - 2017 Foreign rebel fighters ISIL Turkish involvement Turkey -- ISIL conflict Tomb of Suleyman Shah relocation Euphrates Shield 2017 airstrikes Idlib Governorate operation Afrin operation Russian involvement 2015 military intervention Iranian involvement ( 2017 missile strike ) 2012 Hezbollah involvement 2018 Iran -- Israel conflict Saudi involvement Islamic Front / SIF Jaysh al - Islam Army of Conquest ( formed 2015 Since 2014 ISIL invasion of Iraq U.S. - led Intervention Timeline of raids 2014 rescue operation May 2015 raid 2017 missile strikes 2018 bombing Jordanian intervention Operation Martyr Muath European NATO involvement Dutch involvement German intervention French intervention Australian intervention UK intervention Part of a series on Ba'athism Organisations Arab Ba'ath 1940 -- 1947 Arab Ba'ath Movement 1940 -- 1947 Ba'ath Party 1947 -- 1966 Ba'ath Party ( pro-Iraqi ) 1968 -- 2003 Ba'ath Party ( pro-Syrian ) 1966 -- present People Zaki al - Arsuzi Michel Aflaq Salah al - Din al - Bitar Abdullah Rimawi Wahib al - Ghanim Fuad al - Rikabi Salah Jadid Hafez al - Assad Ahmed Hassan al - Bakr Saddam Hussein Bashar al - Assad Izzat Ibrahim al - Douri Literature On the Way of Resurrection The Battle for One Destiny The Genius of Arabic in Its Tongue History Ba'athist Iraq Ramadan Revolution November 1963 coup d'état 17 July Revolution Iran -- Iraq War Gulf War UN sanctions Iraq War De-Ba'athification Ba'athist Syria Syrian Committee to Help Iraq 1963 / 1966 coup d'états Corrective Revolution Civil War Regional organisations Algeria pro-Iraq pro-Syria Bahrain pro-Iraq pro-Syria Egypt pro-Iraq pro-Syria Iraq pro-Iraq pro-Syria Jordan pro-Iraq pro-Syria Kuwait pro-Iraq Lebanon pro-Iraq pro-Syria Libya pro-Iraq Mauritania pro-Iraq pro-Syria Palestine pro-Iraq pro-Syria Sudan pro-Iraq pro-Syria Syria pro-Iraq pro-Syria Tunisia pro-Iraq pro-Syria Yemen pro-Iraq pro-Syria Splinter groups Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party 1960 -- 1962 / 63 Socialist Lebanon 1965 -- 1970 Arab Revolutionary Workers Party 1966 -- present Democratic Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party 1970 -- present Sudanese Ba'ath Party 2002 -- present Related topics Arab nationalism Arab socialism Nasserism Pan-Arabism Chavism Politics portal Socialism portal Contents 1 Background 1.1 Assad government 1.2 Demographics 1.3 Socioeconomic background 1.4 Drought 1.5 Human rights 2 Timeline 2.1 Civil uprising ( March -- July 2011 ) 2.2 Early armed insurgency ( July 2011 -- April 2012 ) 2.3 Ceasefire and escalation ( April 2012 -- December 2013 ) 2.4 Rise of the Islamist groups 2.4. 1 Fighting between ISIL and other rebel groups ( January -- March 2014 ) 2.4. 2 Government offensives and Presidential election ( March -- June 2014 ) 2.4. 3 ISIS -- government conflict intensifies 2.4. 4 US intervention in Raqqa and Kobani 2.4. 5 The Southern Front and northern Army of Conquest ( October 2014 -- June 2015 ) 2.4. 6 Resurgent ISIL advance ( May 2015 -- September 2015 ) 2.5 Russian intervention and Aleppo offensive ( 30 September 2015 -- February 2016 ) 2.6 Partial ceasefire ( 26 February -- July 2016 ) 2.7 SDF advances and Turkish military intervention ( August -- October 2016 ) 2.8 Russian / Iranian / Turkish backed ceasefire ( December 2016 -- April 2017 ) 2.9 Syrian - American Conflict, De-Escalation Zones ( April 2017 -- June 2017 ) 2.10 Halt to CIA program, ISIL declared defeated, Russian forces in Syria permanent ( July 2017 -- December 2017 ) 2.11 Army advance in Hama province and in Ghouta, Turkish intervention in Afrin ( January -- March 2018 ) 2.12 Douma chemical attack, U.S. - led missile strikes, end of rebel pockets ( April 2018 -- present ) 3 Advanced weaponry and tactics 3.1 Chemical weapons 3.2 Cluster bombs 3.3 Thermobaric weapons 3.4 Anti-tank missiles 3.5 Ballistic missiles 4 Belligerents 4.1 Syrian Arab Republic and allies 4.1. 1 Syrian Armed Forces 4.1. 2 National Defense Force 4.1. 3 Shabiha 4.1. 4 Hezbollah 4.1. 5 Iran 4.1. 6 Foreign Shia militias 4.1. 7 Russia 4.2 Syrian Opposition and allies 4.2. 1 Political groups 4.2. 1.1 Syrian National Coalition 4.2. 1.2 National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change 4.2. 2 Military rebel groups 4.2. 2.1 Free Syrian Army and affiliate groups 4.2. 2.2 Islamist factions 4.3 Salafist factions 4.3. 1 Al - Nusra Front / Jabhat Fateh al - Sham / Hay'at Tahrir al - Sham 4.3. 2 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) 4.4 North Syria Federation ( Rojava ) 4.4. 1 Syrian Democratic Council 4.4. 2 Syrian Democratic Forces 4.5 U.S. - led coalition against ISIL 4.6 Foreign involvement 5 Reporting, censoring and propaganda 6 International reactions 6.1 Humanitarian aid 7 Impact 7.1 Deaths 7.2 Disease 7.3 Refugee migration 7.4 Human rights violations 7.5 ISIL and al - Qaeda executions 7.6 Sectarian threats 7.7 Crime wave 7.8 Cultural heritage 7.9 Spillover 8 Peace efforts 9 Depictions 9.1 Films 9.1. 1 Documentaries 9.2 Video games 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links Background Main article : Modern history of Syria Assad government See also : Al - Assad family Syria became an independent republic in 1946 following years of French rule after World War II, although democratic rule ended with a coup in March 1949, followed by two more coups the same year. A popular uprising against military rule in 1954 saw the army transfer power to civilians. From 1958 to 1961, a brief union with Egypt replaced Syria 's parliamentary system with a centralized presidential government. The secular Ba'ath Syrian Regional Branch government came to power through a successful coup d'état in 1963. For the next several years Syria went through additional coups and changes in leadership. In March 1971, Hafez al - Assad, an Alawite, declared himself President, a position that he held until his death in 2000. Since 1970, the secular Syrian Regional Branch has remained the dominant political authority in what had been a one - party state until the first multi-party election to the People 's Council of Syria was held in 2012. On 31 January 1973, Hafez al - Assad implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the President of Syria be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama. They labelled Assad the `` enemy of Allah '' and called for a jihad against his rule. The government survived a series of armed revolts by Islamists, mainly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, from 1976 until 1982. Upon Hafez al - Assad 's death in 2000, his son Bashar al - Assad was elected as President of Syria. Bashar al - Assad and his wife Asma, a Sunni Muslim born and educated in Britain, initially inspired hopes for democratic reforms. The Damascus Spring, a period of social and political debate, took place between July 2000 and August 2001. The Damascus Spring largely ended in August 2001 with the arrest and imprisonment of ten leading activists who had called for democratic elections and a campaign of civil disobedience. In the opinion of his critics, Bashar al - Assad had failed to deliver on promised reforms. President Bashar Al - Assad maintains that no ' moderate opposition ' to his rule exists, and that all opposition forces are jihadists intent on destroying his secular leadership. In an April 2017 interview with Croatian newspaper Vecernji List he reasserted his view that terrorist groups operating in Syria are ' linked to the agendas of foreign countries '. Demographics Syrian Arabs, together with some 600,000 Palestinian Arabs, make up roughly 74 percent of the population ( if Syriac Christians are excluded ). Syria 's Muslims are 74 percent Sunnis ( including Sufis ), and 13 percent Shias ( including 8 -- 12 percent Alawites from which about 2 percent are Mershdis ), 3 percent are Druze, while the remaining 10 percent are Christians. Not all of Syria 's Sunnis are Arabs. The Assad family is mixed. Bashar is married to a Sunni, with whom he has several children. He is affiliated with the sect that his parents belong to : the minority Alawite sect. Alawites control Syria 's security apparatus. The majority of Syria 's Christians belong to the Eastern Christian churches, such as the branches of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Syriac Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, Assyrian Church of the East, and Armenian Orthodox Church, which have existed in the region since the first century AD. Syrian Kurds, an ethnic minority making up approximately 9 percent of the population, have endured ethnic discrimination and the denial of their cultural and linguistic rights, as well as the frequent denial of their citizenship, for the history of the Syrian state. Turkmen are estimated to be 3 - 5 % of the population. Assyrians, an indigenous Eastern Aramaic - speaking Christian Semitic people, numbering approximately 400,000, are found mainly in northeast Syria. A larger population lives over the border in northern Iraq. Other ethnic groups include Armenians, Circassians, Turkmens, Greeks, Mhallami, Kawliya, Yezidi, Shabaks, and Mandeans. Socioeconomic background Socioeconomic inequality increased significantly after free market policies were initiated by Hafez al - Assad in his later years, and it accelerated after Bashar al - Assad came to power. With an emphasis on the service sector, these policies benefited a minority of the nation 's population, mostly people who had connections with the government, and members of the Sunni merchant class of Damascus and Aleppo. In 2010, Syria 's nominal GDP per capita was only $2,834, comparable to Sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria and far lower than its neighbors such as Lebanon, with an annual growth rate of 3.39 %, below most other developing countries. The country also faced particularly high youth unemployment rates. At the start of the war, discontent against the government was strongest in Syria 's poor areas, predominantly among conservative Sunnis. These included cities with high poverty rates, such as Daraa and Homs, and the poorer districts of large cities. Drought The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. ( December 2017 ) This coincided with the most intense drought ever recorded in Syria, which lasted from 2006 to 2011 and resulted in widespread crop failure, an increase in food prices and a mass migration of farming families to urban centers. This migration strained infrastructure already burdened by the influx of some 1.5 million refugees from the Iraq War. The drought has been linked to anthropogenic global warming. Adequate water supply continues to be an issue in the ongoing civil war and it is frequently the target of military action. Human Rights Main article : Human rights in Syria The human rights situation in Syria has long been the subject of harsh critique from global organizations. The rights of free expression, association and assembly were strictly controlled in Syria even before the uprising. The country was under emergency rule from 1963 until 2011 and public gatherings of more than five people were banned. Security forces had sweeping powers of arrest and detention. Authorities have harassed and imprisoned human rights activists and other critics of the government, who were often detained indefinitely and tortured while under prison - like conditions. Women and ethnic minorities faced discrimination in the public sector. Thousands of Syrian Kurds were denied citizenship in 1962 and their descendants were labeled `` foreigners ''. A number of riots in 2004 prompted increased tension in Syrian Kurdistan, and there have been occasional clashes between Kurdish protesters and security forces ever since. Despite hopes for democratic change with the 2000 Damascus Spring, Bashar al - Assad was widely regarded as having failed to implement any improvements. A Human Rights Watch report issued just before the beginning of the 2011 uprising stated that he had failed to substantially improve the state of human rights since taking power. Timeline See also : Course of events of the Syrian Civil War, Timeline of the Syrian Civil War, and Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War Anti-Assad protests in Baniyas, April 2011 Civil uprising ( March -- July 2011 ) Main article : Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War See also : Arab Spring The protests began on 15 March 2011, when protesters marched in the capital of Damascus, demanding democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners. Security forces retaliated by opening fire on the protesters, and according to witnesses who spoke to the BBC, the government forces detained six. The protest was triggered by the arrest of a boy and his friends by the government for writing in graffiti, `` The people want the fall of the government '', in the city of Daraa. A 13 - year - old boy, Hamza al - Khateeb, was tortured and killed. The government claims that the boys were n't attacked, and that Qatar incited the majority of the protests. Writer and analyst Louai al - Hussein, referencing the Arab Spring ongoing at that time, wrote that `` Syria is now on the map of countries in the region with an uprising ''. On 20 March, the protesters burned down a Ba'ath Party headquarters and `` other buildings ''. The ensuing clashes claimed the lives of seven police officers and 15 protesters. Ten days later in a speech, President Bashar al - Assad blamed `` foreign conspirators '' pushing Israeli propaganda for the protests. Pro-Assad demonstration in Latakia, June 2011 A colonel ( left ) and a first lieutenant ( right ) in the FSA announce the formation of the Conquest Brigade, part of the FSA in Tell Rifaat, north of Aleppo, 31 July 2012. Until 7 April, the protesters predominantly demanded democratic reforms, release of political prisoners, an increase in freedoms, abolition of the emergency law and an end to corruption. After 8 April, the emphasis in demonstration slogans shifted slowly towards a call to overthrow the Assad government. Protests spread. On Friday 8 April, they occurred simultaneously in ten cities. By Friday 22 April, protests occurred in twenty cities. By the end of May 2011, 1,000 civilians and 150 soldiers and policemen had been killed and thousands detained ; among the arrested were many students, liberal activists and human rights advocates. Significant armed resistance against the state security took place on 4 June 2011 in Jisr al - Shugur. Unverified reports claim that a portion of the security forces in Jisr defected after secret police and intelligence officers executed soldiers who had refused to fire on civilians. Later, more protesters in Syria took up arms, and more soldiers defected to protect protesters. Early armed insurgency ( July 2011 -- April 2012 ) Main article : Early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War See also : List of Syrian defectors The Early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War lasted from late July 2011 to April 2012, and was associated with the rise of armed oppositional militias across Syria and the beginning of armed rebellion against the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic. The beginning of the insurgency is typically marked by formation of the Free Syrian Army ( FSA ) on 29 July 2011, when a group of defected officers declared the establishment of the first organized oppositional military force. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, the rebel army aimed to remove Bashar al - Assad and his government from power. This period of the war saw the initial civil uprising take on many of the characteristics of a civil war, according to several outside observers, including the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, as armed elements became better organized and began carrying out successful attacks in retaliation for the crackdown by the Syrian government on demonstrators and defectors. The Arab League monitoring mission, initiated in December 2011, ended in failure by February 2012, as Syrian troops and oppositional militants continued to do battle across the country and the Syrian government prevented foreign observers from touring active battlefields, including besieged oppositional strongholds. In early 2012, Kofi Annan acted as the UN -- Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria. His peace plan provided for a ceasefire, but even as the negotiations for it were being conducted, the rebels and the Syrian army continued fighting even after the peace plan. The United Nations - backed ceasefire was brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan and declared in mid-April 2012. Ceasefire and escalation ( April 2012 -- December 2013 ) Main article : Siege of eastern Ghouta A destroyed tank on a road in Aleppo, October 2012 The 2012 -- 13 escalation of the Syrian Civil War was the third phase of the Syrian Civil War, which gradually evolved from U.N. - mediated cease fire attempt during April -- May 2012, deteriorating into radical violence in June, escalating the conflict level to a full - fledged civil war. Following the Houla massacre of 25 May 2012, in which 108 people were summarily executed, and the subsequent FSA ultimatum to the Syrian government, the ceasefire practically collapsed, as the FSA began nationwide offensives against government troops. On 1 June 2012, President Assad vowed to crush the anti-government uprising. On 12 June 2012, the UN for the first time officially proclaimed Syria to be in a state of civil war. The conflict began moving into the two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. Following October 2012 cease - fire failure, during winter of 2012 -- 13 and early spring of 2013, the rebels continued advances on all fronts. In mid-December 2012, American officials said that the Syrian military began firing Scud ballistic missiles at rebel fighters inside Syria. On 11 January 2013, Islamist groups, including al - Nusra Front, took full control of the Taftanaz air base in the Idlib Governorate, after weeks of fighting. In mid-January 2013, as clashes re-erupted between rebels and Kurdish forces in Ras al - Ayn, YPG forces moved to expel government forces from oil - rich areas in Hassakeh Province. By 6 March 2013, the rebels had captured the city of Raqqa, effectively making it the first provincial capital to be lost by the Assad government. The advances of rebels were finally arrested in April 2013, as Syrian Arab Army could reorganize and initiate offensives. On 17 April 2013, government forces breached a six - month rebel blockade in Wadi al - Deif, near Idlib. Heavy fighting was reported around the town of Babuleen after government troops attempt to secure control of a main highway leading to Aleppo. The break in the siege also allowed government forces to resupply two major military bases in the region which had been relying on sporadic airdrops. In April 2013, government and Hezbollah forces, who have increasingly become involved in the fighting, launched an offensive to capture areas near al - Qusayr. On 21 April, pro-Assad forces captured the towns of Burhaniya, Saqraja and al - Radwaniya near the Lebanese border. Aleppo, Karm al Jabal neighborhood, March 2013 From July 2013, however the situation became a stalemate, with fighting continuing on all fronts between various factions with numerous casualties, but without major territorial changes. On 28 June 2013, rebel forces captured a major military checkpoint in the city of Daraa. Shortly after, Syrian opposition factions declared war on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant which turned increasingly dominant throughout the war zone with indiscriminate killing of all -- whether loyalist Assad or rebels. A major advance took place on 6 August 2013, as rebels captured Menagh Military Airbase after a 10 - month siege. On 21 August a chemical attack took place in the Ghouta region of the Damascus countryside, leading to thousands of casualties and several hundred dead in the opposition - held stronghold. The attack was followed by a military offensive by government forces into the area, which had been hotbeds of the opposition. The attack, largely attributed to Assad forces caused the international community to seek disarmanent of the Syrian Arab Army from chemical weapons. In late 2013, the period was marked by increased initiative of the Syrian Arab Army, which led offensives against opposition fighters on several fronts. The Syrian Arab Army along with its allies, Hezbollah and the al - Abas brigade, launched an offensive on Damascus and Aleppo in November. Fighting between Kurdish forces, rebels and al - Nusra front continued in other locations. Rise of the Islamist groups Fighting between ISIL and other rebel groups ( January -- March 2014 ) Main article : Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War Tension between moderate rebel forces and ISIS had been high since ISIS captured the border town of Azaz from FSA forces on 18 September 2013. Conflict was renewed over Azaz in early October and in late November ISIS captured the border town of Atme from an FSA brigade. On 3 January 2014, the Army of the Mujahideen, the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic Front launched an offensive against ISIS in Aleppo and Idlib governorates. A spokesman for the rebels said that rebels attacked ISIS in up to 80 % of all ISIS held villages in Idlib and 65 % of those in Aleppo. By 6 January, opposition rebels managed to expel ISIS forces from the city of Raqqa, ISIS 's largest stronghold and capital of the Raqqa Governorate. On 8 January, opposition rebels expelled most ISIS forces from the city of Aleppo, however ISIS reinforcements from the Deir ez - Zor Governorate managed to retake several neighborhoods of the city of Raqqa. By mid January ISIS retook the entire city of Raqqa, while rebels expelled ISIS fighters fully from Aleppo city and the villages west of it. On 29 January, Turkish aircraft near the border fired on an ISIS convoy inside the Aleppo province of Syria, killing 11 ISIS fighters and 1 ISIS emir. In late January it was confirmed that rebels had assassinated ISIS 's second in command, Haji Bakr, who was al - Qaeda 's military council head and a former military officer in Saddam Hussein 's army. By mid-February, the al - Nusra Front joined the battle in support of rebel forces, and expelled ISIS from the Deir Ezzor Governorate. By March, the ISIS forces fully retreated from the Idlib Governorate. On 4 March, ISIS retreated from the border town of Azaz and other nearby villages, choosing instead to consolidate around Raqqa in an anticipation of an escalation of fighting with al - Nusra. Government offensives and presidential election ( March -- June 2014 ) Further information : Syrian presidential election, 2014 On 4 March, the Syrian Army took control of Sahel in the Qalamoun region. On 8 March, government forces took over Zara, in Homs Governorate, further blocking rebel supply routes from Lebanon. On 11 March, Government forces and Hezbollah took control of the Rima Farms region, directly facing Yabrud. On 16 March, Hezbollah and government forces captured Yabrud, after Free Syrian Army fighters made an unexpected withdrawal, leaving the al - Nusra Front to fight in the city on its own. On 18 March, Israel used artillery against a Syrian Army base, after four of its soldiers had been wounded by a roadside bomb while patrolling Golan Heights. On 19 March, the Syrian Army captured Ras al - Ain near Yabrud, after two days of fighting and al - Husn in Homs Governorate, while rebels in the Daraa Governorate captured Daraa prison, and freed hundreds of detainees. On 20 March, the Syrian Army took control of the Krak des Chevaliers in al - Husn. On 29 March, Syrian Army took control of the villages of Flitah and Ras Maara near the border with Lebanon. On 22 March, rebels took control of the Kesab border post in the Latakia Governorate. By 23 March, rebels had taken most of Khan Sheikhoun in Hama. During clashes near the rebel - controlled Kesab border post in Latakia, Hilal Al Assad, NDF leader in Latakia and one of Bashar Al Assad 's cousins was killed by rebel fighters. On 4 April, rebels captured the town of Babulin, Idlib. On 9 April, the Syrian Army took control of Rankous in the Qalamoun region. On 12 April, rebels in Aleppo stormed the government - held Ramouseh industrial district in an attempt to cut the Army supply route between the airport and a large Army base. The rebels also took the Rashidin neighbourhood and parts of the Jamiat al - Zahra district. On 26 April, the Syrian Army took control of Al - Zabadani. According to SOHR, rebels took control of Tell Ahrmar, Quneitra. Rebels in Daraa also took over Brigade 61 Base and the 74th battalion. On 26 April, the FSA announced they had begun an offensive against ISIS in the Raqqa Governorate, and had seized five towns west of Raqqa city. On 29 April, activists said that the Syrian Army captured Tal Buraq near the town of Mashara in Quneitra without any clashes. On 7 May, a truce went into effect in the city of Homs, SOHR reported. The terms of the agreement include safe evacuation of Islamist fighters from the city, which would then fall under government control, in exchange for release of prisoners and safe passage of humanitarian aid for Nubul and Zahraa, two Shiite enclaves besieged by the rebels. On 18 May, the head of Syria 's Air Defense, General Hussein Ishaq, died of wounds sustained during a rebel attack on an air defense base near Mleiha the previous day. In Hama Governorate, rebel forces took control of the town of Tel Malah, killing 34 pro-Assad fighters at an army post near the town. Its seizure marked the third time rebels have taken control of the town. Syria held a presidential election in government - held areas on 3 June 2014. For the first time in the history of Syria more than one person was allowed to stand as a presidential candidate. More than 9,000 polling stations were set up in government - held areas. According to the Supreme Constitutional Court of Syria, 11.63 million Syrians voted ( the turnout was 73.42 % ). President Bashar al - Assad won the election with 88.7 % of the votes. As for Assad 's challengers, Hassan al - Nouri received 4.3 % of the votes and Maher Hajjar received 3.2 %. Allies of Assad from more than 30 countries were invited by the Syrian government to follow the presidential election, including Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Russia, South Africa and Venezuela. The Iranian official Alaeddin Boroujerdi read a statement by the group saying the election was `` free, fair and transparent ''. The Gulf Cooperation Council, the European Union and the United States all dismissed the election as illegitimate and a farce. State employees were told to vote or face interrogation. On the ground there were no independent monitors stationed at the polling stations. It is claimed in an opinion piece that as few as 6 million eligible voters remained in Syria. Due to rebel, Kurdish and ISIS control of Syrian territories there was no voting in roughly 60 % of the country. ISIS -- government conflict intensifies According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, on 17 July 2014 ISIL took control of the Shaar oil field, killing 90 pro-government forces while losing 21 fighters. In addition, 270 guards and government - aligned fighters were missing. About 30 government persons managed to escape to the nearby Hajjar field. On 20 July, the Syrian Army secured the field, although fighting continued in its outskirts. On 25 July, the Islamic State took control of the Division 17 base near Raqqa. On 7 August 2014, ISIL took the Brigade 93 base in Raqqa using weapons captured from their offensive in Iraq. Multiple suicide bombs also went off before the base was stormed. On 13 August, ISIL forces took the towns of Akhtarin and Turkmanbareh from rebels in Aleppo. ISIL forces also took a handful of nearby villages. The other towns seized include Masoudiyeh, Dabiq and Ghouz. On 14 August, after being captured by the Al Nusra Front, the Free Syrian Army commander Sharif As - Safouri admitted to working with Israel and receiving anti-tank weapons from Israel and FSA soldiers also received medical treatment. It is possible this confession was obtained under duress. On 14 August, the Syrian Army as well as Hezbollah militias retook the town of Mleiha in Rif Dimashq Governorate. The Supreme Military Council of the FSA denied claims of Mleiha 's seizure, rather the rebels have redeployed from recent advances to other defensive lines. Mleiha has been held by the Islamic Front. Rebels had used the town to fire mortars on government held areas inside Damascus. Meanwhile, ISIL forces in Raqqa were launching a siege on Tabqa airbase, the Syrian government 's last military base in Raqqa. Kuwaires airbase in Aleppo also came under fierce attack by ISIL. On 16 August 2014, there were reports that 22 people were killed in the village of Daraa by a car bomb outside a mosque. The bomb was thought to be detonated by ISIS. Also on 16 August, the Islamic State seized the village of Beden in Aleppo Governorate from rebels. On 17 August 2014, SOHR said that in the past two weeks ISIL jihadists had killed over 700 tribal members in oil - rich Deir ez - Zor Governorate. On 19 August, Abu Abdullah al - Iraqi, a senior figure in ISIL who had helped prepare and plan car and suicide bombs across Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq was killed. Some reports said that he was killed by Hezbollah fighters. There were also several reports that he was killed by the Syrian Army in the Qalamoun region, near the border with Lebanon. In Raqqa, the Syrian Army took control of the town of Al - Ejeil. ISIL reportedly sent reinforcements from Iraq to the governorate of Raqqa. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 400 ISIL fighters had also been wounded in the previous five days in clashes with the Syrian Army and National Defense Force in Raqqa alone. At the same time, several senior UK and US figures urged Turkey to stop allowing ISIL to cross the border to Syria and Iraq. It was around this time that the Americans realized that the Turks had no intention of sealing their side of the border, and so Washington decided to work with the Syrian Kurds to close off the border on the Syrian side. A year later, with the Kurds in control of most of the Turkey -- Syria border, and the Syrian army advancing under Russian air support to seal the remainder, the situation was causing great ructions in Ankara. On 26 August 2014, the Syrian Air Force carried out airstrikes against ISIL in the Governorate of Deir ez - Zor. This was the first time the Syrian Army attacked them in Deir ez - Zor as the Syrian Army pulled out of Raqqa and shifted to Deir ez - Zor for its oil and natural gas resources as well as strategically splitting ISIL territories. American jets began bombing ISIL in Syria on 23 September 2014, raising U.S. involvement in the country. At least 20 targets in and around Raqqa were hit, the opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Foreign partners participating in the strikes with the United States were Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan. The U.S. and `` partner nation forces '' began striking ISIL using fighters, bombers and Tomahawk missiles, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said. U.S. intervention in Raqqa and Kobanî Main articles : Timeline of the Syrian Civil War ( August -- December 2014 ) and 2014 American intervention in Syria Coalition airstrike in Kobanî on ISIL position, October 2014 U.S. aircraft include B - 1 bombers, F - 16s, F - 18s and Predator drones, with F - 18s flying missions off the USS George H.W. Bush ( CVN - 77 ) in the Persian Gulf. Tomahawk missiles were fired from the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke ( DDG - 51 ) in the Red Sea. Syria 's Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press that the U.S. informed Syria 's envoy to the U.N. that `` strikes will be launched against the terrorist group in Raqqa ''. The United States informed the Free Syrian Army beforehand of the impending airstrikes, and the rebels said that weapons transfers to the Free Syrian Army had begun. The United States also attacked a specific faction of al - Nusra called the Khorasan Group, who according to the United States had training camps and plans for attacking the United States in the future. For its part, Turkey launched an official request to the U.N. for a no - fly zone over Syria. The same day, Israel shot down a Syrian warplane after it entered the Golan area from Quneitra. By 3 October 2014, ISIL forces were heavily shelling the city of Kobanî and were within a kilometer of the town. Within 36 hours from 21 October, the Syrian air force carried out over 200 airstrikes on rebel - held areas across Syria and US and Arab jets attacked IS positions around Kobanî. Syrian Information Minister Omran al - Zoubi said the YPG forces in Kobanî had been provided with military and logistical support. Syria reported its air force had destroyed two fighter jets operated by IS. By 26 January, the Kurdish YPG forced ISIL to retreat from Kobanî, thus fully recapturing the city. The U.S. later confirmed that the city had been cleared of ISIL forces, and ISIL admitted defeat in Kobanî city three days later, although they vowed to return. The southern Front and northern Army of Conquest ( October 2014 -- June 2015 ) In February 2014, the Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army formed in southern Syria. Six months later, they started a string of victories in Daraa and Quneitra during the 2014 Quneitra offensive, the Daraa offensive, the Battle of Al - Shaykh Maskin, the Battle of Bosra ( 2015 ) and the Battle of Nasib Border Crossing. A government counter-offensive ( the 2015 Southern Syria offensive ) during this period, that included the IRGC and Hezbollah, recaptured 15 towns, villages and hills, but the operation slowed soon after and stalled. Since early 2015, opposition military operations rooms based in Jordan and Turkey began increasing cooperation, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar also reportedly agreeing upon the necessity to unite opposition factions against the Syrian government. In late October 2014, a conflict erupted between the al - Nusra Front on one side and the Western - backed SRF and Hazzm Movement on the other ( Al - Nusra Front -- SRF / Hazzm Movement conflict ). By the end of February 2015, al - Nusra had defeated both groups, captured the entire Zawiya Mountain region in Idlib province and several towns and military bases in other governorates, and seized weapons supplied by the CIA to the two moderate groups. The significant amount of weapons seized included a small number of BGM - 71 anti-tank missiles similar to weapons systems al - Nusra Front had previously captured from government stockpiles such as French MILANs, Chinese HJ - 8s and Russian 9K111 Fagots. Reuters reported that this represented al - Nusra crushing pro-Western rebels in the north of the country. According to FSA commanders in northern Syria, however, the elimination of Harakat Hazm and the SRF was a welcome development due to the leaders of those factions allegedly involved in corruption. The Western - backed 30th Division of the FSA remained active elsewhere in Idlib. By 24 March 2015, the al - Nusra Front dominated most of Idlib province, except for the government - held provincial capital, Idlib, which they had encircled on three sides along with their Islamist allies. Therefore, they joined together to form the Army of Conquest on this day. On 28 March, a joint coalition of Islamist forces, the Army of Conquest, captured Idlib. This left the north largely taken over by Ahrar ash - Sham, al - Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels, with the south of the country becoming the last significant foothold for the mainstream, non-jihadist opposition fighters. Main articles : Northwestern Syria offensive ( April -- June 2015 ) and Second Battle of Idlib On 22 April, a new rebel offensive was launched in the north - west of Syria and by 25 April, the rebel coalition Army of Conquest had captured the city of Jisr al - Shughur. At the end of the following month, the rebels also seized the Al - Mastumah military base, and Ariha, leaving government forces in control of tiny pockets of Idlib, including the Abu Dhuhur military airport. In addition, according to Charles Lister ( Brookings Doha Center ), the Army of Conquest coalition was a broad opposition effort to ensure that the Al - Qaeda - affiliated al - Nusra Front was contained, with the rearguard involvement of Western - backed factions being regarded as crucial. Still, according to some, the FSA in northern Syria had by this point all but dissipated. Many of the moderate fighters joined more extremist organizations, such as Ahrar ash - Sham, the largest faction in the Army of Conquest, which led to the subsequent rise of the Islamist Army of Conquest coalition. Rebel advances led to government and Hezbollah morale plunging dramatically. In north - west Syria these losses were countered by a Hezbollah - led offensive in the Qalamoun mountains north of Damascus, on the border with Lebanon, that gave Hezbollah effective control of the entire area. Resurgent ISIL advance ( May 2015 -- September 2015 ) Main articles : Palmyra offensive ( May 2015 ) and Palmyra offensive ( July -- August 2015 ) On 21 May, ISIL took control of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, after eight days of fighting. The jihadists also captured the nearby towns of Al - Sukhnah and Amiriya, as well as several oil fields. Following the capture of Palmyra, ISIL conducted mass executions in the area, killing an estimated 217 -- 329 government civilian supporters and soldiers, according to opposition activists. Government sources put the number of killed at 400 -- 450. By early June, ISIL reached the town of Hassia, which lies on the main road from Damascus to Homs and Latakia, and reportedly took up positions to the west of it, creating a potential disaster for the government and raising the threat of Lebanon being sucked further into the war. On 25 June, ISIL launched two offensives. One was a surprise diversionary attack on Kobanî, while the second targeted government - held parts of Al - Hasakah city. The ISIL offensive on Al - Hasakah displaced 60,000 people, with the UN estimating a total of 200,000 would be displaced. In July 2015, a raid by U.S. special forces on a compound housing the Islamic State 's `` chief financial officer '', Abu Sayyaf, produced evidence that Turkish officials directly dealt with ranking ISIS members. ISIS captured Qaryatayn city from the government on 5 August 2015. Australia joined the bombing of ISIL in Syria in mid September, an extension of their efforts in Iraq for the last year. On 2 August, U.S. officials informed Reuters that the United States had decided to `` allow air strikes to help defend against any attack on the U.S. - trained Syrian rebels, even if the attackers come from forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al - Assad. '' The following day the Pentagon announced that it would begin flying its first unmanned, armed drone missions in Syria. Russian intervention and Aleppo offensive ( 30 September 2015 -- February 2016 ) Russian military facilities involved in the war in Syria Caspian Flotilla Russian Navy ( Astrakhan ) Caspian Flotilla Russian Navy ( Makhachkala ) Caspian Flotilla Russian Navy ( Kaspiysk ) Aircraft group ( ru ) ASF RF 720th PL of the Russian Navy Russian Navy Russian Aerospace Forces Group Special forces ( ru ) See also : Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, Northwestern Syria offensive ( October 2015 ), and Aleppo offensive ( October -- December 2015 ) On 30 September 2015, in response to an official request by the Syrian government, the Russian Aerospace Forces began a sustained campaign of air strikes against both ISIL and the anti-Assad FSA. Initially, the raids were conducted solely by Russian aircraft stationed in the Khmeimim base in Syria. Shortly after the start of the Russian operation, U.S. president Barack Obama was reported to have authorized the resupply of Syrian Kurds and the Arab - Syrian opposition, Obama reportedly emphasizing to his team that the U.S. would continue to support the Syrian opposition now that Russia had joined the conflict. On 7 October 2015, Russian officials said the ships of the Caspian Flotilla had earlier that day fired 26 sea - based cruise missiles at 11 ISIL targets in Syria destroying those and causing no civilian casualties. That day, the Syrian government launched the northwest Syrian offensive that in the following few days succeeded in recapturing some territory in northern Hama Governorate, close to the government 's coastal heartland in the west of the country. On 8 October 2015, the U.S. officially announced the end of the Pentagon 's half - billion dollar program to train and equip Syrian rebels and acknowledged that it had failed However, other covert and significantly larger CIA programs to arm anti-government fighters in Syria continued. The foreign ministers of Russia, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in Vienna, before a four - way discussion focused on Syria, 29 October 2015 Two weeks after the start of the Russian campaign in Syria, The New York Times opined that with anti-government commanders receiving for the first time bountiful supplies of U.S. - made anti-tank missiles and with Russia raising the number of airstrikes against the government 's opponents that had raised morale in both camps, broadening war objectives and hardening political positions, the conflict was turning into an all - out proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. Despite multiple top - ranking casualties incurred by the Iranian forces advising fighters in Syria, in mid-October the Russian - Syrian - Iranian - Hezbollah offensive targeting rebels in Aleppo went ahead. At the end of October 2015, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter signalled a shift in the strategy of the U.S. - led campaign saying there will be more air strikes and ruling in the use of direct ground raids, the fight in Syria concentrating mostly on Raqqa. On 30 October and two weeks later, Syria peace talks were held in Vienna, initiated by the United States, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, in which on 30 October Iran participated for the first time in negotiations on Syrian settlement. The participants disagreed on the future of Bashar Assad. On 10 November 2015, the Syrian government forces completed the operation to break through the Islamic State insurgents ' blockade of the Kweires air base in Aleppo Province, where government forces had been under siege since April 2013. In mid-November 2015, in the wake of the Russian plane bombing over Sinai and the Paris attacks, both Russia and France significantly intensified their strikes in Syria, France closely coordinating with the U.S. military. On 17 November, Putin said he had issued orders for the cruiser Moskva that had been in eastern Mediterranean since the start of the Russian operations to `` work as with an ally '', with the French naval group led by flagship Charles De Gaulle that had been on her way to eastern Mediterranean since early November. Shortly afterwards, a Russian foreign ministry official criticised France 's stridently anti-Assad stance as well as France 's air strikes at oil and gas installations in Syria as apparently designed to prevent those from returning under the Syrian government 's control ; the Russian official pointed out that such strikes by France could not be justified as they were carried out without the Syrian government 's consent. In his remarks to a French delegation that included French parliamentarians, on 14 November, President Bashar Assad sharply criticised France 's as well as other Western States ' actions against the Syrian government suggesting that French support for Syrian opposition forces had led to the Islamic State - claimed attacks in Paris. On 19 November 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking of the Vienna process, said he was unable to `` foresee a situation in which we can end the civil war in Syria while Assad remains in power '' ; he urged Russia and Iran to stop supporting the Syrian government. On 20 November 2015, the U.N. Security Council, while failing to invoke the UN 's Chapter VII, which gives specific legal authorisation for the use of force, unanimously passed Resolution 2249 that urged UN members to `` redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by ISIL also known as Da'esh as well as ANF, and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with Al - Qaida, and other terrorist groups, as designated by the United Nations Security Council, and as may further be agreed by the International Syria Support Group ( ISSG ) and endorsed by the UN Security Council ''. The adopted resolution was drafted by France and co-sponsored by the UK the following day after Russia introduced an updated version of its previously submitted draft resolution that was blocked by the Western powers as seeking to legitimise Assad 's authority. On 24 November 2015, Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that allegedly violated Turkish airspace and crashed in northwestern Syria, leading to the Russian pilot 's death. Following the crash, it was reported that Syrian Turkmen rebels from Syrian Turkmen Brigades attacked and shot down a Russian rescue helicopter, killing a Russian naval infantryman. A few days after, Russian aircraft were reported to have struck targets in the Syrian town of Ariha in Idlib province that was controlled by the Army of Conquest causing multiple casualties on the ground. On 2 December 2015, the Parliament of the United Kingdom voted to expand Operation Shader into Syria with a majority of 397 -- 223. That day, two British Tornado aircraft took off from RAF Akrotiri immediately at 22 : 30, each carrying three Paveway bombs. Two further aircraft were deployed at 00 : 30 on 3 December, and all aircraft returned by 06 : 30 without their bombs. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said that the strikes hit the Omar oil fields in eastern Syria, and that eight more jets ( two Tornados and six Typhoons ) were being sent to RAF Akrotiri to join the eight already there. On 7 December 2015, the government of Syria announced that US - led coalition warplanes had fired nine missiles at its army camp near Ayyash, Deir al - Zour province, on the evening prior, killing three soldiers and wounding 13 others ; three armoured vehicles, four military vehicles, heavy machine - guns and an arms and ammunition depot were also destroyed. The government condemned the strikes, the first time the government forces would be struck by the coalition, as an act of `` flagrant aggression '' ; the coalition spokesman denied it was responsible. Anonymous Pentagon officials alleged later in the day that the Pentagon was `` certain '' that a Russian warplane ( presumably a TU - 22 bomber ) had carried out the attack. The claim was denied by the Russian military spokesman. On 14 December 2015, Russia 's government news media reported that the Syrian government forces retook a Marj al - Sultan military airbase east of Damascus that had been held by Jaysh al - Islam. The UN resolution 2254 of 18 December 2015 that endorsed the ISSG 's transitional plan but did not clarify who would represent the Syrian opposition, while condemning terrorist groups like ISIL and al - Qaeda ; it made no mention of the future role of Syrian President Bashar Assad. On 12 January 2016, the Syria government announced that its army and allied forces had established `` full control '' of the strategically situated town of Salma, whose pre-war population was predominantly Sunni, in the northwestern province of Latakia, and continued to advance north. On 16 January 2016, ISIL militants launched raid on government - held areas in the city of Deir ez - Zor and killed up to 300 people. Counter-strikes by Russian Air Force fighter jets, in support of Syrian army forces, were reported to take back the areas. On 21 January 2016, Russia 's activity presumably aimed at setting up a new base in the government - controlled Kamishly Airport was first reported ; the northeastern town of Qamishli in the Al - Hasakah Governorate had been largely under the Syrian Kurds ' control since the start of the Syrian Kurdish -- Islamist conflict in the governorate of Al - Hasakah in July 2013. Similar activity by the U.S. forces was suspected in the Rmeilan Airbase in the same province, 50 kilometres ( 31 miles ) away from the Kamishly Airport ; the area is likewise controlled by the US - backed Kurdish People 's Protection Units ( YPG ). On 24 January 2016, the Syrian government announced its forces, carrying on with their Latakia offensive, had seized the predominantly Sunni - populated town of Rabia, the last major town held by rebels in western Latakia province ; Russian forces were said to have played an important role in the recapture. The capture of Rabia was said to threaten rebel supply lines from Turkey. By 26 January 2016, the Syrian government established `` full control '' over the town of Al - Shaykh Maskin in the Daraa Governorate, thus completing the operation that had begun in late December 2015. The town 's capture by the Syrian government was remarked as a `` turning of the tide in the Syrian war '' by Al - Jazeera. Partial ceasefire ( 26 February -- July 2016 ) Main article : Syria ceasefire Defense ministers of Russia, Iran and Syria in a tripartite meeting in Tehran On 26 February 2016, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2268 that endorsed a previously brokered U.S. - Russian deal on a `` cessation of hostilities ''. The cease - fire started on 27 February 2016 at 00 : 00 ( Damascus time ). The ceasefire does not include attacks on UN-designated terrorist organizations. At the close of February 2016, despite individual clashes, the truce was reported to hold. By the end of March, the Syrian government forces with support from Russia and Iran successfully captured Palmyra from the ISIL. Palmyra offensive in March 2016 By early July 2016, the truce was said to have mostly unraveled, violence again escalated, and the fighting between all the major parties to the conflict continued. At the end of July 2016, the fighting between the government and Islamist rebels in and around Aleppo intensified. SDF advances and Turkish military intervention ( August -- October 2016 ) On 12 August 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces fully captured Manbij from ISIL. Some days later, the SDF announced a new offensive towards Al - Bab, which could eventually connect the Kurdish regions in Northern Syria. A few days after, the battle of al - Hasakah began. On 22 August, the Kurdish YPG, having captured Ghwairan, the only major Arab neighborhood in Hasaka that had been in government hands, launched a major assault to seize the last government - controlled areas of the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka, after a Russian mediation team failed to mend the rift between the two sides ; the next day the capture of the city was completed. A few days prior, the Pentagon admonished the Syrian government against `` interfering with coalition forces or our partners '' in that region, adding that the U.S. had the right to defend its troops. On 24 August 2016, Turkey 's armed forces invaded Syria in the Jarabulus area controlled by ISIL starting what the Turkish president called Operation Euphrates Shield, aimed against, according to his statement, both the IS and Kurdish `` terror groups that threaten our country in northern Syria ''. The Syrian government denounced the intervention as a `` blatant violation of its sovereignty '' and said that `` fighting terrorism is n't done by ousting ISIS and replacing it with other terrorist organizations backed directly by Turkey ''. The PYD leader Salih Muslim said that Turkey was now in the `` Syrian quagmire '' and would be defeated like IS. Speaking in Ankara the same day, US vice president Joe Biden indirectly endorsed Turkey 's move and said that the U.S. had made it clear to the Syrian Kurdish forces that they should move back east across the Euphrates, or lose US support. As Turkish troops and the Turkish - aligned Syrian rebels took control of Jarablus and moved further south towards the Syrian town of Manbij, they clashed with the Kurdish YPG, which led the U.S. officials to voice concern and issue a warning to both sides. On 29 August, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter specified that the U.S. did not support Turkey 's advance south of Jarablus. The warning as well as an announcement made by the U.S. of a tentative ceasefire between the Turkish forces and the Kurds in the area of Jarablus were promptly and angrily dismissed by Turkey 's officials. However, combat between the Turkish forces and the SDF died down, and instead Turkish forces moved West to confront IS. In the meantime the SDF, including Western volunteers, continued to reinforce Manbij. At sunset on 12 September 2016, a U.S. - Russian brokered cease - fire came into effect. Five days later, the U.S. and other coalition members ' jets bombed Syrian Army positions near Deir ez - Zor -- purportedly by accident, but with Russia contending that it was intentional -- killing at least 62 Syrian troops that were fighting ISIL militants. Shortly after, the ceasefire broke down, and on 19 September the Syrian Army declared to no longer observe the truce. Also on 19 September, an aid convoy in Aleppo was attacked with the U.S. coalition blaming the Russian and Syrian governments for the attack and these same governments denying these accusation and instead blaming terrorists for the attack. On 22 September, the Syrian army declared a new offensive in Aleppo. The offensive succeeded on 14 December, when the final Rebel stronghold in Aleppo was recaptured by the Syrian government followed by a ceasefire agreement. On 26 October 2016 US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that an offensive to retake Raqqa from IS will begin within weeks. The SDF proceeded with this effort, in operation Wrath of Euphrates. This operation used up to 30,000 Arab, Christian and Kurdish troops, with support from the Western Coalition. By December 2016 it had captured many villages and land west of Raqqa, previously controlled by IS. By January 2017, much of the land west of Raqqa had been seized, and the second phase of the operation was complete. Russian / Iranian / Turkish backed ceasefire ( December 2016 -- April 2017 ) A BM - 21 Grad rocket artillery truck of the Lions of the East Army during the 2017 southern Syrian Desert campaign In December 2016, Syrian government forces completely recaptured all of rebel - held parts of Aleppo, ending the 4 - year battle in the city. On 15 December, as it was reported government forces were on the brink of retaking all of Aleppo -- a `` turning point '' in the civil war, Assad celebrated the `` liberation '' of the city, and stated, `` History is being written by every Syrian citizen. '' On 29 December 2016 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new ceasefire deal had been reached between the Syrian Government and opposition groups, with Russia and Turkey acting as guarantors, and Iran as a signatory to a trilateral agreement. The ceasefire came into effect at 00 : 00 Syrian time ( 02 : 00 UTC ) on 30 December. It does not include UN-designated terrorist groups, such as ISIL and Jabhat Fateh al - Sham. Syrian High Negotiations Committee representatives in Turkey confirmed that they were involved in the deal. Talks were scheduled to be held between the groups in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on 15 January. Early reports indicated that despite sporadic fighting incidents, the ceasefire appeared to be holding, with no civilian deaths. Also late on 29 December, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that four million people in Damascus and surrounding areas were without reliable access to water after major supply infrastructure was subject to deliberate targeting on 22 December. They said that although the government had initiated a program of rationing, they were concerned that safe water may not be accessible to everyone and called on parties to reach peaceful agreements to guarantee basic services. On 2 January 2017, rebel groups said that they would disengage from planned talks after alleged ceasefire violations by Government forces in the Wadi Barada valley near Damascus. The government says the region is excluded from the ceasefire because of the presence of Fatah al - Sham, but some local activists deny that they have a presence there. At the end of January, government forces managed to capture Wadi Barada and the water supply of Damascus was restored. On 14 February 2017, the cease - fire between Assad forces and rebels collapsed throughout the country, leading to fresh clashes in various locations and a fresh rebel offensive in Daraa. A new peace conference in Geneva was held on 23 February. On 23 February, Turkish forces captured Al - Bab from ISIL north - east of Aleppo. Syrian government forces started an offensive east of Aleppo to conquer Dayr Hafir from ISIL and prevent further Turkish advances. Syrian rebels in combat against government forces in Qaboun, Damascus, April 2017 On 17 March, Syrian military fired S - 200 missiles at Israeli jets over Golan Heights. The Israeli military claimed that the Arrow anti-ballistic system intercepted one missile, while the Syrian military claimed that they had downed an Israeli jet. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to clarify the situation. On 20 March, 150 civilians were killed in the Al - Badia school massacre by a U.S strike. The Syrian Arab Army entered Dayr Hafir, the last stronghold held by the Islamic State in East Aleppo, on 23 March, and secured it by 23 March. This opened up an opportunity to push south into the Ar - Raqqa governate where the Islamic State 's de facto capital resides ; however on 23 March, a Syrian Democratic Forces contingent landed on a peninsula west of Raqqa via boats and helicopters, in an effort to cut off the Syrian Arab Army from entering the Islamic State 's de facto capital, Raqqa. On 28 March, an agreement was reportedly brokered by Qatar and Iran for the evacuation for four besieged towns in Syria, where around 60,000 people live. The deal involved evacuating the residents of al - Fu'ah and Kafriya, two towns in the Idlib Governorate besieged by rebel forces, in exchange for the evacuation of residents and rebels in Zabadani and Madaya, two towns under siege by government forces in the Rif Dimashq Governorate. Syrian - American conflict, de-escalation zones ( April 2017 -- June 2017 ) Main articles : Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, 2017 Shayrat missile strike, and 2017 Hama offensive U.S. armored vehicle in Al - Hasakah, northeastern Syria, May 2017 From April 2017, the United States took on a more confrontational strategy in Syria. After the chemical attack on Khan Shaykhun, which American officials blamed on the Syrian government, warships of the Us Navy launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Syrian government 's Shayrat Air Base which was said the be the source of the chemical attack. The American attack, taking place on the 7th of April, was the first officially announced deliberate attack on Syrian government forces. Due to being launched without authorisation from United States Congress or the United Nations Security Council, the strike triggered an emergency UNSC meeting, initially requested by Bolivia and supported by Russia. A spokesman of Vladimir Putin stated that that Russian President viewed the U.S. attack as `` an act of aggression against a sovereign country violating the norms of international law, and under a trumped - up pretext at that ''. This view was shared by Deborah Pearlstein, who has suggested that US military strikes against Syrian government forces violate the UN Charter, a cornerstone of international law which has been ratified by the US and is thus binding on the US. In response, the U.S representative at the UNSC emergency meeting said that `` the moral stain of the Assad regime could no longer go unanswered. '' American forces would struck the Syrian military again on the 18th of May, when a Syrian army convoy advancing in the vicinity of the border town of al - Tanf, which hosted a US - controlled airbase used for training of anti-government forces, came under attack by US fighter jets. Nevertheless, the Syrian government 's desert offensive continued and on 9 June government forces secured a part of Syrian -- Iraqi border for the first time since 2015. This isolated the Al - Tanf rebel area from Daesh held territory, the capture of which was stated as an official objective by both the rebels and US forces. Meanwhile, intense fighting between government forces and rebel groups that began north of Hama on 21 March, continued. By the 29th of March, the SAA, which had halted the rebel offensive at the outskirts of Hama, began a counterstroke, and on the 16th of April, had reversed all rebel gains. They proceeded to launch a smaller assault of their own, and by the end of April had captured the towns of Halfaya and Taybat al - Imam. On 12 April, the agreement to exchange the inhabitants of the rebel - held towns of Zabadani and Madaya with the inhabitants of the pro-government towns of Al - Fu'ah and Kafraya began to be implemented. On 15 April, a convoy of buses carrying evacuees from Al - Fu'ah and Kafriya was attacked by a suicide bomber in Aleppo, killing more than 126 people. On 24 April, the Turkish Air Force conducted several airstrikes on YPG and YPJ positions near al - Malikiyah, killing at least 20 of their fighters. The attacks were condemned by the US. On 4 May 2017, Russia, Iran, and Turkey signed an agreement in Astana to create four `` de-escalation zones '' in Syria. The four zones include the Idlib Governorate, the northern rebel - controlled parts of the Homs Governorate, the rebel - controlled eastern Ghouta, and the Jordan -- Syria border. The agreement was rejected by some rebel groups, and the Democratic Union Party also denounced the deal, saying that the ceasefire zones are `` dividing Syria up on a sectarian basis ''. The ceasefire came into effect on 6 May. Halt to CIA program, ISIL declared defeated, Russian forces in Syria permanent ( July 2017 -- December 2017 ) Iranian convoy delivering aid to Deir ez - Zor in September 2017 On 7 July 2017, the U.S., Russia, and Jordan agreed to a ceasefire in part of southwestern Syria. Russia gave assurances that Assad would abide by the agreement. On 19 July 2017, it was reported that the Donald Trump administration had decided to halt the CIA program to equip and train anti-government rebel groups, a move sought by Russia. On 5 September 2017, the government ′ s Central Syria offensive culminated in the breaking of the three - year ISIL siege of Deir ez - Zor, with active participation of Russian aviation and navy. This was followed shortly thereafter by the lifting of the siege of the city ′ s airport. On 17 October 2017, after over four months of fierce fighting and the U.S. - led coalition ′ s bombardment, the Kurdish - dominated Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had established full control of the city of Raqqa in northern Syria, previously the de facto capital of ISIL. At the end of October, the government of Syria said that it still considered Raqqa to be an occupied city that can '' only be considered liberated when the Syrian Arab Army enter ( ed ) it. '' By mid-November 2017, the government forces and allied militia established full control over Deir ez - Zor and captured the town of Abu Kamal in eastern Syria, near the border with Iraq and Iraq ′ s town of al - Qaim, which was concurrently captured from ISIL by the Iraqi government. On 28 November 2017, it was reported that China will deploy troops to aid Syrian President Bashar al - Assad. On 6 December 2017, Russian government declared Syria to have been `` completely liberated '' from ISIL ; on 11 December Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the Russian base in Syria, where he announced that he had ordered the partial withdrawal of the forces deployed to Syria. On 26 December, Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russia had set about `` forming a permanent grouping '' at its naval facility at Tartus and Hmeymim airbase. Two days later, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia believed that the U.S. forces must leave Syrian territory completely once remnants of the terrorists were completely eliminated and that would happen very soon. Army advance in Hama province and in Ghouta, Turkish intervention in Afrin ( January -- March 2018 ) See also : Northwestern Syria campaign ( October 2017 -- February 2018 ), Turkish military operation in Afrin, Rif Dimashq offensive ( February -- April 2018 ), and February 2018 Israel -- Syria incident In January -- February 2018, the Syrian Army and its allies continued to advance against the forces of Tahrir al - Sham ( HTS ) and other rebels in the Hama Governorate. Meanwhile, on 20 January, the Turkish military began a cross-border operation in the Kurdish - majority Afrin Canton and the Tel Rifaat Area of Shahba Canton in Northern Syria, against the Kurdish - led Democratic Union Party in Syria ( PYD ), its armed wing People 's Protection Units ( YPG ), and Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ) positions. On 10 February 2018, the Syrian Air Defense shot down an Israeli F - 16 fighter jet in response to a cross border raid conducted by Israel on Iranian targets near Damascus through Lebanese airspace. The pilots survived the crash, but have been transported for treatment. On 21 February 2018, the government began an operation to capture rebel - held Ghouta east of Damascus ; the operation started with an intensive air campaign. On 18 March 2018, on the 58th day of the Turkish military operation in Afrin, the Turkish - backed Free Syrian Army ( TFSA ) and the Turkish Armed Forces captured Afrin from the YPG and the YPJ, with the Kurds putting up little resistance. Shortly after the capture, TFSA militants looted parts of the city and destroyed numerous pro-Kurdish symbols as Turkish Army troops solidified control by raising Turkish flags and banners over the city. Douma chemical attack, U.S. - led missile strikes, end of rebel pockets ( April 2018 -- present ) See also : Douma chemical attack and May 2018 Israel -- Iran incidents On 7 April 2018, a chemical attack was reported in the city of Douma, with 70 people killed and 500 injured. On - site medics stated the cause of those deaths was exposure to chlorine and sarin gas. The Syrian government denied any use of chemical weapons. Following the incident in Douma, the UN Security Council failed to adopt three competing resolutions on an inquiry into the alleged chemical attack, with Russia and the U.S. clashing over the issue. Following the incident, Syrian government forces entered and established control over the city of Douma, ending the five year Siege of Ghouta. The militants of Jaysh al - Islam that had previously occupied the pocket were transported to Jarabalus. On 14 April 2018, the United States, United Kingdom, and France launched missile strikes on multiple government targets in Syria as a response to the suspected chemical attack in Douma. On 19 April 2018, the Syrian army and allied Palestinian groups began an offensive against the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees, which had at least partially been occupied by ISIL. The offensive resulted in the deaths of at least 19 ISIL militants and at least 15 pro-government fighters ; however, at least 19 civilians were reportedly killed in the campaign, as well as at least 150 injured. On 1 May, the U.S. government announced the U.S. - led coalition 's `` operations to liberate the final ISIS strongholds in Syria '' ; the announcement said the U.S. would ensure that `` populations liberated from ISIS are not exploited by the Assad regime or its Iranian supporters ''. Advanced weaponry and tactics See also : Equipment of the Syrian Army and List of military equipment used by Syrian opposition forces Chemical weapons Main articles : Syria and weapons of mass destruction and Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War See also : Syria chemical weapons program and Destruction of Syria 's chemical weapons Sarin, mustard agent and chlorine gas have been used during the conflict. Numerous casualties led to an international reaction, especially the 2013 Ghouta attacks. A UN fact - finding mission was requested to investigate alleged chemical weapons attacks. In four cases the UN inspectors confirmed use of sarin gas. In August 2016, a confidential report by the United Nations and the OPCW explicitly blamed the Syrian military of Bashar al - Assad for dropping chemical weapons ( chlorine bombs ) on the towns of Talmenes in April 2014 and Sarmin in March 2015 and ISIS for using sulfur mustard on the town of Marea in August 2015. The United States and the European Union have accused the Syrian government of conducting several chemical attacks. Following the 2013 Ghouta attacks and international pressure, the destruction of Syria 's chemical weapons began. In 2015 the UN mission disclosed previously undeclared traces of sarin compounds in a `` military research site ''. After the April 2017 Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, the United States launched its first attack against Syrian government forces. Cluster bombs Many nations including but not limited to Syria, the United States, Russia, China, Israel and India are not parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and do not recognize the ban on the use of cluster bombs. The Syrian Army is alleged to have begun using cluster bombs in September 2012. Steve Goose, director of the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch said `` Syria is expanding its relentless use of cluster munitions, a banned weapon, and civilians are paying the price with their lives and limbs '', `` The initial toll is only the beginning because cluster munitions often leave unexploded bomblets that kill and maim long afterward. '' Thermobaric weapons Russian thermobaric weapons, also known as `` fuel - air bombs '', have been used by the government side during the war. One Buratino thermobaric rocket launcher `` can obliterate a roughly 200 by 400 metres ( 660 by 1,310 feet ) area with a single salvo ''. Since 2012, rebels have said that the Syrian Air Force ( government forces ) is using thermobaric weapons against residential areas occupied by the rebel fighters, such as during the Battle of Aleppo and also in Kafr Batna. A panel of United Nations human rights investigators reported that the Syrian government used thermobaric bombs against the strategic town of Qusayr in March 2013. In August 2013, the BBC reported on the use of napalm - like incendiary bombs on a school in northern Syria. On 2 December 2015, The National Interest reported that Russia was deploying the TOS - 1 Buratino multiple rocket launch system to Syria, which is `` designed to launch massive thermobaric charges against infantry in confined spaces such as urban areas. '' Anti-tank missiles Several types of anti-tank missiles are in use in Syria. Russia has sent 9M133 Kornet, third - generation anti-tank guided missiles to the Syrian Government whose forces have used them extensively against armour and other ground targets to fight Jihadists and rebels. U.S. - made BGM - 71 TOW missiles are one of the primary weapons of rebel groups and have been primarily provided by the United States and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. has also supplied many Eastern European sourced 9K111 Fagot launchers and warheads to Syrian rebel groups under its Timber Sycamore program. Ballistic missiles Main article : 2017 Deir ez - Zor missile strike In June 2017, Iran attacked ISIL targets in the Deir ez - Zor area in eastern Syria with Zolfaghar ballistic missiles fired from western Iran, in the first use of mid-range missiles by Iran in 30 years. According to Jane 's Defence Weekly, the missiles travelled 650 -- 700 kilometres. Belligerents Main article : List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War See also : Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War It has been suggested that portions of this section be split out and merged into the article titled List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War, which already exists. ( Discuss ) ( March 2017 ) Syrian Arab Republic and allies Main articles : Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party -- Syria Region and Syrian Arab Republic A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late 2015 / early 2016 the Syrian government was dependent on a mix of volunteers and militias rather than the Syrian Armed Forces. Syrian armed forces Main article : Syrian Armed Forces Two destroyed Syrian Army tanks in Azaz, August 2012 The funeral procession of Syrian General Mohammed al - Awwad who was assassinated in Damascus in 2012 Before the uprising and war broke out, the Syrian Armed Forces were estimated at 325,000 regular troops and 280,000 -- 300,000 reservists. Of the regular troops, 220,000 were ' army troops ' and the rest in the navy, air force and air defense force. Following defections as early as June 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated that by July 2012, tens of thousands of soldiers had defected, and a Turkish official estimated 60,000. National Defense force Main article : National Defence Forces ( Syria ) The Syrian NDF was formed out of pro-government militias. They receive their salaries and military equipment from the government, and number around 100,000 troops. The force acts in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and running counter-insurgency operations in coordination with the army, who provides them with logistical and artillery support. The force has a 500 - strong women 's wing called `` Lionesses of National Defense '' which operates checkpoints. NDF members, like regular army soldiers, are allowed to loot the battlefields ( but only if they participate in raids with the army ), and can sell the loot for extra money. Sensing that they depend on the largely secular government, many of the militias of Syrian Christians ( like Sootoro in Al - Hasakah ) fight on the Syrian government 's side and seek to defend their ancient towns, villages and farmsteads from ISIL ( see also Christian Militias in Syria ). Shabiha Main article : Shabiha The Shabiha are unofficial pro-government militias drawn largely from Syria 's Alawite minority group. Since the uprising, the Syrian government has been accused of using shabiha to break up protests and enforce laws in restive neighborhoods. As the protests escalated into an armed conflict, the opposition started using the term shabiha to describe civilians they suspected of supporting Bashar al - Assad and the Syrian government and clashing with pro-opposition demonstrators. The opposition blames the shabiha for the many violent excesses committed against anti-government protesters and opposition sympathizers, as well as looting and destruction. In December 2012, the shabiha were designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Bassel al - Assad is reported to have created the shabiha in the 1980s for government use in times of crisis. Shabiha have been described as `` a notorious Alawite paramilitary, who are accused of acting as unofficial enforcers for Assad 's government '' ; `` gunmen loyal to Assad '', and, according to the Qatar - based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, `` semi-criminal gangs comprised of thugs close to the government ''. Despite the group 's image as an Alawite militia, some shabiha operating in Aleppo have been reported to be Sunnis. In 2012, the Assad government created a more organized official militia known as the Jaysh al - Sha'bi, allegedly with help from Iran and Hezbollah. As with the shabiha, the vast majority of Jaysh al - Sha'bi members are Alawite and Shi'ite volunteers. Hezbollah Main article : Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian Civil War In February 2013, former secretary general of Hezbollah, Sheikh Subhi al - Tufayli, confirmed that Hezbollah was fighting for the Syrian Army, which in October 2012, General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah had still denied was happening on a large scale, except to admit that Hezbollah fighters helped the Syrian government `` retain control of some 23 strategically located villages ( in Syria ) inhabited by Shiites of Lebanese citizenship ''. Nasrallah said that Hezbollah fighters have died in Syria doing their `` jihadist duties ''. In 2012 and 2013, Hezbollah was active in gaining control of territory in the Al - Qusayr District of Syria, by May 2013 publicly collaborating with the Syrian Army and taking 60 percent of the city by the end of 14 May. In Lebanon, there have been `` a recent increase in the funerals of Hezbollah fighters '' and `` Syrian rebels have shelled Hezbollah - controlled areas. '' As of 14 May 2013, Hezbollah fighters were reported to be fighting alongside the Syrian Army, particularly in the Homs Governorate. Hassan Nasrallah has called on Shiites and Hezbollah to protect the shrine of Sayida Zeinab. President Bashar al - Assad denied in May 2013 that there were foreign fighters, Arab or otherwise, fighting for the government in Syria. On 25 May 2013, Nasrallah announced that Hezbollah was fighting in Syria against Islamic extremists and `` pledged that his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas that border Lebanon ''. In the televised address, he said, `` If Syria falls in the hands of America, Israel and the takfiris, the people of our region will go into a dark period. '' According to independent analysts, by the beginning of 2014, approximately 500 Hezbollah fighters had died in the Syrian conflict. On 7 February 2016, 50 Hezbollah fighters were killed in a clash by the Jaysh al - Islam near Damascus. These fighters were embedded in the SAA formation called Army Division 39. Iran Main article : Iranian involvement in the Syrian Civil War Bodies of Iranian casualties return to Kermanshah, August 2016 Iran continues to officially deny the presence of its combat troops in Syria, maintaining that it provides military advice to Assad 's forces in their fight against terrorist groups. Since the civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war, Iran has provided the Syrian government with financial, technical, and military support, including training and some combat troops. Iran and Syria are close strategic allies. Iran sees the survival of the Syrian government as being crucial to its regional interests. Iran 's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was reported to be vocally in favor of the Syrian government. By December 2013 Iran was thought to have approximately 10,000 operatives in Syria. But according to Jubin Goodarzi, assistant professor and researcher at Webster University, Iran aided the Syrian government with a limited number of deployed units and personnel, `` at most in the hundreds... and not in the thousands as opposition sources claimed ''. Lebanese Hezbollah fighters backed by Tehran have taken direct combat roles since 2012. In the summer of 2013, Iran and Hezbollah provided important battlefield support for Syrian forces, allowing them to make advances on the opposition. In 2014, coinciding with the peace talks at Geneva II, Iran has stepped up support for Syrian President Assad. The Syrian Minister of Finance and Economy stated more than 15 billion dollars had come from the Iranian government. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani is in charge of Syrian President Assad 's security portfolio and has overseen the arming and training of thousands of pro-government Shi'ite fighters. 328 IRGC troops, including several commanders, have reportedly been killed in the Syrian civil war since it began. Foreign Shia militias Liwa Fatemiyoun fighters during the Palmyra offensive in December 2016 Shia fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are `` far more numerous '' than Sunni non-Syrian fighters, though they have received `` noticeably less attention '' from the media. The number of Afghans fighting in Syria on behalf of the Syrian government has been estimated at `` between 10,000 and 12,000 '', the number of Pakistanis is not known ( approximately 15 % of Pakistan 's population is Shia ). The main forces are the liwa ' fatimiyun ( Fatimiyun Brigade ) -- which is composed exclusively of Afghans and fights `` under the auspices '' of Hezbollah Afghanistan -- and the Pakistani liwa ' zaynabiyun ( Zaynabiyun Brigade ) formed in November 2015. Many or most of the fighters are refugees, and Iran has been accused of taking advantage of their inability to `` obtain work permits or establish legal residency in Iran '', and using threats of deportation for those who hesitate to volunteer. The fighters are also paid a relatively high salary, and some have told journalists, that `` the Islamic State is a common enemy of Iran and Afghanistan... this is a holy war, '' and that they wish to protect the Shia pilgrimage site of Sayyida Zaynab, from Sunni jihadis. Russia Main article : Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War See also : Russian naval facility in Tartus On 30 September 2015, Russia 's Federation Council unanimously granted the request by President of Russia Vladimir Putin to permit the use of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria. On the same day, the Russian general Sergey Kuralenko, who represents Russia at the joint information center in Baghdad set up by Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria to coordinate their operations against Islamic State, arrived at the US Embassy in Baghdad and requested that any U.S. forces in the targeted area leave immediately. An hour later, the Russian aircraft based in the government - held territory began conducting airstrikes against the rebel forces. In response to the downing of a Syrian government Su - 22 plane by a U.S. fighter jet near the town of Tabqah in Raqqa province on 18 June 2017, Russia announced that U.S. - led coalition warplanes flying west of the Euphrates would be tracked by Russian anti-aircraft forces in the sky and on the ground and treated as targets ; furthermore, the Russian military said they suspended the hotline ( the `` deconfliction '' line ) with their U.S. counterparts based in Al Udeid. Nevertheless, a few days later, the U.S. military stated that the deconfliction line remained open and that Russia had given the U.S. a prior notification of its massive cruise missile strike from warships in the Mediterranean that was conducted on 23 June 2017, despite the fact that the U.S. was not among those countries mentioned as being forewarned in Russia ′ s official report on the strike. On 27 June 2017, U.S. defence minister Jim Mattis told the press : `` We deconflict with the Russians ; it 's a very active deconfliction line. It 's on several levels, from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the secretary of state with their counterparts in Moscow, General Gerasimov and Minister Lavrov. Then we 've got a three - star deconfliction line that is out of the Joints Chiefs of Staff out of the J5 there. Then we have battlefield deconfliction lines. One of them is three - star again, from our field commander in Baghdad, and one of them is from our CAOC, our Combined Air Operations Center, for real - time deconfliction. '' Syrian opposition and allies Main articles : Syrian opposition and Syrian Interim Government The armed opposition consists of various groups that were either formed during the course of the conflict or joined from abroad. The Syrian National Coalition formed the Syrian Interim Government. The minister of defense is to be chosen by the Free Syrian Army. Other Islamist factions are independent from the mainstream Syrian opposition. Political groups Main article : Syrian opposition Syrian National coalition Main articles : National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and Syrian National Council Syrian National Coalition members in Doha, 11 November 2012. In center, president al - Khatib, along with VPs Seif and Atassi, as well as all SNC chairmen Ghalioun, Sieda and Sabra. Formed on 23 August 2011, the National Council is a coalition of anti-government groups, based in Turkey. The National Council seeks the end of Bashar al - Assad 's rule and the establishment of a modern, civil, democratic state. SNC has links with the Free Syrian Army. On 11 November 2012 in Doha, the National Council and other opposition groups united as the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The SNC has 22 out of 60 seats of the Syrian National Coalition. The following day, it was recognized as the legitimate government of Syria by numerous Persian Gulf states. Delegates to the Coalition 's leadership council are to include women and representatives of religious and ethnic minorities, including Alawites. The military council will reportedly include the Free Syrian Army. The main aims of the National Coalition are replacing the Bashar al - Assad government and `` its symbols and pillars of support '', `` dismantling the security services '', unifying and supporting the Free Syrian Army, refusing dialogue and negotiation with the al - Assad government, and `` holding accountable those responsible for killing Syrians, destroying ( Syria ), and displacing ( Syrians ) ''. National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Main article : National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Formed in 2011 and based in Damascus, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change is an opposition bloc consisting of 13 left - wing political parties and `` independent political and youth activists ''. It has been defined by Reuters as the internal opposition 's main umbrella group. The NCC initially had several Kurdish political parties as members, but all except for the Democratic Union Party left in October 2011 to join the Kurdish National Council. Some have accused the NCC of being a `` front organization '' for Bashar al - Assad 's government and some of its members of being ex-government insiders. Relations with other Syrian political opposition groups are generally poor. The Syrian Revolution General Commission, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria or the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution oppose the NCC calls to dialogue with the Syrian government. In September 2012, the Syrian National Council ( SNC ) reaffirmed that despite broadening its membership, it would not join with `` currents close to ( the ) NCC ''. Despite recognizing the Free Syrian Army on 23 September 2012, the FSA has dismissed the NCC as an extension of the government, stating that `` this opposition is just the other face of the same coin ''. Military rebel groups Free Syrian Army and affiliate groups Main article : Free Syrian Army Free Syrian Army fighters being transported by pickup truck The formation of the Free Syrian Army ( FSA ) was announced on 29 July 2011 by a group of defecting Syrian Army officers, encouraging others to defect in order to defend civilian protesters from violence by the state and effect government change. By December 2011, estimates of the number of defectors to the FSA ranged from 1,000 to over 25,000. The FSA, initially `` headquartered '' in Turkey, moved its headquarters to northern Syria in September 2012, and functions more as an umbrella organization than a traditional military chain of command. FSA soldiers plan during the Battle of Aleppo ( October 2012 ). In March 2012, two reporters of The New York Times witnessed an FSA attack and learned that the FSA had a stock of able, trained soldiers and ex-officers, organized to some extent, but without the weapons to put up a realistic fight. In April 2013, the US announced it would transfer $123 million in nonlethal aid to Syrian rebels through defected general Salim Idriss, leader of the FSA, who later acknowledged `` the rebels '' were badly fragmented and lacked military skill. Idriss said he was working on a countrywide command structure, but that a lack of material support was hurting that effort. `` Now it is very important for them to be unified. But unifying them in a manner to work like a regular army is still difficult '', Idriss said. He acknowledged common operations with Islamist group Ahrar ash - Sham but denied any cooperation with Islamist group al - Nusra Front. Abu Yusaf, a commander of the Islamic State ( IS ), said in August 2014 that many of the FSA members who had been trained by United States ' and Turkish and Arab military officers were actually joining IS, but by September 2014 the Free Syrian Army was joining an alliance and common front with Kurdish militias including the YPG to fight ISIS. In October 2015, shortly after the start of Russia 's military intervention in Syria, a senior ex-US official was paraphrased as saying `` the ' moderates ' had collapsed long ago '' in a piece by Robert Fisk, who added that many fighters had defected to other rebel groups, while Russia 's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called the FSA `` an already phantom structure '', but later proclaimed that Russia was ready to aid the FSA with airstrikes against ISIS. On the other hand, in December 2015, according to the American Institute for the Study of War, groups that identify as FSA were still present around Aleppo and Hama and in southern Syria, and the FSA was still `` the biggest and most secular of the rebel groups. '' By March 2017, the FSA backed by Turkey finished clearing the Islamic State from the north of Syria. After this, they turned to attempting to take over Afrin canton from the YPG. Syrian opposition campaign in support of Syria in 2012 Islamist factions Main article : Islamic Front ( Syria ) The Islamic Front ( Arabic : الجبهة الإسلامية ‎, al - Jabhat al - Islāmiyyah ) was a merger of seven rebel groups involved in the Syrian civil war that was announced on 22 November 2013. The group had about 40,000 fighters. An anonymous spokesman for the group had stated that it will not have ties with the Syrian National Coalition, though a member of the political bureau of the group, Ahmad Musa, has stated that he hopes for recognition from the Syrian National Council in cooperation for what he suggested `` the Syrian people want. They want a revolution and not politics and foreign agendas. '' The group is widely seen as backed and armed by Saudi Arabia. Salafist factions In September 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that extremist Salafi jihadist groups make up 15 -- 25 % of rebel forces. According to Charles Lister, about 12 % of rebels are part of groups linked to al - Qaeda, 18 % belong to Ahrar ash - Sham, and 9 % belong to Suqour al - Sham Brigade. These numbers contrast with a report by Jane 's Information Group, a defense outlet, claiming almost half of all rebels being affiliated to Islamist groups. British think - tank Centre on Religion and Geopolitics, linked to former British PM Tony Blair, says that 60 % of the rebels could be classified as Islamist extremists. In September 2013, leaders of 13 powerful salafist brigades rejected the Syrian National Coalition and called Sharia law `` the sole source of legislation ''. In a statement they declared that `` the coalition and the putative government headed by Ahmad Tomeh does not represent or recognize us ''. Among the signatory rebel groups were al - Nusra Front, Ahrar ash - Sham and Al - Tawheed. Al - Nusra Front / Jabhat Fateh al - Sham / Hay'at Tahrir al - Sham Main article : Al - Nusra Front The scene of the October 2012 Aleppo bombings, for which al - Nusra Front claimed responsibility The al - Qaeda - linked al - Nusra Front, being the biggest jihadist group in Syria, is often considered to be the most aggressive and violent part of the opposition. Being responsible for over 50 suicide bombings, including several deadly explosions in Damascus in 2011 and 2012, it is recognized as a terrorist organization by the Syrian government and was designated as such by United States in December 2012. It has been supported by the Turkish government for years, according to a US intelligence adviser quoted by Seymour Hersh. In April 2013, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq released an audio statement announcing that al - Nusra Front is its branch in Syria. The leader of al - Nusra, Abu Mohammad al - Golani, said that the group would not merge with the Islamic State of Iraq but would still maintain allegiance to Ayman al - Zawahiri, the leader of al - Qaeda. The estimated manpower of al - Nusra Front is approximately 6,000 -- 10,000 people, including many foreign fighters. The relationship between the al - Nusra Front and the indigenous Syrian opposition is tense, even though al - Nusra has fought alongside the FSA in several battles and some FSA fighters defected to the al - Nusra Front. The Mujahideen 's strict religious views and willingness to impose sharia law disturbed many Syrians. Some rebel commanders have accused foreign jihadists of `` stealing the revolution '', robbing Syrian factories and displaying religious intolerance. Al - Nusra Front has been accused of mistreating religious and ethnic minorities since their formation. On 10 March 2014, al - Nusra released 13 Christian nuns captured from Ma'loula, Damascus, in exchange for the release of 150 women from the Syrian government 's prisons. The nuns reported that they were treated well by al - Nusra during their captivity, adding that they `` were giving us everything we asked for '' and that `` no one bothered us ''. The al - Nusra Front renamed itself to Jabhat Fateh al - Sham ( JFS ) in June 2016, and later became the leading member of Hay'at Tahrir al - Sham ( HTS ) in 2017. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) Main article : Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Much of Raqqa suffered extensive damage during the battle of Raqqa in June -- October 2017. Called Dā'ash or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( abbrv. ISIL or ISIS ( Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ) ) made rapid military gains in Northern Syria starting in April 2013 and as of mid-2014 controls large parts of that region, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights describes it as `` the strongest group ''. It has imposed strict Sharia law over land that it controls. The group was, until 2014, affiliated with al - Qaeda, led by the Iraqi fighter Abu Bakr al - Baghdadi, and has an estimated 7,000 fighters in Syria, including many non-Syrians. It has been praised as less corrupt than other militia groups and criticized for abusing human rights and for not tolerating non-Islamist militia groups, foreign journalists or aid workers, whose members it has expelled, imprisoned, or executed. According to Michael Weiss, ISIL has not been targeted by the Syrian government `` with quite the same gusto '' as other rebel factions. By summer 2014, ISIL controlled a third of Syria. It established itself as the dominant force of Syrian opposition, defeating Jabhat al - Nusra in Deir Ezzor Governorate and claiming control over most of Syria 's oil and gas production. The Syrian government did not begin to fight ISIL until June 2014 despite its having a presence in Syria since April 2013, according to Kurdish officials. According to IHS Markit, between April 2016 and April 2017, ISIL offensively fought the Syrian government 43 % of times, Turkish - backed rebel groups 40 % of times, and the Syrian Democratic Forces 17 % of times. ISIL was able to recruit more than 6,300 fighters in July 2014 alone. In September 2014, reportedly some Syrian rebels signed a `` non-aggression '' agreement with ISIL in a suburb of Damascus, citing inability to deal with both ISIL and the Syrian Army 's attacks at once. Some Syrian rebels have, however, decried the news on the `` non-aggression '' pact. ISIL have also planted bombs in the ancient city area of Palmyra, a city with population of 50,000. Palmyra is counted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is home to some of the most extensive and best - preserved ancient Roman ruins in the world. Having lost nearly half of their territory in Iraq since 2014, many more Islamic State leaders have begun to sell their property and sneak into Syria, further destabilizing the region. North Syria Federation ( Rojava ) Main article : Democratic Federation of Northern Syria Syrian Democratic Council Main article : Syrian Democratic Council The Syrian Democratic Council was established on 10 December 2015 in al - Malikiyah. It was co-founded by prominent human rights activist Haytham Manna and was intended as the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces. The council includes more than a dozen blocs and coalitions that support federalism in Syria, including the Movement for a Democratic Society, the Kurdish National Alliance in Syria, the Law -- Citizenship -- Rights Movement, and since September 2016 the Syria 's Tomorrow Movement. The last group is led by former National Coalition president and Syrian National Council Ahmad Jarba. In August 2016 the SDC opened a public office in al - Hasakah. The Syrian Democratic Council was invited to participate in the international Geneva III peace talks on Syria in March 2016. However, it rejected the invitation. Syrian Democratic forces Main articles : Syrian Democratic Forces and Rojava conflict Kurds showing their support for the PYD in Afrin during the conflict The Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ) are an alliance of mainly Kurdish but also Arab, Syriac - Assyrian, and Turkmen militias with mainly left - wing and democratic confederalist political leanings. They are opposed to the Assad government, but have directed most of their efforts against Al - Nusra Front and ISIL. The group formed in December 2015, led primarily by the predominantly Kurdish People 's Protection Units ( YPG ). Estimates of its size range from 55,000 to 80,000 fighters. While largely Kurdish, it 's estimated that about 40 % of the fighters are non-Kurdish. Kurds -- mostly Sunni Muslims, with a small minority of Yezidis -- represented 10 % of Syria 's population at the start of the uprising in 2011. They had suffered from decades of discrimination and neglect, being deprived of basic civil, cultural, economic, and social rights. When protests began, Assad 's government finally granted citizenship to an estimated 200,000 stateless Kurds, in an effort to try and neutralize potential Kurdish opposition. Despite this concession, most Kurds remain opposed to the government, hoping instead for a more decentralized Syria based on federalism. The Syriac Military Council, like many Christian militias ( such as Khabour Guards, Nattoreh, and Sutoro ), originally formed to defend Christian villages, but joined the Kurdish forces to retake Hasakah from ISIS in late 2015 The Female Protection Forces of the Land Between the Two Rivers is an all - female force of Assyrian fighters in north east Syria fighting ISIS alongside other Assyrian and Kurdish units. Before the formation of the SDF, the YPG was the primary fighting force in the DFNS, and first entered this Syrian civil war as belligerent in July 2012 by capturing a town, Kobanî, that until then was under control of the Syrian Assad - government ( see Syrian Kurdistan campaign ). On 17 March 2016 the Syrian Democratic Council, the political wing of the SDF, declared the creation of an autonomous federation in northern Syria. U.S. - led coalition against ISIL See also : Combined Joint Task Force -- Operation Inherent Resolve, American - led intervention in Syria, and Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War A number of countries, including some individual NATO members, have since September 2014 participated in air operations in Syria that came to be overseen by the Combined Joint Task Force, set up by the US Central Command to coordinate military efforts against ISIL pursuant to their collectively undertaken commitments, including those of 3 December 2014. Those who have conducted airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Some members are involved in the conflict beyond combating ISIL ; Turkey has been accused of fighting against Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, including intelligence collaborations with ISIL in some cases. According to one intelligence adviser quoted by controversial journalist Seymour Hersh, the conclusion of a `` highly classified assessment '' carried out by the Defense Intelligence Agency ( DIA ) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2013 was that Turkey had effectively transformed the secret US arms program in support of moderate rebels, who no longer existed, into an indiscriminate program to provide technical and logistical support for all elements of the opposition, including Jabhat al - Nusra and Islamic State. Foreign involvement Main articles : Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War and Foreign rebel fighters in the Syrian Civil War Map of countries surrounding Syria ( red ) with military involvement Syria Countries that support the Syrian government Countries that support the Syrian rebels Countries that are divided in their support Both the Syrian government and the opposition have received support, militarily and diplomatically, from foreign countries leading the conflict to often be described as a proxy war. The major parties supporting the Syrian Government are Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. The main Syrian opposition body -- the Syrian coalition -- receives political, logistic and military support from the United States, Britain and France. The pro-government countries are involved in the war politically and logistically by providing military equipment, training and battle troops. The Syrian government has also received arms from Russia and SIGINT support directly from GRU, in addition to significant political support from Russia. Some Syrian rebels get training from the CIA at bases in Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Under the aegis of operation Timber Sycamore and other clandestine activities, CIA operatives and U.S. special operations troops have trained and armed nearly 10,000 rebel fighters at a cost of $1 billion a year since 2012. The Syrian coalition also receives logistic and political support from Sunni states, most notably Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia ; all the three major supporting states however have not contributed any troops for direct involvement in the war, though Turkey was involved in border incidents with the Syrian Army. The Financial Times and The Independent reported that Qatar had funded the Syrian rebellion by as much as $3 billion. It reported that Qatar was offering refugee packages of about $50,000 a year to defectors and family. Saudi Arabia has emerged as the main group to finance and arm the rebels. According to Seymour Hersh, US intelligence estimates that the opposition is financed by Saudi Arabia to the tune of $700 million a year ( 2014 ). The designation of the FSA by the West as a moderate opposition faction has allowed it, under the CIA - run programmes, to receive sophisticated weaponry and other military support from the U.S., Turkey and some Gulf countries that effectively increases the total fighting capacity of the Islamist rebels. French television France 24 reported that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, with perhaps 3,000 foreign jihadists among its ranks, `` receives private donations from the Gulf states. '' It is estimated ISIL has sold oil for between $1 m - 4m per day principally to Turkish buyers, during at least six months in 2013, greatly helping its growth. The Turkish government has been also accused of helping ISIL by turning a blind eye to illegal transfers of weapons, fighters, oil and pillaged antiquities across the southern border. As of 2015, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are openly backing the Army of Conquest, an umbrella rebel group that reportedly includes an al - Qaeda linked al - Nusra Front and another Salafi coalition known as Ahrar ash - Sham, and Faylaq Al - Sham, a coalition of Muslim Brotherhood - linked rebel groups. On 21 August 2014, two days after US photojournalist James Foley was beheaded, the U.S. military admitted a covert rescue attempt involving dozens of US Special Operations forces had been made to rescue Americans and other foreigners held captive in Syria by ISIL militants. The rescue attempt is the first known US military ground action inside Syria. The resultant gunfight resulted in one US soldier being injured. The rescue was unsuccessful as the captives were not in the location targeted. On 11 September 2014 the US Congress expressed support to give President Obama the $500 million he wanted to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels. The question of whether the president has authority to continue airstrikes beyond the 60 - day window granted by the War Powers Resolution remained unresolved. On 12 September, US Secretary of State John Kerry met Turkish leaders to secure backing for US - led action against ISIL, but Ankara showed reluctance to play a frontline role. Kerry stated that it was `` not appropriate '' for Iran to join talks on confronting ISIL. The plans revealed in September also involve Iraq in targeting ISIL. US warplanes have launched 158 strikes in Iraq over the past five weeks while emphasizing a relatively narrow set of targets. The Pentagon 's press secretary, John Kirby, said the air campaign in Iraq, which began 8 Aug, will enter a more aggressive phase. On the other hand, according to Fanack, initial refusal from the West to support the Syrian liberal opposition has contributed to the emergence of extremist Sunni groups. These include ISIL and the Nusra Front, linked to al - Qaeda. American and Turkish militaries announced a joint plan to remove Islamic State militants from a 100 - kilometre ( 60 mi ) strip along the Turkish border. Foreign fighters have joined the conflict in opposition to Assad. While most of them are jihadists, some individuals, such as Mahdi al - Harati, have joined to support the Syrian opposition. The ICSR estimates that 2,000 -- 5,500 foreign fighters have gone to Syria since the beginning of the protests, about 7 -- 11 percent of whom came from Europe. It is also estimated that the number of foreign fighters does not exceed 10 percent of the opposition armed forces. Another estimate puts the number of foreign jihadis at 15,000 by early 2014. In October 2012, various Iraqi religious groups join the conflict in Syria on both sides. Radical Sunnis from Iraq have traveled to Syria to fight against President Bashar al - Assad and the Syrian government. In December 2015, the Soufan Group estimated a total of 27,000 -- 31,000 foreign fighters from 86 countries had travelled to Syria and Iraq to join extremist groups. Reporting, censoring and propaganda Main article : Media coverage of the Syrian Civil War The Syrian Civil War is one of the most heavily documented wars in history, despite the extreme dangers that journalists face while in Syria. International reactions Main article : International reactions to the Syrian Civil War See also : Vetoed UN resolutions on Syria Esther Brimmer ( U.S. ) speaks at a United Nations Human Rights Council urgent debate on Syria, February 2012 During the early period of the civil war, The Arab League, European Union, the United Nations, and many Western governments quickly condemned the Syrian government 's violent response to the protests, and expressed support for the protesters ' right to exercise free speech. Initially, many Middle Eastern governments expressed support for Assad, but as the death toll mounted, they switched to a more balanced approach by criticizing violence from both government and protesters. Both the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria 's membership. Russia and China vetoed Western - drafted United Nations Security Council resolutions in 2011 and 2012, which would have threatened the Syrian government with targeted sanctions if it continued military actions against protestors. Humanitarian aid Main article : Humanitarian aid during the Syrian Civil War The conflict holds the record for the largest sum ever requested by UN agencies for a single humanitarian emergency, $6.5 billon worth of requests of December 2013. The difficulty of delivering humanitarian aid to people is indicated by the statistics for January 2015 : of the estimated 212,000 people during that month who were besieged by government or opposition forces, 304 were reached with food. The international humanitarian response to the conflict in Syria is coordinated by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( UNOCHA ) in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 46 / 182. The primary framework for this coordination is the Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan ( SHARP ) which appealed for USD $1.41 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Syrians affected by the conflict. Official United Nations data on the humanitarian situation and response is available at an official website managed by UNOCHA Syria ( Amman ). UNICEF is also working alongside these organizations to provide vaccinations and care packages to those in need. US aid to Syrian opposition forces, May 2013 USAID and other government agencies in US delivered nearly $385 million of aid items to Syria in 2012 and 2013. The United States has provided food aid, medical supplies, emergency and basic health care, shelter materials, clean water, hygiene education and supplies, and other relief supplies. Islamic Relief has stocked 30 hospitals and sent hundreds of thousands of medical and food parcels. Other countries in the region have also contributed various levels of aid. Iran has been exporting between 500 and 800 tonnes of flour daily to Syria. Israel has provided treatment to 750 Syrians in a field hospital located in Golan Heights. Rebels say that 250 of their fighters received medical treatment there. Syrian refugees make up one quarter of Lebanon 's population, mostly consisting of women and children. In addition, Russia has said it created six humanitarian aid centers within Syria to support 3000 refugees in 2016. The World Health Organization has reported that 35 % of the country 's hospitals are out of service. Fighting makes it impossible to undertake the normal vaccination programs. The displaced refugees may also pose a risk to countries to which they have fled. 400,000 civilians are isolated by the fighting in eastern Ghouta, resulting in acutely malnourished children according to the United Nations Special Advisor, Jan Egeland, who urges the parties for medical evacuations. 55,000 civilians are also isolated in Berm where they have last seen humanitarian relief in the early summer. 494 individuals are awaiting medical evacuations. Financial information on the response to the SHARP and assistance to refugees and for cross-border operations can be found on UNOCHA 's Financial Tracking Service. As of 19 September 2015, the top ten donors to Syria were United States, European Commission, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Japan, UAE, and Norway. Impact Deaths Main article : Casualties of the Syrian Civil War Total deaths over the course of the conflict in Syria ( 18 March 2011 -- 18 October 2013 ) based on data from the Syrian National Council On 2 January 2013, the United Nations stated that 60,000 had been killed since the civil war began, with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay saying `` The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking. '' Four months later, the UN 's updated figure for the death toll had reached 80,000. On 13 June 2013, the UN released an updated figure of people killed since fighting began, the figure being exactly 92,901, for up to the end of April 2013. Navi Pillay, UN high commissioner for human rights, stated that : `` This is most likely a minimum casualty figure. '' The real toll was guessed to be over 100,000. Some areas of the country have been affected disproportionately by the war ; by some estimates, as many as a third of all deaths have occurred in the city of Homs. One problem has been determining the number of `` armed combatants '' who have died, due to some sources counting rebel fighters who were not government defectors as civilians. At least half of those confirmed killed have been estimated to be combatants from both sides, including 52,290 government fighters and 29,080 rebels, with an additional 50,000 unconfirmed combatant deaths. In addition, UNICEF reported that over 500 children had been killed by early February 2012, and another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons ; both of these claims have been contested by the Syrian government. Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners are known to have died under torture. In mid-October 2012, the opposition activist group SOHR reported the number of children killed in the conflict had risen to 2,300, and in March 2013, opposition sources stated that over 5,000 children had been killed. In January 2014, a report was released detailing the systematic killing of more than 11,000 detainees of the Syrian government. Wounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo, October 2012 On 20 August 2014, a new U.N. study concluded that at least 191,369 people have died in the Syrian conflict. The UN thereafter stopped collecting statistics, but a study by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research released in February 2016 estimated the death toll to be 470,000, with 1.9 m wounded ( reaching a total of 11.5 % of the entire population either wounded or killed ). Disease Formerly rare infectious diseases have spread in rebel - held areas brought on by poor sanitation and deteriorating living conditions. The diseases have primarily affected children. These include measles, typhoid, hepatitis, dysentery, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough and the disfiguring skin disease leishmaniasis. Of particular concern is the contagious and crippling Poliomyelitis. As of late 2013 doctors and international public health agencies have reported more than 90 cases. Critics of the government complain that, even before the uprising, it contributed to the spread of disease by purposefully restricting access to vaccination, sanitation and access to hygienic water in `` areas considered politically unsympathetic ''. Refugee migration Main article : Refugees of the Syrian Civil War Syrian refugees in Lebanon living in cramped quarters ( 6 August 2012 ) The violence in Syria caused millions to flee their homes. As of March 2015, Al - Jazeera estimate 10.9 million Syrians, or almost half the population, have been displaced. 3.8 million have been made refugees. As of 2013, 1 in 3 of Syrian refugees ( about 667,000 people ) sought safety in Lebanon ( normally 4.8 million population ). Others have fled to Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Turkey has accepted 1,700,000 ( 2015 ) Syrian refugees, half of whom are spread around cities and a dozen camps placed under the direct authority of the Turkish Government. Satellite images confirmed that the first Syrian camps appeared in Turkey in July 2011, shortly after the towns of Deraa, Homs, and Hama were besieged. In September 2014, the UN stated that the number of Syrian refugees had exceeded 3 million. According to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Sunnis are leaving for Lebanon and undermining Hezbollah 's status. The Syrian refugee crisis has caused the `` Jordan is Palestine '' threat to be diminished due to the onslaught of new refugees in Jordan. Additionally, `` the West Bank is undergoing emigration pressures which will certainly be copied in Gaza if emigration is allowed ''. Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham claims more than 450,000 Syrian Christians have been displaced by the conflict. As of September 2016, the European Union has reported that there are 13.5 million refugees in need of assistance in the country. Human Rights violations Main article : Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War Victims of the Ghouta chemical attack According to various human rights organizations and United Nations, human rights violations have been committed by both the government and the rebels, with the `` vast majority of the abuses having been committed by the Syrian government ''. According to three international lawyers, Syrian government officials could face war crimes charges in the light of a huge cache of evidence smuggled out of the country showing the `` systematic killing '' of about 11,000 detainees. Most of the victims were young men and many corpses were emaciated, bloodstained and bore signs of torture. Some had no eyes ; others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution. Experts said this evidence was more detailed and on a far larger scale than anything else that had emerged from the then 34 - month crisis. UN reported also that `` siege warfare is employed in a context of egregious human rights and international humanitarian law violations. The warring parties do not fear being held accountable for their acts. '' Armed forces of both sides of the conflict blocked access of humanitarian convoys, confiscated food, cut off water supplies and targeted farmers working their fields. The report pointed to four places besieged by the government forces : Muadamiyah, Daraya, Yarmouk camp and Old City of Homs, as well as two areas under siege of rebel groups : Aleppo and Hama. In Yarmouk Camp 20,000 residents are facing death by starvation due to blockade by the Syrian government forces and fighting between the army and Jabhat al - Nusra, which prevents food distribution by UNRWA. In July 2015, the UN quietly removed Yarmouk from its list of besieged areas in Syria, despite not having been able deliver aid there for four months, and declined to explain why it had done so. ISIS forces have been accused by the UN of using public executions, amputations, and lashings in a campaign to instill fear. `` Forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and al - Sham have committed torture, murder, acts tantamount to enforced disappearance and forced displacement as part of attacks on the civilian population in Aleppo and Raqqa governorates, amounting to crimes against humanity '', said the report from 27 August 2014. Enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions have also been a feature since the Syrian uprising began. An Amnesty International report, published in November 2015, accused the Syrian government of forcibly disappearing more than 65,000 people since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. According to a report in May 2016 by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 60,000 people have been killed since March 2011 through torture or from poor humanitarian conditions in Syrian government prisons. In February 2017, Amnesty International published a report which accused the Syrian government of murdering an estimated 13,000 persons, mostly civilians, at the Saydnaya military prison. They said the killings began in 2011 and were still ongoing. Amnesty International described this as a `` policy of deliberate extermination '' and also stated that `` These practices, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, are authorised at the highest levels of the Syrian government. '' Three months later, the United States State Department stated a crematorium had been identified near the prison. According to the U.S., it was being used to burn thousands of bodies of those killed by the government 's forces and to cover up evidence of atrocities and war crimes. Amnesty International expressed surprise at the claims about the crematorium, as the photographs used by the US are from 2013 and they did not see them as conclusive, and fugitive government officials have stated that the government buries those its executes in cemeteries on military grounds in Damascus. The Syrian government denied the allegations. ISIL and al - Qaeda executions On 19 August, American journalist James Foley was executed by ISIL, who claimed it was in retaliation for the United States operations in Iraq. Foley was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012 by Shabiha militia. ISIL also threatened to execute Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped at the Syrian - Turkish border in August 2013. There were reports ISIS captured a Japanese national, two Italian nationals, and a Danish national as well. Sotloff was later executed in September 2014. At least 70 journalists have been killed covering the Syrian war, and more than 80 kidnapped, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. On 22 August 2014, the al - Nusra Front released a video of captured Lebanese soldiers and demanded Hezbollah withdraw from Syria under threat of their execution. Sectarian threats Main article : Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War Map of Syria 's ethno - religious composition in 1976 The successive governments of Hafez and Bashar al - Assad have been closely associated with the country 's minority Alawite religious group, an offshoot of Shia, whereas the majority of the population, and most of the opposition, is Sunni. Alawites started to be threatened and attacked by dominantly Sunni rebel fighting groups like al - Nusra Front and the FSA since December 2012 ( see Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War # Alawites ). A third of 250,000 Alawite men of military age have been killed fighting in the Syrian civil war. In May 2013, SOHR stated that out of 94,000 killed during the war, at least 41,000 were Alawites. Many Syrian Christians reported that they had fled after they were targeted by the anti-government rebels. ( See : Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War # Christians. ) Al Jazeera reported that `` The Druze accuse rebels of committing atrocities against their community in Syria... Syria 's Druze minority has largely remained loyal to President Bashar al - Assad since the war began in 2011. '' As militias and non-Syrian Shia -- motivated by pro-Shia sentiment rather than loyalty to the Assad government -- have taken over fighting the opposition from the weakened Syrian Army, fighting has taken on a more sectarian nature. One opposition leader has alleged that the Shia militias often `` try to occupy and control the religious symbols in the Sunni community to achieve not just a territorial victory but a sectarian one as well '' -- allegedly occupying mosques and replacing Sunni icons with pictures of Shia leaders. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights human rights abuses have been committed by the militias including `` a series of sectarian massacres between March 2011 and January 2014 that left 962 civilians dead ''. Crime wave Doctors and medical staff treating injured rebel fighters and civilians in Aleppo As the conflict has expanded across Syria, many cities have been engulfed in a wave of crime as fighting caused the disintegration of much of the civilian state, and many police stations stopped functioning. Rates of theft increased, with criminals looting houses and stores. Rates of kidnappings increased as well. Rebel fighters were seen stealing cars and, in one instance, destroying a restaurant in Aleppo where Syrian soldiers had been seen eating. By July 2012, the human rights group Women Under Siege had documented over 100 cases of rape and sexual assault during the conflict, with many of these crimes believed to have been perpetrated by the Shabiha and other pro-government militias. Victims included men, women, and children, with about 80 % of the known victims being women and girls. Local National Defense Forces commanders often engaged `` in war profiteering through protection rackets, looting, and organized crime ''. NDF members were also implicated in `` waves of murders, robberies, thefts, kidnappings, and extortions throughout government - held parts of Syria since the formation of the organization in 2013 '', as reported by the Institute for the Study of War. Criminal networks have been used by both the government and the opposition during the conflict. Facing international sanctions, the Syrian government relied on criminal organizations to smuggle goods and money in and out of the country. The economic downturn caused by the conflict and sanctions also led to lower wages for Shabiha members. In response, some Shabiha members began stealing civilian properties and engaging in kidnappings. Rebel forces sometimes rely on criminal networks to obtain weapons and supplies. Black market weapon prices in Syria 's neighboring countries have significantly increased since the start of the conflict. To generate funds to purchase arms, some rebel groups have turned towards extortion, theft, and kidnapping. Cultural Heritage Main articles : Tourism in Syria, List of heritage sites damaged during the Syrian Civil War, and Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL In January 2018 Turkish air strikes have seriously damaged an ancient Neo-Hittite temple in Syria 's Kurdish - held Afrin region. It was built by the Arameans in the first millennium BC. The Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which was destroyed by ISIL in August 2015 As of March 2015, the war has affected 290 heritage sites, severely damaged 104, and completely destroyed 24. Five of the six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Syria have been damaged. Destruction of antiquities has been caused by shelling, army entrenchment, and looting at various tells, museums, and monuments. A group called Syrian Archaeological Heritage Under Threat is monitoring and recording the destruction in an attempt to create a list of heritage sites damaged during the war and to gain global support for the protection and preservation of Syrian archaeology and architecture. UNESCO listed all six Syria 's World Heritage sites as endangered but direct assessment of damage is not possible. It is known that the Old City of Aleppo was heavily damaged during battles being fought within the district, while Palmyra and Krak des Chevaliers suffered minor damage. Illegal digging is considered a grave danger, and hundreds of Syrian antiquities, including some from Palmyra, appeared in Lebanon. Three archeological museums are known to have been looted ; in Raqqa some artifacts seem to have been destroyed by foreign Islamists due to religious objections. In 2014 and 2015, following the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, several sites in Syria were destroyed by the group as part of a deliberate destruction of cultural heritage sites. In Palmyra, the group destroyed many ancient statues, the Temples of Baalshamin and Bel, many tombs including the Tower of Elahbel, and part of the Monumental Arch. The 13th - century Palmyra Castle was extensively damaged by retreating militants during the Palmyra offensive in March 2016. ISIL also destroyed ancient statues in Raqqa, and a number of churches, including the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Deir ez - Zor. The war has inspired its own particular artwork, done by Syrians. A late summer 2013 exhibition in London at the P21 Gallery showed some of this work, which had to be smuggled out of Syria. Spillover Main article : Spillover of the Syrian Civil War In June 2014, members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) crossed the border from Syria into northern Iraq, and took control of large swaths of Iraqi territory as the Iraqi Army abandoned its positions. Fighting between rebels and government forces also spilled over into Lebanon on several occasions. There were repeated incidents of sectarian violence in the North Governorate of Lebanon between supporters and opponents of the Syrian government, as well as armed clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in Tripoli. Further information : Iraqi Civil War ( 2014 -- present ) and Timeline of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant events in 2014 Starting on 5 June 2014, ISIL seized swathes of territory in Iraq. As of 2014, the Syrian Arab Air Force used airstrikes targeted against ISIL in Raqqa and al - Hasakah in coordination with the Iraqi government. Peace efforts Main articles : Syrian peace process and Syrian Civil War ceasefires Syria peace talks in Vienna, 30 October 2015 During the course of the war, there have been several international peace initiatives, undertaken by the Arab League, the United Nations, and other actors. The Syrian government has refused efforts to negotiate with what it describes as armed terrorist groups. On 1 February 2016, the UN announced the formal start of the UN-mediated Geneva Syria peace talks that had been agreed on by the International Syria Support Group ( ISSG ) in Vienna. On 3 February 2016, the UN Syria peace mediator suspended the talks. On 14 March 2016, Geneva peace talks resumed. The Syrian government insisted that discussion of Bashar - al - Assad 's presidency `` is a red line '', however Syria 's President Bashar al - Assad said he hoped peace talks in Geneva would lead to concrete results, and stressed the need for a political process in Syria. A new round of talks between the Syrian government and some groups of Syrian rebels concluded on 24 January 24, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, with Russia, Iran and Turkey supporting the ceasefire agreement brokered in late December 2016. The Astana Process talks was billed by a Russian official as a complement to, rather than replacement, of the United Nations - led Geneva Process talks. On 4 May 2017, at the fourth round of the Astana talks, representatives of Russia, Iran, and Turkey signed a memorandum whereby four `` de-escalation zones '' in Syria would be established, effective of 6 May 2017. Depictions Films Ladder to Damascus ( 2013 ) Sniper : Legacy ( 2014 ) Phantom ( 2015 ) The Father ( 2016 ) Insyriated ( 2017 ) Damascus Time ( 2018 ) Documentaries The Return to Homs ( 2013 ) Red Lines ( 2014 ) Silvered Water, Syria Self - Portrait ( 2014 ) 7 Days in Syria ( 2015 ) 50 Feet from Syria ( 2015 ) Our War ( 2016 ) The War Show ( 2016 ) The White Helmets ( 2016 ), which won the 2017 Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The battle for Syria. Sources : TV air footage ( video documentary + English subtitles The battle for Syria on YouTube, official video documentary and the official text of the ( 16 ) ). VGTRK Syrian diary. Sources : TV air footage ( video documentary + English subtitles Syrian diary on YouTube ), official video documentary of the ( 17 ). VGTRK Last Men in Aleppo ( 2017 ), nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards. Video games Endgame : Syria ( 2012 ) 1000 Days of Syria ( 2014 ) Syrian Warfare ( 2017 ) Holy Defence ( 2018 ) See also Syrian Civil War portal Terrorism in Syria Islamist uprising in Syria from 1976 until 1982 Iraqi Civil War ( 2014 to present ) Yemeni Civil War ( 2015 to present ) List of modern conflicts in the Middle East List of ongoing armed conflicts List of proxy wars List of wars and battles involving al - Qaeda List of wars by death toll List of wars involving Iran List of wars involving Syria Syrian Civil War ceasefires References Jump up ^ `` Iraq conducts first airstrikes against ISIS in Syria ''. CNN. February 24, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Trump ends CIA arms support for anti-Assad Syria rebels : U.S. officials ''. Reuters. 19 July 2017. Jump up ^ Watson, Ivan ; Tuysuz, Gul ; CNN ( 29 October 2014 ). `` Meet America 's newest allies : Syria 's Kurdish minority ''. CNN. Retrieved 4 November 2017. Jump up ^ A. 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Jump up ^ 8,000 killed in fighting ( 29 June 2014 -- 28 June 2015 ), ( 1 ) 417 killed in Palmyra offensive ( March 2016 ), ( 2 ) 47 killed in fighting with rebels ( 27 -- 29 May 2016 ), ( 3 ) 1,026 killed in Manbij offensive, ( 4 ) 283 killed in Palmyra offensive ( 2017 ), ( 5 ) 1,291 killed in Battle of Raqqa ( 2017 ), ( 6 ) 1,186 killed in Central Syria campaign ( July 2017 -- present ), ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 ) ( 12 ) 538 executed ( 29 June 2014 -- 23 September 2017 ), ( 13 ) 7,176 killed in U.S. air - strikes ( 22 September 2014 -- 23 September 2017 ), ( 14 ) 4,258 killed in Russian air - strikes ( 30 September 2015 -- 01 August 2017 ), ( 15 ) total of 24,232 + reported killed Jump up ^ `` YPG releases balance - sheet of 2014 : Nearly 5,000 ISIS members killed ''. `` Balance of the War Against Hostile Groups in Rojava, Northern Syria : Year 2015 ''. 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Syria Comment -- Joshua Landis ( 21 February 2014 ). `` Saudis And CIA Agree To Arm Syrian ' Moderates ' With Advanced Weapons -- OpEd Eurasia Review ''. Eurasiareview.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Jump up ^ Liz Sly for the Washington Post. `` Renegade al - Qaida faction withdraws from Syrian border town of Azaz World news Guardian Weekly ''. Theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria Army Advancing on Key Rebel Town, Supply Route ''. Theepochtimes.com. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Jump up ^ Bulos, Nabih ; McDonnell, Patrick J. ( 8 March 2014 ). `` Syria government forces seize strategic town near Lebanon border ''. LA Times. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army advances amid new wave of explosions ''. Turkish Weekly. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria conflict : Assad 's forces fully control rebel stronghold of Yabroud, near Lebanon ''. 16 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Israel bombs Syria 's Golan after blast ''. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Jump up ^ Associated, The. `` Syrian Troops Capture Village Near Lebanon Border ''. NPR. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. `` Syria rebels seize prison near Jordan, free inmates Arab News -- Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more ''. Arabnews.com. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Le régime syrien reprend le Krak des Chevaliers et coupe la `` route libanaise '' des rebelles -- L'Orient - Le Jour ``. Lorientlejour.com. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014. Jump up ^ Albert Aji ( 29 March 2014 ). `` Syrian army takes two villages near Lebanon ''. The Daily Star. Retrieved 30 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria condemns Turkey ' aggression ' after jet downed ''. Ndtv.com. Damascus. Agence France - Presse. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Rebels battle for northern Syria town Video Reuters.com ''. Uk.reuters.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Assad 's cousin killed in fighting with Syrian rebels near Turkish border JPost Israel News ''. JPost. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014. `` Assad cousin killed in Syria 's Latakia -- Middle East ''. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 27 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Rebels take northern Syrian town on main highway : activists ''. Reuters. 4 April 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army regains full control of Rankous News, Middle East ''. The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria rebels advance in Aleppo city ''. Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria rebels surrender in border town ''. Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` السيطرة على تل استراتيجي جديد على الحدود مع الجولان المحتل ''. Syriahr.com. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria Daily, April 25 : Insurgents Take Key Regime Position in the Southwest ''. EA WorldView. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` FSA strikes jihadist - held stronghold ''. The Times. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Activists : regime forces captured Tal Buraq ''. Syriahr.com. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Evacuation truce in key Syrian city of Homs goes into effect ''. CNN. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` BBC News -- Syria war : Air defence chief Gen Hussein Ishaq killed ''. Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 19 May 2014. Reuters -- 14 hours ago ( 20 April 2011 ). `` Syria air defence head killed, rebels take northern town -- Yahoo News UK ''. Uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 May 2014. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Syria election : Assad win expected amid civil war ''. BBC. 3 June 2014. Jump up ^ Ian Black. `` Syria presidential election : Assad 's stage - managed show of democracy ''. the Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2015. Sherlock, Ruth ( 2 June 2014 ). `` Syria set to vote as the bloodshed goes on ''. Telegraph.co.uk. London. Retrieved 1 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` Supreme Constitutional Court : Number of participants in Presidential elections reached at 11.634. 412 with 73.42 % ''. SANA. Damascus. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrian President Bashar al - Assad wins third term ''. BBC. 4 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Kerry calls Syrian presidential vote ' meaningless ' ''. Aljazeera. 4 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Foreign delegation in Syria slams West, endorses elections ''. The Times of India. Retrieved 8 June 2014. `` Indian Delegation to monitor Syria election on June 3 ''. KohraM. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` International observers say Syrian elections were transparent ''. laInfo.es. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Arab League criticizes Syrian election plan ''. Reuters. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN ( 4 June 2014 ). `` GCC slams Syrian elections as ' farce ' ''. Arab News. RIYADH. Retrieved 7 June 2015. `` Syria election : Bashar al - Assad re-elected president in poll with ' no legitimacy ' ''. ABC. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014. Sam Tarling ( 5 June 2014 ). `` Inside Aleppo : the people refusing to leave Syria 's shattered city ''. Telegraph. London. Retrieved 8 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria calls in North Korea to monitor its presidential election ''. The Week. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Dagher, Sam ( 3 June 2014 ). `` Syria Elections a Forum to Celebrate Assad ''. WSJ. Retrieved 2 October 2014. `` Bashar Assad claims 88.7 per cent of vote in Syrian election ''. thestar.com. Toronto. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Sly, Liz ( 4 June 2014 ). `` Kerry calls Syria election a ' great big zero ' ''. Washington Post. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Bar'el, Zvi ( 31 May 2014 ). `` An Assad election win will bolster Syria 's status quo ''. Haaretz. Retrieved 31 May 2014. Jump up ^ Saul, Heather ( 3 June 2014 ). `` Syria elections 2014 : Voters turn out for ballot denounced as a ' sham ' by West ''. London : The Independent. Retrieved 5 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrians vote as war rages ''. Gulf - Times. Retrieved 2 October 2014. `` Assad wins vote branded illegitimate by opposition -- Hindustan Times ''. hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` UPDATE 2 - Ninety killed by Islamist attack on Syrian gas field -- monitor ''. Reuters. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` مقتل 65 من قوات النظام في شاعر ''. Syriahr.com. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Jihadists storm Syrian army base in Raqqa ''. The Daily Star Newspaper -- Lebanon. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Jihadists capture key base from Syrian army ''. The Daily Star Newspaper -- Lebanon. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrian militant commander admits collaboration with Israel ''. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria Daily, August 14 : Are Insurgents Doomed in Aleppo ? ''. EA WorldView. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army takes town near Damascus in blow to rebels ''. Reuters UK. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` en / News / middle - east / 2014 / 08 / 13 / ISIS - militants - seize - more - territory - in - Syria - ''. english.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Islamic militants crush tribal uprising in Syria ''. Indian Monitor. The Washington Post. 11 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015. `` Aleppo province : a man was killed with... -- Syrian Observatory for Human Rights -- Facebook ''. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` World -- News -- msn ''. MSN. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` IS Killed More than 700 Syria Tribe Members in 2 Weeks ''. Naharnet. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Lebanon 's Hezbollah kills top jihadist in Syria : NGO ''. Yahoo News. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. `` ISIL commander ' Abu Abdullah al - Iraqi ' killed in Syrian army operation : report ''. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. `` Hezbollah kills suicide bombing plotter : activists ''. The Daily Star Newspaper -- Lebanon. Retrieved 2 October 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Syrian army repels Islamic State attack ''. Retrieved 2 October 2014. `` Third ISIL Attempt to Seize Tabaqa Airport Fails ''. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ AFP. `` ISIS begins push to seize Syrian air base ''. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Toby Helm. `` US ' set to launch air strikes ' on senior Isis terror chiefs in Syria -- World news -- The Observer ''. the Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Cockburn, Patrick ( 20 February 2016 ). `` Turkish threats of intervention after Ankara bombing taken seriously by Obama ''. Retrieved 21 February 2016. Jump up ^ Butler, Daren ( 17 February 2016 ). `` Kurds ' advance in Syria divides U.S. and Turkey as Russia bombs ''. Reuters. Retrieved 21 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syria war planes hit jihadist sites in Deir Ezzor ''. Zee News. Retrieved 2 October 2014. `` Syria Warplanes Strike ISIL Sites in Deir Ezour, Army Operates across Country ''. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` U.S. airstrikes hit ISIS targets inside Syria -- CNN.com ''. CNN. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` US, Arab allies launch first wave of strikes in Syria ''. Fox News. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Abi - Habib, Maria ( 23 September 2014 ). `` Syria Rebels Say They Were Told of Airstrikes Against Islamic State ''. WSJ. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria Daily, Sept 23 : US Airstrikes & Missiles Hit Islamic State ''. EA WorldView. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Erdogan asks UN for no - fly zone over Syria ''. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` IDF shoots down Syrian fighter plane infiltrating Israeli territory ''. Haaretz.com. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` BBC News -- Islamic State steps up attack on Syrian town of Kobane ''. BBC News. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria destroys two warplanes used by ISIS to train fighter pilots ''. Mail Online. London. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014. `` BBC News -- Syria conflict : ' 200 air force strikes ' in 36 hours ''. BBC News. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014. Jump up ^ Oliver Holmes ( 22 October 2014 ). `` Syria says shoots down two of three Islamic State jets ''. Reuters. Retrieved 26 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrian Kurds ' drive Islamic State out of Kobane ' ''. BBC News. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015. Jump up ^ sohranas. `` YPG retakes the entire city of Ayn al - Arab `` Kobani '' after 112 days of clashes with IS militants ``. Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015. Jump up ^ Zargham, Mohammad ( 31 January 2015 ). `` U.S. general says Syrian town of Kobani taken from Islamic State ''. Reuters. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Jump up ^ `` ISIS admits Kobani defeat after U.S. - led airstrike campaign in Syria ''. CTV News. Associated Press. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Members of the Islamic State group have acknowledged for the first time that they were defeated in the Syrian town of Kobani. Jump up ^ `` Syria opposition forces claim regime attack in Daraa futile ''. Al Monitor. Retrieved 20 February 2015. sohranas. `` 26 members of the regime forces and allied militiamen killed today ''. Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015. `` Elijah J. Magnier on Twitter ''. Twitter. Retrieved 4 March 2015. Jump up ^ Perry, Tom ; Al - Khalidi, Suleiman ( 2 April 2015 ). `` As regional war rages, Syria 's Assad faces setbacks ''. Reuters. Retrieved 14 April 2015. But the offensive stalled after some early but limited gains Jump up ^ Taylor Luck. `` Syrian rebels ' march on Damascus becomes fight for their survival ( + video ) ''. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 15 April 2015. Jump up ^ Solomon, Erika ; Kerr, Simeon ( 13 April 2015 ). `` Syria 's rebels heartened by healing of Sunni Arab rifts ''. Financial Times. Retrieved 13 April 2015. In the south, opposition forces foiled an offensive led by regime allies (... ) for the first time since their revolution began, rebels note that advances in the north and south are coinciding, and their backers ' two operating rooms -- one in Turkey used by Ankara and Doha, and another in Jordan used more by Saudi Arabia and Western allies -- appear to be co-ordinating Jump up ^ Blanford, Nicholas ( 21 August 2015 ). `` Can Syria 's Assad withstand latest battlefield setbacks ? ( + video ) ''. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 22 April 2015. The regime 's recent setbacks in Idlib and the south are due in part to Assad 's regional enemies -- including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Jordan -- agreeing on the need to unite rebel factions to oust Assad, according to analysts and regional diplomats. Jump up ^ `` US - backed forces in Syria suffer big setback ''. 1 November 2014. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014. Sly, Liz ( 2 November 2014 ). `` U.S. - backed Syria rebels routed by fighters linked to al - Qaeda ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 November 2014. Jump up ^ Gibbons - Neff, Thomas ( 15 December 2014 ). `` Al - Qaeda faction in Syria claims to have U.S. - supplied anti-tank weapon ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 June 2015. The fielding of a TOW system would not necessarily provide al - Nusra with a capability it did n't already have. Similar weapons systems such as the Chinese HJ - 8, French Milan and the Russian Spigot have all been seen in operation in Syria. Jump up ^ `` Southern Syria rebels set collision course with al Qaeda ''. Reuters. 14 April 2015. ^ Jump up to : Lister, Charles ( 1 June 2015 ). `` An Internal Struggle : Al Qaeda 's Syrian Affiliate Is Grappling With Its Identity ''. Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 June 2015. But not all saw it the same way, especially when it came to the fighting against the SRF and Harakat Hazm. One FSA commander exclaimed to this author that `` Jamal Maarouf was a criminal and his group was unpopular, '' while another such leader told this author in February 2015 that `` Hazm 's destruction can not come soon enough, they have done nothing but cause trouble in Aleppo. '' (... ) Having spoken extensively with leading commanders from across the Syrian spectrum in recent weeks, it is clear this ( Army of Conquest ) cooperation has at least partly been motivated by a desire to ensure victories in Idlib do not become strategic gains for al Qaeda. Jump up ^ al - Akla, Ahmad ( 8 May 2015 ). `` After Syrian Army 's Defeat, People Trickle Back to Idlib Towns ''. IWPR. Retrieved 29 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` The Nusra Front 's Game - Changing Rise in Syria ''. Carnegie Middle East Center. Retrieved 21 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` News Update 3 - 25 - 15 ''. Syria Direct. Retrieved 25 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` Middle East -- New Islamist alliance seizes Idlib from Syrian troops -- France 24 ''. France 24. Blasting News. `` New Islamist alliance captures Syrian regional capital Idlib from government forces ''. Blasting News. `` Thousands flee Syrian city Idlib after rebel capture ''. The Daily Telegraph. London. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` As regional war rages, Syria 's Assad faces setbacks ''. Reuters. 2 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria conflict : Islamists capture Jisr al - Shughur ''. BBC News. Jump up ^ sohranas. `` After al - Mastomi town and its military camp, Al - Fateh Army expels the regime forces from Nihlaya ''. Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Rebels take Ariha from Assad ''. The Daily Star Newspaper -- Lebanon. Jump up ^ Erin Banco ( 19 June 2015 ). `` In Syria 's North, Opposition Is Making A Major Comeback Thanks To One Rebel Group, And To Turkey ''. International Business Times. Jump up ^ `` Outside Powers Weigh Their Options in Syria ''. Stratfor. 6 June 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hezbollah, Syrian army make big gains in border battle ''. Reuters. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` ISIS is ' everywhere ' in Syria 's ancient city of Palmyra ''. CNN. 21 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` IS overruns parts of Unesco - listed Syrian city ''. Retrieved 20 May 2015. Jump up ^ sohranas. `` Islamic State carries out its motto `` lasting and explading '' and seizes more than 50 % of Syria ``. Syrian Observatory For Human Rights. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015. `` Syrian air force targets captured Palmyra city -- monitor ''. Reuters. 25 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria regime launches 15 air raids around Palmyra ''. The National. Jump up ^ Spencer, Richard ( 9 June 2015 ). `` Assad 's forces defeated on roads north and south ''. The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Meanwhile, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, attacked west from Palmyra, reached the town of Hassia on the main road north from Damascus to Homs and the coast. Jump up ^ `` Islamic State Launches Two Attacks in Syria ''. Stratfor. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015. The Islamic State launched two attacks in northern Syria on June 25 (... ) The second attack was directed against the parts of al - Hasaka city still occupied by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad and Kurds in the northern part of town. The mainstream media has largely focused on the Kobanî attack, but the al - Hasaka operation in the northeast is more important by far. Jump up ^ `` Islamic State attack in northeast Syria reported to displace 60,000 -- UN ''. The Star Online. Reuters. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015. Jump up ^ Bertrand, Natasha ( 28 July 2015 ). `` Senior Western official : Links between Turkey and ISIS are now ' undeniable ' ''. Business Insider. Jump up ^ `` ISIS seize Qaryatain town in central Syria ''. Daily Mail. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Australia launches first air strikes inside Syria ''. BBC News. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` The US says it will defend Syria rebels with airpower -- even from Assad ''. Business Insider. `` First U.S. - trained Syria rebel believed killed in fighting : sources ''. Reuters. 3 August 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Russian missiles ' hit IS in Syria from Caspian Sea ' ''. BBC News. 7 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` The decision to use the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation abroad ( Syria ) '' ( in Russian ). RIA Novosti. 30 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Russian military advisers work in Syria, longtime military cooperation ' no secret ' ''. RT. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` US Confirms Russian Airstrikes in Syria '', 30 September 2015. Jump up ^ Manal. `` Syria 's ambassador to Russia urges all countries to join Syria and Russia against terrorism ''. sana.sy. Jump up ^ `` Syria conflict : Russia launches fresh strikes -- BBC News ''. bbc.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015. `` Russians make air strikes on Islamic State, US - backed Syrian rebel targets ''. stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Obama authorizes resupply of Syrian opposition ''. CNN. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Russian missiles ' hit IS in Syria from Caspian Sea ' ''. BBC News. 7 October 2015. `` Russia has ground troop battalion, advanced tanks in Syria : U.S. NATO envoy ''. Reuters. 7 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army, Russian jets drive back rebels in fiercest clashes for days : monitor ''. Reuters. 12 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Obama Administration Ends Pentagon Program to Train Syrian Rebels ''. The New York Times. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` U.S. Weaponry Is Turning Syria Into Proxy War With Russia ''. The New York Times. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` US axes $500 m scheme to train Syrian rebels, says NYT ''. The Guardian. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. `` Secret CIA effort in Syria faces large funding cut ''. The Washington Post. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. Jump up ^ Lizzie Dearden ( 9 October 2015 ). `` Iranian commander Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani killed by Isis while advising Syrian regime ''. The Independent. `` Iran 's involvement in Syria carries growing costs -- U.S. official : ' Psychological blow ' in ISIS killing of Iranian general in Syria ''. edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015. `` Two more Iranian commanders killed in Syria ''. Al Jazeera. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Новости NEWSru.com : : Сирийская армия при поддержке российской авиации пошла в атаку на позиции повстанцев под Хомсом ''. newsru.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015. `` Syria and allies Iran and Russia prepare for Aleppo offensive ''. euronews.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015. `` Syria 's army, allies plan offensive against insurgents in Aleppo ''. Reuters. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015. `` Syrian Army, Hezbollah, Russian Air Force Coordinating for Aleppo Liberation Operation ''. FARS News Agency. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015. `` Syria conflict : Army launches new Aleppo offensive ''. BBC News. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` US signals shift in Syria - Iraq campaign against Islamic State ''. BBC News. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria conflict : John Kerry seeks end to civil war ' hell ' ''. BBC News. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army enters Aleppo air base after Islamic State siege -- state TV ''. Reuters. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` TASS : Military & Defense -- Russia involves strategic missile carriers in operation against Islamic State in Syria ''. TASS. ^ Jump up to : `` Long - range bombers to fly anti-ISIS missions from Russia, Putin orders Navy to work with France ''. RT English. Jump up ^ `` French jets bomb ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria ; few may have been killed ''. CNN. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015. Jump up ^ Путин поручил ВМФ РФ установить контакт с военно - морской группой Франции Interfax, 17 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Russia steps up attacks against IS with missile bombardment ''. BBC News. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` France to deploy largest warship in mission against IS ''. BBC News. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` France more active than rest of the west in tackling Syria ''. The Guardian. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015. Jump up ^ МИД РФ : удары Парижа по инфраструктуре Сирии не оправданы самообороной RIA Novosti, 20 November 2015. `` Если ничего не предпринимать, то террористическая угроза приобретет для нас еще более серьезные масштабы '' Kommersant, 20 November 2015. Jump up ^ President al - Assad to French delegation : Terrorist attacks on Paris ca n't be separated from those of Beirut and events in Syria Sana, 14 November 2015. Hugh Naylor ( 14 November 2015 ). `` Syria 's President Assad says Paris attacks result from France 's aiding of rebels ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada After Bilateral Meeting ''. The U.S. White House. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015. `` Obama says Syria settlement needed to eliminate Islamic State ''. Reuters. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Paris attacks : UN backs ' all necessary measures ' against IS ''. BBC. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Security Council ' Unequivocally ' Condemns ISIL Terrorist Attacks, Unanimously Adopting Text that Determines Extremist Group Poses ' Unprecedented ' Threat ''. un.org. Jump up ^ `` Cameron hails UN backing for action against Islamic State ''. BBC News. 21 November 2015. Missing or empty url = ( help ) ; access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` U.N. Security Council Unanimously Votes to Adopt France 's Counterterrorism Resolution ''. The Wall Street Journal. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Security council unanimously calls on UN members to fight Isis ''. The Guardian. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Syrian rebels fired on parachuting Russian pilots, killing at least one after Turkey shot down warplane : official ''. National Post. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Deadly ' Russian airstrike ' hits market in Syria 's Idlib ''. Al Jazeera. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Российская авиация в Сирии разбомбила овощной рынок : минимум 40 погибших ''. NEWSru. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` MPs approve motion on ISIL in Syria ''. UK Parliament. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria air strikes : What you need to know ''. BBC News. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria air strikes : RAF Tornado jets carry out bombing ''. BBC News. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Syria conflict : Coalition denies air strike on army camp ''. BBC News. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria calls US - led coalition air strike on Assad regime forces an ' act of aggression ' ''. The Independent. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Pentagon says Russian -- not American -- warplanes hit a Syrian army base ''. The Washington Post. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` Washington denies U.S. - led coalition hit Syria army camp ''. Reuters. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` 4 US - led coalition jets seen over Deir ez Zor in Syria day govt troops attacked -- Russian MoD ''. RT. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015. Jump up ^ Михаил Алаеддин ( 14 December 2015 ). `` Источник : сирийская армия вернула контроль над авиабазой близ Дамаска ''. RIA Novosti. Retrieved 14 December 2015. Jump up ^ `` U.N. endorses Syria peace plan in rare show of unity among big powers ''. Reuters. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015. `` Differences remain as key sides meet for Syria talks ''. Al Jazeera. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015. Jump up ^ Balanche, 2006, p. 88. Jump up ^ `` Syria army fully captures rebel redoubt in Latakia ''. Al Arabiya. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016. h. said. `` Syrian Army establishes control over four villages near Salma in Lattakia and another in Aleppo ''. sanasy. Jump up ^ `` Isis massacre : At least 300 killed, several held hostages in east Syria ''. International Business Times. 17 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Dozens killed by Islamic State in ' massacre ' in Syrian city of Deir ez - Zor ''. The Guardian. 17 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` Russians survey new airbase on Syria - Turkey border, US officials concerned ''. Fox News Channel. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016. `` Россия и США синхронно создают новые авиабазы на севере Сирии ''. NEWSru. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` U.S. officials : Russia looking at Syria airfield near Turkey ''. CNN. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` US ' takes control ' of Rmeilan airfield in Syria ''. Al Jazeera. ^ Jump up to : `` Syria conflict : Major rebel town ' seized ' in boost for Assad ''. BBC. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016. Jump up ^ Syria regime advances in northwest ahead of peace talks AFP, 24 December 2016. Jump up ^ Barry Temmo. `` Update 4 - Army establishes full control over al - Sheikh Miskeen in Daraa and a village in Aleppo ''. sana.sy. Syrian army seizes strategic town in Deraa province : monitor Reuters, 25 January 2016. Jump up ^ Tide turns in Syrian war with capture of key town Al Jazeera, 26 December 2016. Jump up ^ `` Temporary truce comes into effect ''. BBC News. 26 February 2016. `` Joint Statement of the United States and the Russian Federation, as Co-Chairs of the ISSG, on Cessation of Hostilities in Syria ''. U.S. Department of State. 22 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` U.N. demands Syria parties halt fighting, peace talks set for March 7 ''. Reuters. 26 February 2016. Jump up ^ A Potential Cease - Fire in Syria. The Atlantic. Published 22 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016. Jump up ^ Landmark Syria ceasefire begins, with terrorist groups excluded. Scroll.in. Published 27 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syria conflict : UN steps up aid deliveries as truce holds ''. BBC News. 29 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army, with Russian air support, advances inside Palmyra ''. Reuters. 26 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syrian army, rebels agree to 72 - hour Eid truce, but fighting continues ''. Reuters. 7 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syrian Civil War Map / Live Map of the Syrian Civil War ''. Syrian Civil War Map. Retrieved 17 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syria : YPG launches assault to take all of Hasaka ''. Al Jazeera. Jump up ^ Perry, Tom ; Said, Rodi. `` Syria Kurds win battle with government, Turkey mobilises against them ''. Reuters India. Retrieved 8 January 2017. Jump up ^ Ali, Idrees. `` Coalition jets scrambled to defend U.S. forces from Syrian bombing ''. Reuters UK. Retrieved 8 January 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Erdogan says Syria operation aimed at IS jihadists, Kurdish PYD ''. France24. 24 August 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Syria Jarablus : Turkish tanks roll into northern Syria BBC. 24 August 2016. Turkey sends tanks into Syria in operation aimed at Isis and Kurds The Guardian, 24 August 2016. Jump up ^ Syria condemns Turkey 's breach of Syria 's sovereignty in Jarablos Sana, 24 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Erdoğan to PYD : Those issuing threats should think about what will happen ''. Hurriyet Daily News. Jump up ^ `` Biden orders Syrian Kurds to pull back ; Assad govt slams Turkish incursion ''. arabnews.com. 24 August 2016. Байден назвал условия, при которых США будут поддерживать курдов RIA Novosti. Jump up ^ Turkish forces deepen push into Syria, draw U.S. rebuke over their target Reuters, 29 August 2016. `` Turkish - backed Syrian rebels advance towards Manbij ''. Al Jazeera. 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BBC News. 23 February 2017. Jump up ^ Loveluck, Louisa ; Sly, Liz ( 23 February 2017 ). `` Turkey - backed rebels seize Islamic State 's al - Bab stronghold in Syria ''. The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 February 2017. Srivastava, Mehul ; Solomon, Erika ( 23 February 2017 ). `` Turkey recaptures strategic Syrian town of al - Bab from Isis ''. Financial Times. Retrieved 23 February 2017. Jump up ^ Ian Deitch ( 17 March 2017 ). `` Syria fires missiles at Israeli jets after airstrikes ''. Yahoo ! News. AP. Jump up ^ `` Russia and U.S. air strikes caused mass civilian deaths in Syria : U.N. '' Reuters. 2018 - 03 - 06. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Syria conflict : ' Deal reached ' for four besieged areas ''. BBC News. 29 March 2017. Jump up ^ `` Syria war : Why was Shayrat airbase bombed ? ''. BBC News. 7 April 2017. Jump up ^ `` U.S. strikes Syria ; Trump fires 59 missiles in ' vital national security interest ' ''. 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Jump up ^ Syrian troops broke the Islamic State group 's siege of Deir Ezzor military airport Saturday, dealing a fresh blow to the jihadists who also face a new offensive from US - backed fighters elsewhere in the province, France 24, 10 September 2017 Jump up ^ Raqqa, ISIS ' Capital, ' Is Captured, U.S. - Backed Forces Say, New York Times Jump up ^ U.S. - backed forces say Raqqa liberated from ISIS, CBS Jump up ^ Syria : Raqqa ' liberated from Islamic State ' in sign of jihadists ' collapsing fortunes, ABC Jump up ^ Foreign Ministry : Raqqa still occupied, can only be considered liberated when Syrian Army enters it SANA, 29 October 2017. Jump up ^ `` Isis dealt twin blows with loss of Deir ez - Zor and key Iraq border post ''. The Guardian. 3 November 2017. Jump up ^ Syrian army, allies, take last IS stronghold in Syria : commander, Reuters, 8 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` China to deploy troops to fight alongside Assad in Syria ''. Middle East Monitor. 28 November 2017. 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( subscription required ) Jump up ^ `` Saudi edges Qatar to control Syrian rebel support ''. Reuters. 31 May 2013 Jump up ^ Nabih Bulos ( 22 September 2015 ). `` US - trained Division 30 rebels ' betray US and hand weapons over to al - Qaeda 's affiliate in Syria ' ''. The Telegraph. London. Jump up ^ `` Saudi Arabia just replenished Syrian rebels with one of the most effective weapons against the Assad regime ''. Business Insider. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ `` Two Arab countries fall apart ''. The Economist. 14 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syria 's top Islamist and jihadist groups ''. France 24. Jump up ^ `` Turkey sends in jets as Syria 's agony spills over every border '', The Guardian, 26 July 2015, retrieved 7 September 2015 Jump up ^ `` Turkey ' created a monster and does n't know how to deal with it ' ''. Business Insider. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015. 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BBC News. 13 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` More than 2,000 killed in Syria since Ramadan began ''. Times of Oman. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 4 September 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013. Jump up ^ McDonnell, Patrick J. ( 13 June 2013 ). `` U.N. says Syria death toll has likely surpassed 100,000 ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ `` Syria crisis : Solidarity amid suffering in Homs ''. BBC. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2013. Jump up ^ Enders, David ( 6 November 2012 ). `` Deaths in Syria down from peak ; army casualties outpacing rebels ' ''. Retrieved 14 November 2012. Jump up ^ `` 400 children killed in Syria unrest ''. Geneva : Arab News. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2013. Jump up ^ Peralta, Eyder ( 3 February 2012 ). `` Rights Group Says Syrian Security Forces Detained, Tortured Children : The Two - Way ''. NPR. Jump up ^ Fahim, Kareem ( 5 January 2012 ). `` Hundreds Tortured in Syria, Human Rights Group Says ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2013. 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Even before the uprising, in areas considered politically unsympathetic like Deir Ezzor, the government stopped maintaining sanitation and safe - water services, and began withholding routine immunizations for preventable childhood diseases. Once the war began, the government started ruthless attacks on civilians in opposition - held areas, forcing millions to seek refuge in filthy, crowded, and cold conditions. ^ Jump up to : Al Rifai, Diana ; Haddad, Mohammed ( 17 March 2015 ). `` What 's left of Syria ? ''. Al - jazeera. Retrieved 21 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, '' The New York Times, 5 September 2013 Jump up ^ `` Syrian refugee camps in Turkish territory tracked by satellite ''. Astrium-geo.com. Jump up ^ `` Syrian refugees top 3 million, half of all Syrians displaced : U.N. '' Reuters. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Inbari, Pinhas. `` Demographic Upheaval : How the Syrian War is Reshaping the Region ''. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved 19 June 2014. Jump up ^ `` Syrian Civil War Causes One - Third of Country 's Christians to Flee Their Homes ''. The Algemeiner Journal. 18 October 2013. Jump up ^ `` Syrian Refugees ''. Jump up ^ `` UN must refer Syria war crimes to ICC : Amnesty ''. GlobalPost. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Jump up ^ Sir Desmond de Silva QC, former chief prosecutor of the special court for Sierra Leone, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, the former lead prosecutor of former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević, and Professor David Crane, who indicted President Charles Taylor of Liberia at the Sierra Leone court Jump up ^ `` foreignaffairs.house.gov ''. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` EXCLUSIVE : Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime ''. CNN. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic ''. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` UN decries use of sieges, starvation in Syrian military strategy The New Age Online ''. Thenewage.co.za. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Yarmouk update : Nusra 's apparent return complicates UNRWA 's hopes for food program ''. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014. Jump up ^ Dyke, Joe ( 24 July 2015 ). `` Yarmouk camp no longer besieged, UN rules ''. IRIN. Retrieved 28 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` Syria and Isis committing war crimes, says UN ''. The Guardian. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` syrias disappeared ''. BBC News. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014. Jump up ^ Loveluck, Louisa ( 5 November 2015 ). `` Amnesty accuses Syrian regime of ' disappearing ' tens of thousands ''. Telegraph. 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Jump up ^ Martin Chulov. `` Islamic State militants seize four more foreign hostages in Syria ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ `` James Foley 's killers pose many threats to local, international journalists ''. Committee to Protect Journalists. 20 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Captured soldiers : They will kill us, if Hezbollah remains in Syria ''. The Daily Star Newspaper -- Lebanon. Retrieved 2 October 2014. Jump up ^ Behari, Elad ( 23 December 2011 ). `` Syria : Sunnis Threatening to Massacre Minority Alawites ''. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 11 March 2011. Jump up ^ Sherlock, Ruth ( 7 April 2015 ). `` In Syria 's war, Alawites pay heavy price for loyalty to Bashar al - Assad ''. The Daily Telegraph. London. Jump up ^ Karouny, Mariam ( 14 May 2013 ). `` Syria Death Toll Likely As High As 120,000, Group Says ''. Reuters. Retrieved 6 October 2013. Jump up ^ Dettmet, Jamie ( 19 November 2013 ). `` Syria 's Christians Flee Kidnappings, Rape, Executions ''. The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 November 2013. Jump up ^ `` Druze attack Israeli ambulance carrying wounded Syrians ''. Al Jazeera. 23 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : Nelson, Lara ( 18 November 2015 ). `` The Shia jihad and the death of Syria 's army ''. Middle East Eye. Retrieved 11 October 2016. Without the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC ) and Lebanese Hezbollah the army could not stand up. ( For example, in `` the largest and most important military force for Assad in southern Syria '' -- Division 9, ) Seventy percent of the troops... are Iranian troops or Lebanese Hezbollah, the rest are shabiha. Only two to three percent are regular Syrian soldiers. Jump up ^ Cave, Damein ( 9 August 2012 ). `` Crime Wave Engulfs Syria as Its Cities Reel From War ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2012. Jump up ^ `` The ultimate assault : Charting Syria 's use of rape to terrorize its people ''. Women Under Siege. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012. Jump up ^ Kozak, Christopher ( 26 May 2015 ). `` The Regime 's Military Capabilities : Part 1 ''. ISW. Retrieved 31 May 2015. Local NDF commanders often engage in war profiteering through protection rackets, looting, and organized crime. NDF members have been implicated in waves of murders, robberies, thefts, kidnappings, and extortions throughout regime - held parts of Syria since the formation of the organization in 2013. Jump up ^ `` Turkish strikes ' damage ancient temple ' ''. BBC News. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018. Jump up ^ Cunliffe, Emma. `` Damage to the Soul : Syria 's cultural heritage in conflict ''. Durham University and the Global Heritage Fund. 1 May 2012. Jump up ^ Fisk, Robert. `` Syria 's ancient treasures pulverised ''. The Independent. 5 August 2012. Jump up ^ Barnard, Anne ( 16 April 2014 ). `` Syrian War Takes Heavy Toll at a Crossroad of Cultures ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2014. Jump up ^ `` Palmyra 's Temple of Bel destroyed, says UN ''. BBC News. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015. Jump up ^ Said, H. ; Raslan, Rasha ; Sabbagh, Hazem ( 26 March 2016 ). `` Palmyra Castle partially damaged due to ISIS acts, plans to restore it to its former glory ''. Syrian Arab News Agency. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Threats to Cultural Heritage in Iraq and Syria ''. US Department of State. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2015. Jump up ^ Hayrumyan, Naira ( 24 September 2014 ). `` Middle East Terror : Memory of Armenian Genocide victims targeted by ISIS militants ''. ArmeniaNow. Retrieved 3 September 2015. Jump up ^ David Batty ( 22 June 2013 ). `` Syrian art smuggled from the midst of civil war to show in London ''. The Guardian. Jump up ^ Cave, Damien ( 24 August 2012 ). `` Syrian War Plays Out Along a Street in Lebanon ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ `` Syria pounds ISIS bases in coordination with Iraq ''. The Daily Star Newspaper -- Lebanon. Retrieved 1 April 2015. Jump up ^ Lundgren, Magnus ( 2016 ). `` Mediation in Syria : initiatives, strategies, and obstacles, 2011 -- 2016 ''. Contemporary Security Policy. 37 : 273 -- 288. Jump up ^ `` Syria 's Assad says he will not negotiate with armed groups ''. Reuters. `` Assad 's priority to defeat ' terrorism ' before elections : Russian lawmaker ''. Reuters. Jump up ^ `` U.N. announces start of Syria peace talks as government troops advance ''. Reuters. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Envoy suspended Syria talks over Russian escalation : U.N. official ''. Reuters. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Syria 's Assad says hopes Geneva talks lead to concrete results : Kremlin ''. Reuters. 14 March 2016. `` Syria talks to tackle Bashar al - Assad 's presidency ''. Al Jazeera. ^ Jump up to : `` Russian negotiator positive after ' birth ' of Astana Syria ''. Reuters. Jump up ^ РФ, Турция и Иран подписали меморандум о создании в Сирии зон деэскалации Interfax, 4 May 2017. Jump up ^ `` Russia, Turkey and Iran continue cooperation on de-escalation zones in Syria ''. TASS. 23 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` New Video Game Lets You Kill ISIS While Fighting as Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon ''. Newsweek. 23 February 2018. Further reading Hinnebusch, Raymond ( 2012 ). `` Syria : From ' Authoritarian Upgrading ' to Revolution ? ''. International Affairs. 88 ( 1 ) : 95 -- 113. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1468 - 2346.2012. 01059. x. International Crisis Group ( 13 July 2011 ). `` Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East ( VII ) : The Syrian Regimes Slow - Motion Suicide '' ( PDF ). Middle East / North Africa Report N ° 109. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011. Landis, Joshua ( 2012 ). `` The Syrian Uprising of 2011 : Why the Asad Regime Is Likely to Survive to 2013 ''. Middle East Policy. 19 ( 1 ) : 72 -- 84. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1475 - 4967.2012. 00524. x. Lawson, Fred Haley, ed. ( 1 February 2010 ). Demystifying Syria. Saqi. ISBN 978 - 0 - 86356 - 654 - 7. Rashdan, Abdelrahman. Syrians Crushed in a Complex International Game. OnIslam.net. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012. Van Dam, Nikolaos ( 15 July 2011 ). The Struggle for Power in Syria : Politics and Society under Asad and the Ba'ath Party. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1 - 84885 - 760 - 8. van Dam, Nikolaos ( 2017 ). Destroying a Nation : The Civil War in Syria. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978 - 1 - 78672 - 248 - 5. Malek, Alia ( 2017 ). The Home That Was Our Country : A Memoir of Syria. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978 - 1 - 56858 - 532 - 1. Pearlman, Wendy ( 2017 ). We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled : Voices from Syria. HarperCollins. ISBN 978 - 0 - 06 - 265445 - 8. Wright, Robin ( 2008 ). Dreams and Shadows : The Future of the Middle East. New York : Penguin Press. pp. 212 -- 261. ISBN 1 - 59420 - 111 - 0. Ziadeh, Radwan ( 2011 ). Power and Policy in Syria : Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations and Democracy in the Modern Middle East. London : I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84885 - 434 - 5. Cordesman, Anthony `` Failed State Wars '' in Syria and Iraq ( III ) : Stability and Conflict in Syria Center for Strategic and International Studies. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016. External links Find more aboutthe Syrian Civil Warat Wikipedia 's sister projects Media from Wikimedia Commons News from Wikinews Interviews Fox News exclusive interview with Syrian President Bashar Al - Assad Fox News, 18 September 2013 Interview with Bashar Assad : ' In the End, a Lie Is a Lie ' Der Spiegel, 7 October 2013 President Bashar al - Assad 's interview with Agence France Presse AFP 20 - 01 - 2014 20 January 2014 A discussion of the causes of the civil war at the United Nations University for Peace. First ever broadcast interview with Jabhat al Nusra founder Abu Mohammed al - Joulani Supranational government bodies FAO -- Syria crisis Human rights bodies The ICRC in Syria, International Committee of the Red Cross Media Syria 's war at BBC News Syrian uprising : A year in turmoil at The Washington Post Syria Pulse collected news and commentary at Al Monitor Latest Syria developments at NOW Lebanon `` Syria collected news and commentary ''. The Guardian. Syria collected news and commentary at The New York Times Syria news, all the latest and breaking Syria news at The Daily Telegraph Syria collected coverage at Al Jazeera English Syria collected news at Intelligence Online Interactive Map of the Syrian Civil War Syria Deeply at News Deeply Maps of Europe and Syrian Civil War ( omniatlas.com ) Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Spring and Arab Winter Background Timeline Background 1963 coup d'état 1966 coup d'état 1970 `` Corrective Revolution '' 1979 -- 82 Islamic uprising 1999 Latakia protests 2000 -- 01 Damascus Spring 2004 Qamishli riots Syrian occupation of Lebanon 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria 2011 ( Jan -- Apr May -- Aug Sep -- Dec ) Death of Hamza Ali Al - Khateeb Siege of Daraa Siege of Baniyas Talkalakh siege Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh Jisr ash - Shugur operation Siege of Hama Siege of Homs Jabal al - Zawiya operation Siege of Latakia Deir ez - Zor Clashes Rif Dimashq clashes Battle of Zabadani Battle of Douma Daraa Governorate clashes First Battle of Rastan Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush Idlib Governorate clashes Jabal al - Zawiya massacres 2012 ( Jan -- Apr May -- Aug Sep -- Dec ) al - Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation First Battle of Idlib First Battle of al - Qusayr Second Idlib operation Battle of Taftanaz Third Battle of Rastan Houla massacre Battle of al - Haffah Al - Qubeir massacre Battle of Tremseh Battle of Damascus Damascus bombing Battle of Aleppo Battle of Anadan Siege of Base 46 Al - Hasakah Governorate campaign ( 2012 -- 13 ) First Rif Dimashq offensive Darayya massacre Battle of Khirbet al - Joz Battle of Maarrat al - Nu'man ( 2012 ) First Siege of Wadi Deif Battle of Harem Second Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Darayya Aqrab massacre First Hama offensive Halfaya massacre Battle of Darayya Quneitra Governorate clashes Talbiseh bakery massacre 2013 ( Jan -- Apr May -- Dec ) Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Raqqa campaign ( 2012 -- 13 ) ( Battle of Raqqa ( March 2013 ) ) Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al - Fadl Ghouta chemical attack Al - Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al - Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al - Assal chemical attack Khan al - Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al - Ayn Battle of Tell Abyad Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive Aleppo offensive 2014 ( Jan -- Jul Aug -- Dec ) First Inter-Rebel Conflict Battle of Markada First Deir ez - Zor Offensive Battle of Mork 2nd Daraa Offensive Maan massacre Al - Otaiba ambush 4th Idlib Offensive Battle of Hosn 2nd Latakia Offensive Battle of Al - Malihah Kafr Zita chemical attack Second Siege of Wadi Deif 2nd Qalamoun Offensive Battle of Arsal First Battle of the Shaer gas field Eastern Syria Offensive Battle for Tabqa Air base Northern Aleppo offensive ( February -- July 2014 ) 3rd Hama Offensive Quneitra Offensive 6th Rif Dimashq offensive Siege of Kobanî 3rd Daraa offensive 2nd Al - Safira offensive Idlib Raid Second Inter-Rebel Conflict Second Battle of the Shaer gas field Battle of Al - Shaykh Maskin 2nd Deir ez - Zor offensive 2015 ( Jan -- Jul Aug -- Dec ) An - 26 crash 4th Daraa Offensive Southern Syria Offensive Eastern al - Hasakah offensive 1st Battle of Sarrin 2nd Battle of Sarrin Battle of Bosra 5th Idlib Offensive Second Battle of Idlib Battle of Nasib Border Crossing 2nd Battle of Yarmouk Camp Western al - Hasakah offensive Palmyra offensive ( May 2015 ) 2015 Qamishli bombings Tell Abyad offensive Kobanî massacre Quneitra offensive Palmyra offensive ( July -- August 2015 ) 7th Rif Dimashq offensive Northwestern Syria offensive 2015 Aleppo offensive 2015 Al - Hawl offensive Homs offensive ( November -- December 2015 ) East Aleppo offensive ( 2015 -- 16 ) Latakia offensive ( 2015 -- 2016 ) Tishrin Dam offensive 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su - 24 shootdown 2016 ( Jan -- Apr May -- Aug Sep -- Dec ) Second Battle of Al - Shaykh Maskin 3rd Deir ez - Zor offensive Sayyidah Zaynab bombings Northern Aleppo offensive ( February 2016 ) Ithriyah - Raqqa offensive ( February -- March 2016 ) Al - Shaddadi offensive ( 2016 ) February Homs bombings February Sayyidah Zaynab bombings 2016 Khanasir offensive Battle of Tel Abyad Battle of Maarrat al - Nu'man ( 2016 ) Battle of Qamishli ( April 2016 ) Northern Aleppo offensive ( March -- June 2016 ) Palmyra offensive ( March 2016 ) East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict ( April -- May 2016 ) 8th Rif Dimashq offensive Northern Raqqa offensive ( May 2016 ) May 2016 Jableh and Tartous bombings Ithriyah - Raqqa offensive ( June 2016 ) 9th Rif Dimashq offensive Manbij offensive Tokhar 2016 Southern Aleppo campaign Battle of al - Rai ( August 2016 ) 2016 Aleppo summer campaign Western al - Bab offensive ( September 2016 ) 5 September 2016 Syria bombings September 2016 Deir ez - Zor air raid September 2016 Urum al - Kubra Aid Convoy attack September Aleppo offensive 2016 Dabiq offensive Western al - Bab offensive ( October -- November 2016 ) Aleppo offensive ( September -- October 2016 ) Khan al - Shih offensive ( October -- November 2016 ) Raqqa campaign ( 2016 -- present ) Battle of al - Bab Aleppo offensive ( November -- December 2016 ) Palmyra offensive ( December 2016 ) 2017 ( Jan -- Apr May -- Aug Sep -- Dec ) Wadi Barada offensive ( 2016 -- 17 ) January 2017 Azaz bombing Syrian Desert campaign ( December 2016 -- April 2017 ) Idlib Governorate clashes ( 2017 ) Deir ez - Zor offensive ( January -- February 2017 ) Daraa offensive ( February -- June 2017 ) Southwestern Daraa offensive ( February 2017 ) Qaboun offensive ( 2017 ) Palmyra offensive ( 2017 ) East Aleppo offensive ( January -- April 2017 ) March 2017 Damascus bombings 2017 al - Jinah airstrike Hama offensive ( March -- April 2017 ) Battle of Tabqa ( 2017 ) Khan Shaykhun chemical attack 2017 Shayrat missile strike 2017 Aleppo suicide car bombing April 2017 Turkish airstrikes in Syria and Iraq East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict ( April -- May 2017 ) Syrian Desert campaign ( May -- July 2017 ) Maskanah Plains offensive East Hama offensive Battle of Raqqa ( 2017 ) 9th Daraa Southern Raqqa offensive ( June 2017 ) 2017 Jobar offensive Quneitra offensive ( June 2017 ) Idlib Governorate clashes ( July 2017 ) Central Syria campaign ( 2017 ) 4th Qalamoun Deir ez - Zor offensive ( September 2017 -- March 2018 ) Hama offensive ( September 2017 ) Northwestern Syria campaign ( October 2017 -- February 2018 ) Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate Battle of Harasta ( 2017 -- 18 ) Eastern Syria campaign ( September -- December 2017 ) 2017 Euphrates Crossing offensive 2017 Mayadin offensive Battle of Deir ez - Zor ( September -- November 2017 ) 2017 Abu Kamal offensive Beit Jinn offensive 2018 ( Jan -- Apr May -- Aug Sep -- Dec ) Turkish military operation in Afrin Battle of Khasham Tenth Rif Dimashq offensive Southern Damascus offensive ( January -- February 2018 ) Syrian Liberation Front -- Tahrir al - Sham conflict Southern Damascus offensive ( March 2018 ) Douma chemical attack 2018 missile strikes against Syria Northern Homs offensive ( April -- May 2018 ) Eastern Qalamoun offensive ( April 2018 ) Southern Damascus offensive ( April -- May 2018 ) Deir ez - Zor Governorate clashes ( April 2018 ) May 2018 Israel -- Iran incidents Spillover Spillover into Lebanon Lebanese -- Syrian border clashes Battle of Sidon Iranian Embassy Bombing Northern Lebanon Clashes 3rd Qalamoun Syrian - Turkish border clashes December 2011 Syrian -- Turkish border clash Turkish aircraft shootdown October 2012 Syrian - Turkish border clashes Reyhanlı bombings January 2014 Turkish airstrike in Syria Israeli -- Syrian ceasefire line incidents March 2017 incident February 2018 incident Jordanian - Syrian border clashes April 2014 Jordanian -- Syrian border airstrike Spillover into Iraq Akashat ambush Operation al - Shabah April 2014 Iraqi -- Syrian border airstrike Assassination of Andrei Karlov Turkish military intervention in Syria ( August 2016 -- March 2017 ) 2017 Russian Air Force Al - Bab incident 2017 Deir ez - Zor missile strike Involved parties Syria Ba'ath Government Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party -- Syria Region Syrian Social Nationalist Party Arab Socialist Movement Syrian Communist Party Military & Militias Syrian Armed Forces Syrian Resistance PFLP - GC al - Quds Brigade Palestine Liberation Army Smaller groups Support for the government Hezbollah involvement Iranian involvement Liwa Fatemiyoun Russian involvement medical facility targeting military intervention Wagner Group Russia -- Syria -- Iran -- Iraq coalition Popular Mobilization Forces ( Iraq ) Syrian opposition, Al - Qaeda affiliates and allies NCSR Government National Coalition Local Co-ordination Committees Syrian National Council Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Syrian Revolution General Commission Syrian Support Group Adopt a Revolution Syrian Patriotic Group Opposition militias Turkish - backed Free Syrian Army Syrian Liberation Front National Front for Liberation Army of Free Men Abu Amara Battalions Covert Special Tasks Force Army of Glory National Liberation Movement Central Division Army of Islam al - Rahman Legion 1st Brigade of Damascus Southern Front Army of Free Tribes Criterion Brigades National Front for the Liberation of Syria Unified Syrian Army Company of the People of the Levant Authenticity and Development Front Al - Qaratayn Martyrs Brigade Revolutionary Commando Army Elite Division Smaller groups al - Qaeda affiliates and allies Tahrir al - Sham Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria Caucasus Emirate Ajnad al - Kavkaz Junud al - Makhdi Malhama Tactical Ansar al - Islam splinter faction Smaller groups Allied groups ( to the Opposition militias ) Muslim Brotherhood of Syria Grey Wolves Smaller groups Support for the Opposition American - led intervention American rescue mission Jordanian intervention Qatar Saudi Arabia Turkey Rojava ( SDF ) Rojava government Democratic Union Party Kurdish National Council Smaller political parties SDF groups People 's Protection Units Women 's Protection Units Anti-Terror Units Al - Sanadid Forces Army of Revolutionaries Elite Forces SDF Military Councils Syriac Military Council ( Bethnahrain Women 's Protection Forces Jabhat Thuwar al - Raqqa Raqqa Hawks Brigade Northern Democratic Brigade Free Officers Union Liberation Brigade faction Shahba Forces Liwa Owais al - Qorani remnants Martyr Amara Arab Women 's Battalion Battalion of Karachok Martyrs Revolutionary Forces Khabour Guards Nattoreh Smaller groups Allied groups Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Kurdistan Workers ' Party International Freedom Battalion International Anti-Fascist Battalion Sinjar Resistance Units Êzîdxan Women 's Units Smaller groups ISIL Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Military of ISIL Dokumacılar Khalid ibn al - Walid Army Liwa al - Aqsa Group of the One and Only Liwa Dawud People Ammar Abdulhamid Ali al - Abdallah Adnan al - Aroor al - Assad family Bashar Maher Rifaat Rami Makhlouf Hafez Makhlouf Riad al - Asaad Anwar al - Bunni Fahd Jassem al - Freij Suheil al - Hassan Haitham al - Maleh Moaz al - Khatib Kamal al - Labwani Hamza al - Khateeb Tal al - Mallohi Fida al - Sayed Riad al - Turk Khaled Khoja Ammar al - Qurabi Suheir Atassi Ali Sadreddine Al - Bayanouni Aref Dalila Farid Ghadry Burhan Ghalioun Razan Ghazzawi Ghassan Hitto Salim Idris Randa Kassis Abdul Halim Khaddam Michel Kilo Bassma Kodmani Ali Habib Mahmud Ali Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Qashoush Dawoud Rajiha Yassin al - Haj Saleh Bouthaina Shaaban Adib Shishakly Abdulbaset Sieda Riad Seif Fadwa Soliman Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid Yaser Tabbara Razan Zaitouneh Rami Jarrah Abdurrahman Mustafa Issues Peace process Related topics Elections Issues Casualties Chemical weapons Cities and towns Damaged heritage sites Foreign involvement Human rights violations Humanitarian aid International reactions International demonstrations and protests Massacres Refugees ( European migrant crisis ) Sectarianism and minorities Spillover into Lebanon Syrian reactions Peace process Arab League monitors Friends of Syria Group Kofi Annan peace plan UN Supervision Mission Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan U.S. -- Russia peace proposals on Syria 39th G8 summit UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Geneva II Conference 2015 Zabadani cease - fire agreement 2015 Vienna talks 2016 Geneva talks Related topics 2014 Syrian detainee report Exclusive mandate Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference International recognition of the Syrian National Council Syria Files Syrian media coverage The Return to Homs Silvered Water, Syria Self - Portrait Sunnistan Syrian presidential election, 2014 Elections and referendums held during the civil war Syrian local elections, 2011 Syrian constitutional referendum, 2012 Syrian presidential election, 2014 Rojava local elections, 2015 Syrian parliamentary election, 2016 Northern Syria local elections, 2017 Category Arab Spring `` Ash - shab yurid isqat an - nizam '' Events by country Algeria Bahrain Djibouti Egypt Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Oman Palestine Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria Tunisia Western Sahara Yemen Groups Bahrain : Al Wefaq February 14 Youth Coalition Egypt : April 6 Youth Movement Kefaya Muslim Brotherhood ( FJP ) National Association for Change National Democratic Party National Salvation Front Revolutionary Socialists Shayfeencom The Third Square Ultras Ahlawy Libya : National Liberation Army National Transitional Council Mauritania : February 25th Movement Saudi Arabia : Women to drive movement CDHRAP Society for Development and Change Syria : Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Regional Command National Command National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces Free Syrian Army Syrian Revolution General Commission Syrian National Council National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Hizb ut - Tahrir Foreign fighters Tunisia : Constitutional Democratic Rally Ennahda Movement Popular Front Tunisian General Labour Union Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet Yemen : Alliance of Yemeni Tribes Al - Islah Hashid Houthis General People 's Congress Hiraak Notable people Women in the Arab Spring Algeria : Abdelaziz Bouteflika Ahmed Ouyahia Bahrain : Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Hasan Mushaima Ali Salman Ali Jawad al - Sheikh Egypt : Hosni Mubarak Omar Suleiman Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Ahmed Nazif Ahmed Shafik Wael Ghonim Kamal Ganzouri Khaled Mohamed Saeed Gihan Ibrahim Essam Sharaf Mohamed ElBaradei Mohamed Morsi Hesham Qandil Bassem Youssef Jordan : King Abdullah II Marouf al - Bakhit Samir Rifai Libya : Muammar Gaddafi Saif al - Islam Gaddafi Mustafa Abdul Jalil Mahmoud Jibril Mohammed Nabbous Mauritania : Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf Morocco : Mohammed VI Abbas El Fassi Saudi Arabia : Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Khaled al - Johani Manal al - Sharif Nimr al - Nimr Sudan : Omar al - Bashir Hassan al - Turabi Syria : Bashar al - Assad Muhammad Naji al - Otari Adel Safar Riyad Farid Hijab Wael Nader al - Halqi Maher al - Assad Burhan Ghalioun Moaz al - Khatib Hamza Ali Al - Khateeb Tunisia : Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Mohamed Ghannouchi Moncef Marzouki Rashid al - Ghannushi Fouad Mebazaa Beji Caid Essebsi Hamadi Jebali Mohamed Bouazizi Chokri Belaid United Arab Emirates : UAE Five Yemen : Ali Abdullah Saleh Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi Tawakkol Karman Abdul Majeed al - Zindani Ali Mohsen al - Ahmar Sadiq al - Ahmar Abdul - Malik al - Houthi Mohammed Ali al - Houthi Impact Occupy movement Albania Armenia Azerbaijan 2011 2013 Belarus Burkina Faso China Greece India 2011 2012 Iran Iraqi Kurdistan Israel Maldives Mali Mexico 2011 2012 Portugal Russia Spain Turkey 2011 -- 12 2013 United Kingdom United States Libyan Civil War ( 2011 -- present ) Egyptian crisis ( 2011 -- 14 ) UN Resolutions 65 / 265 1970 1973 2009 2014 2016 International reactions Bahrain Egypt Libya civil war military intervention death of Muammar Gaddafi Syria Tunisia Yemen Domestic reactions Egypt Libya domestic responses state 's response Syria Timelines by country Bahrain Egypt Libya Saudi Arabia Syria Yemen Category Syria articles History Timeline Ancient history Neo-Assyrian Empire Roman Syria Syria Palaestina Palmyrene Empire Byzantine Syria Caliphate Syria ( Bilad al - Sham ) Ottoman Damascus Eyalet Syria Vilayet Arab kingdom ( 1920 ) French Mandate State of Syria Mandatory Republic ( 1930 - 46 ) Syrian Republic Modern Syria Civil War Geography Cities Districts Governorates territories Rivers Volcanoes Features Al - Jazira Anti-Lebanon mountains Euphrates Golan Heights Hauran Hermon Orontes Syrian Desert Related Syria ( region ) Southern Syria Fertile Crescent Levant Politics Constitution Council of Ministers Prime Minister list Elections Foreign relations Golan Heights claim Iskandaron Government ministries Human rights LGBT Judiciary High council Supreme Constitutional Court Parliament Speakers nationalism Greater Syria Political parties Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party national / regional command National Progressive Front Popular Front for Change and Liberation President list Terrorism Vice President Military Army Air force air defense Navy Weapons of mass destruction Economy Agriculture Central Bank Companies International rankings Pound ( currency ) Securities Exchange ( stock exchange ) Infrastructure Energy and mineral resources Petroleum industry Telecommunications Transport Water supply and sanitation Society Demographics Education Health People diaspora refugees ( 2011 -- present ) Public holidays Scouting Culture Anthem Coat of arms Cuisine Films Flag Media television Music Religion Smoking Outline Index Book Category Portal Ongoing armed conflicts Africa ADF insurgency Anglophone Crisis Batwa - Luba clashes Boko Haram insurgency Burundian unrest Central African Republic Civil War Communal conflicts in Nigeria ( Herder -- farmer conflicts in Nigeria ) Conflict in the Niger Delta Eritrean -- Ethiopian border conflict Second Afar insurgency Ethnic violence in South Sudan South Sudanese Civil War Insurgency in Egypt Insurgency in the Maghreb ISIL insurgency in Tunisia Islamist insurgency in Mozambique Ituri conflict Kamwina Nsapu rebellion ‎ Katanga insurgency Kivu conflict Libyan Crisis Second Civil War Lord 's Resistance Army insurgency Northern Mali conflict Ogaden insurgency Oromo - Somali clashes RENAMO insurgency Sinai insurgency Somali Civil War War in Somalia Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile Sudanese nomadic conflicts War in Darfur Americas Colombian conflict EPP insurgency Mexican Drug War Peruvian internal conflict Mapuche conflict East and South Asia Balochistan conflict Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency Insurgency in Laos Insurgency in Northeast India Assam Meghalaya Manipur Nagaland Insurgency in the Philippines CPP -- NPA -- NDF Moro Internal conflict in Bangladesh Internal conflict in Myanmar Kachin Karen Rohingya Kashmir conflict Naxalite -- Maoist insurgency Papua conflict Sectarianism in Pakistan South Thailand insurgency War in Afghanistan 2001 -- present War in North - West Pakistan Xinjiang conflict Europe Insurgency in the North Caucasus War in Donbass Islamic terrorism in Europe West Asia Arab separatism in Khuzestan Iraqi Civil War ( 2014 -- present ) Israeli -- Palestinian conflict Kurdish separatism in Iran West Iran clashes Kurdish -- Turkish conflict 2015 -- present Lebanese conflict Nagorno - Karabakh conflict Qatif conflict 2017 Qatif unrest Syrian Civil War Yemeni Crisis civil war in World maps List of modern conflicts in the Middle East 1910s World War I Middle Eastern theatre Arab Revolt Armenian Genocide Assyrian genocide Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt Egyptian revolution of 1919 Turkish War of Independence Greco - Turkish War Turkish -- Armenian War Franco - Turkish War Revolts Mahmud Barzanji revolts 1920s Franco - Syrian War Iraqi revolt against the British Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt Sheikh Said rebellion 1921 Persian coup d'état 1930s Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi -- Yemeni War ( 1934 ) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935 -- 36 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt Dersim rebellion 1940s World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Anglo - Iraqi War Syria -- Lebanon Campaign Anglo - Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Alwaziri coup Al - Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab -- Israeli conflict Israeli -- Palestinian conflict 1950s Egyptian revolution of 1952 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cypriot ethnic crisis Yemeni -- Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising 1960s Iraqi -- Kurdish conflict First Iraqi -- Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen Civil War Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup 8th March Syrian Revolution Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1970s Black September in Jordan 1972 North Yemen -- South Yemen war Turkish invasion of Cyprus Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey ( 1976 -- 80 ) Libyan -- Egyptian War Islamist uprising in Syria NDF Rebellion Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1980s Sadr uprising ( 1980 ) Iran -- Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish separatism in Turkey Turkey - PKK conflict South Yemen Civil War 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings Mecca massacre Abu Nidal 's executions 1990s Gulf War ( 1990 -- 1991 ) 1991 uprisings in Iraq Terror campaign in Egypt ( 1990s ) Yemeni Civil War ( 1994 ) Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia ( 2000 -- present ) Operation Desert Fox al - Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq 2000s Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 al - Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran -- Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah -- Hamas conflict Nahr al - Bared fighting 2008 conflict in Lebanon South Yemen insurgency 2009 -- 10 Iranian election protests 2010s Bahraini uprising of 2011 Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt ( 2013 -- present ) Syrian Civil War Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency ( 2011 -- 13 ) Iraqi Civil War ( 2014 -- present ) Yemeni Crisis Turkish involvement in Syria This list includes post-Ottoman conflicts ( after 1918 ) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated ; ongoing conflicts are marked italic and conflict with + 100,000 killed with bold. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Names of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Leadership Current Abu Bakr al - Baghdadi Abu Ahmad al - Alwani Abu Fatima al - Jaheishi Abu Muhammad al - Shimali † Former Haji Bakr Abu Abdulrahman al - Bilawi Abu Mohannad al - Sweidawi Abdul Rauf Aliza Abu Sayyaf Ali Awni al - Harzi Abu Umar al - Tunisi Abu Khattab al - Tunisi Abu Muslim al - Turkmani Mohammed Emwazi Abu Nabil al - Anbari Abu Ali al - Anbari Abu Waheeb Abu Omar al - Shishani Abu Mohammad al - Adnani Abu Jandal al - Kuwaiti Ahmad Abousamra Turki al - Binali History Jama'at al - Tawhid wal - Jihad ( 1999 -- 2004 ) Tanzim Qaidat al - Jihad fi Bilad al - Rafidayn ( 2004 -- 2006 ) Mujahideen Shura Council ( 2006 ) Islamic State of Iraq ( 2006 -- 2013 ) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( 2013 -- 2014 ) Islamic State ( 2014 -- present ) Timeline of events 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 International branches Khorasan Province ( Afghanistan and Pakistan ) Libyan Provinces ( Libya ) Caucasus Province ( North Caucasus ) Sinai Province ( Sinai ) Algeria Province ( Algeria ) Yemen Province ( Yemen ) Abnaa ul - Calipha ( Somalia ) Abu Sayyaf ( Philippines ) Boko Haram ( West Africa ) Wars War on Terror Iraq War Iraqi insurgency ( 2003 -- 11 ) Sectarian violence ( 2006 -- 07 ) Iraqi insurgency ( 2011 -- 14 ) Iraqi Civil War ( 2014 -- present ) Syrian Civil War Spillover Spillover in Lebanon Inter-rebel conflict Sinai insurgency Libyan Civil War ( 2014 -- present ) War in North - West Pakistan War in Afghanistan ( 2015 -- present ) Moro conflict ( Philippines ) al - Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Yemeni Civil War ( 2015 -- present ) Boko Haram insurgency Military intervention against ISIL American - led intervention in Iraq American - led intervention in the Syrian Civil War Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Turkish military intervention in Syria Battles 2013 Akashat ambush Hawija clashes Raqqa campaign ( 2012 -- 13 ) Operation al - Shabah Battle of Ras al - Ayn Battle of Tell Abyad Latakia offensive Siege of Menagh Air Base Battle of Sadad Battle of Qalamoun Aleppo offensive ( October -- December 2013 ) Anbar campaign ( 2013 -- 14 ) 2014 Fall of Fallujah Northern Aleppo offensive ( February -- July 2014 ) Battle of Markada Northern Iraq offensive ( June 2014 ) Fall of Mosul Salahuddin campaign First Battle of Tikrit Northern Iraq offensive ( August 2014 ) Siege of Kobanî Sinjar massacre Derna campaign ( 2014 -- 16 ) Battle of Baiji Battle of Ramadi ( 2014 -- 15 ) Deir ez - Zor offensive ( December 2014 ) Battle of Baiji ( 2014 -- 15 ) Sinjar offensive ( December 2014 ) Battle of Zumar Siege of Amirli 2015 Fall of Nofaliya West African offensive February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya Bosso and Diffa raid Eastern al - Hasakah offensive Second Battle of Tikrit Battle of Sirte Hama and Homs offensive ( March -- April 2015 ) Battle of Sarrin ( March -- April 2015 ) Battle of Yarmouk Camp Anbar offensive ( 2015 ) Qalamoun offensive ( May -- June 2015 ) Palmyra offensive ( May 2015 ) Western al - Hasakah offensive Al - Hasakah city offensive ( May -- June 2015 ) Tell Abyad offensive ( May -- July 2015 ) Battle of Sarrin ( June -- July 2015 ) Battle of al - Hasakah Kobanî massacre Palmyra offensive ( July -- August 2015 ) Battle of Ramadi ( 2015 -- 16 ) Battle of Al - Qaryatayn ( August 2015 ) Al - Hawl offensive Homs offensive ( November -- December 2015 ) Sinjar offensive ( November 2015 ) East Aleppo offensive ( 2015 -- 16 ) Nineveh Plains offensive Tishrin Dam offensive 2016 Deir ez - Zor offensive ( January 2016 ) Siege of Fallujah ( 2016 ) Nangarhar Offensive Battle of Ben Guerdane Ithriyah - Raqqa offensive ( February -- March 2016 ) Al - Shaddadi offensive 2016 Khanasir offensive Battle of al - Qaryatayn ( March -- April 2016 ) Palmyra offensive ( March 2016 ) Northern Aleppo offensive ( March -- June 2016 ) Hīt offensive Battle of Basilan Battle of Sirte Ar - Rutbah offensive Northern Raqqa offensive ( May 2016 ) Battle of Fallujah Manbij offensive Ithriyah - Raqqa offensive ( June 2016 ) Abu Kamal offensive Battle of al - Rai ( August 2016 ) Northern al - Bab offensive ( September 2016 ) Western al - Bab offensive ( September 2016 ) 2016 Dabiq offensive Western al - Bab offensive ( October -- November 2016 ) Battle of al - Bab Aleppo offensive ( November -- December 2016 ) Palmyra offensive ( December 2016 ) 2017 Battle of Mosul ( 2016 -- 2017 ) Raqqa campaign ( 2016 -- 2017 ) Palmyra offensive ( 2017 ) Deir ez - Zor offensive ( January -- February 2017 ) East Aleppo offensive ( January -- April 2017 ) Eastern Homs offensive ( 2017 ) Hama offensive ( 2017 ) Western Nineveh offensive ( 2017 ) Battle of Tabqa ( 2017 ) Syrian Desert campaign ( December 2016 -- April 2017 ) Syrian Desert campaign ( May -- July 2017 ) Maskanah Plains offensive Battle of Marawi Battle of Raqqa ( 2017 ) Southern Raqqa offensive ( June 2017 ) Central Syria campaign ( 2017 ) Battle of Tal Afar ( 2017 ) Hawija offensive ( 2017 ) Eastern Syria campaign ( September -- December 2017 ) 2017 Abu Kamal offensive 2017 Western Iraq campaign Attacks 2014 Jewish Museum of Belgium shooting Saint - Jean - sur - Richelieu ramming attack 2015 Porte de Vincennes siege Beheading of Copts in Libya Corinthia Hotel attack Al Qubbah bombings Bardo National Museum attack Sana'a mosque bombings Jalalabad suicide bombing Curtis Culwell Center attack Qatif and Dammam mosque bombings 26 June 2015 Islamist attacks Kobanî massacre Saint - Quentin - Fallavier attack Kuwait mosque bombing Sousse attacks Khan Bani Saad bombing Suruç bombing Baghdad bombing ( August ) Ankara bombings Metrojet Flight 9268 Beirut bombings Paris attacks ( November ) Tunis bombing Qamishli bombings 2016 Zliten truck bombing Hurghada attack Istanbul bombing ( January ) Jakarta attacks Ramadi bombing Mahasin mosque attack Sayyidah Zaynab attack ( January ) Mosul massacre Homs bombings ( February ) Sayyidah Zaynab bombings ( February ) Baghdad bombings ( February ) Istanbul bombing ( March ) Brussels bombings Aden car bombing Iskandariya suicide bombing Baghdad bombing ( April ) Samawa bombing Gaziantep bombing ( May ) Baghdad bombings ( 11 May ) Real Madrid fan club massacres Baghdad gas plant attack Yemen police bombings ( 15 May ) Baghdad bombings ( 17 May ) Jableh and Tartous bombings ( May ) Yemen bombings ( 23 May ) Aktobe shootings Magnanville stabbing Mukalla attacks ( June ) Movida Bar grenade attack Atatürk Airport attack Dhaka attack ( July ) Karrada bombing Muhammad ibn Ali al - Hadi Mausoleum attack Würzburg train attack Kabul bombing ( July ) Ansbach bombing Normandy church attack Qamishli bombings ( July ) Charleroi stabbing Shchelkovo Highway police station attack Aden bombing ( August ) Syria bombings ( September ) Baghdad bombings ( September ) Baghdad bombings ( October ) Quetta police training college attack Hamam al - Alil massacre Khuzdar bombing Samarinda church bombing Kabul suicide bombing ( November ) Hillah suicide truck bombing ( November ) Aden suicide bombings ( December ) Botroseya church bombing Al - Karak attack Berlin attack Baghdad bombings ( December ) 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting Baghdad bombings ( January ) Azaz bombing ( January ) Kabul Supreme Court attack ( February ) Sehwan suicide bombing Kabul attack ( March ) London ( Westminster ) attack Saint Petersburg Metro bombing Egypt church bombings Mastung suicide bombing Manchester Arena bombing Jakarta bombings Minya attack Al - Faqma bombing London ( Southwark ) attack Brighton siege Tehran attacks Pakistan bombings ( June ) Hurghada attack Attack on the Iraqi embassy in Kabul Herat mosque attack Quetta suicide bombing Barcelona attacks Brussels attack ( August ) Nasiriyah attacks Sinai mosque attack Kabul suicide bombing ( December ) Saint Menas church attack 2018 Baghdad bombings Save The Children Jalalabad attack Kizlyar church shooting Kabul suicide bombing ( March ) Carcassonne and Trèbes attack Kabul suicide bombing ( 22 April 2018 ) Kabul suicide bombings ( 30 April 2018 ) Attack on the High National Elections Commission in Tripoli, Libya Mako Brimob Standoff Paris knife attack Surabaya bombings Politics Finances Ideology Human rights Genocide of Christians Genocide of Shias Genocide of Yazidis Persecution of gay and bisexual men by ISIL Killing of captives Beheading incidents Destruction of cultural heritage Relations Iran and ISIL Philippines and ISIL United Kingdom and ISIL Foreign fighters Name changes due to ISIL Portrayal of ISIL in American media Connection with Saddam Regime and Baath Party Society Members Terrorist cell in Brussels Territorial claims Media of ISIL Ahlam al - Nasr Al - Bayan Amaq News Agency Dabiq Dar al - Islam Istok Konstantiniyye Rumiyah Related topics Worldwide caliphate Defeating ISIS Islamism Millenarianism Sexual violence in the Iraqi insurgency Shia -- Sunni relations Slavery in 21st - century Islamism Theocracy Iran -- Saudi Arabia relations Diplomatic posts Ambassadors of Iran to Saudi Arabia Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tehran Conflicts Iran -- Saudi Arabia proxy conflict Iraqi insurgency Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War Saudi - led intervention in Bahrain Saudi Arabian - led intervention in Yemen Saudi -- Yemeni border conflict Iranian intervention in Iraq Incidents 1987 Mecca incident Bahraini uprising of 2011 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot 2011 -- 12 Saudi Arabian protests 2015 Mina stampede Execution of Nimr al - Nimr 2016 attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran Iranian relations with GCC member states Iran -- Bahrain relations Iran -- Qatar relations Iran -- Oman relations Iran -- Kuwait relations Iran -- United Arab Emirates relations See also Arab League -- Iran relations Iran -- Saudi Arabia football rivalry Shia -- Sunni relations 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis 2017 Lebanon -- Saudi Arabia dispute Category Template : Arab - 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Question: who are the two sides in the syrian conflict
Answer: the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic