Syrian civil war
The Syrian civil war (Arabic: ٱلْحَرْبُ ٱلْأَهْلِيَّةُ ٱلسُّورِيَّةُ, romanized: al-ḥarb al-ʾahlīyah al-sūrīyah) is an ongoing multi-sided conflict in Syria involving various state-sponsored and non-state actors. In March 2011, popular discontent with the rule of Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. After months of crackdown by governments security apparatus, various armed rebel groups such as the Free Syrian Army began forming across the country, marking the beginning of the Syrian insurgency. By mid-2012, the crisis had escalated into a full-blown civil war.
| Syrian civil war | |||||||||
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| Part of the Arab Spring, Arab Winter, the spillover of the War in Iraq, war against the Islamic State, war on terror, Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, Iran–Israel proxy conflict and the Kurdish–Turkish conflict | |||||||||
Top: A ruined neighborhood in Raqqa in 2017. Bottom: Military situation in September 2023: Syrian Arab Republic (SAA) & Russian occupation Syrian Interim Government (SNA) & Turkish occupation Syrian Free Army & American occupation Syrian Salvation Government (HTS) Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (SDF) Opposition groups in reconciliation Islamic State (full list of combatants, detailed map) | |||||||||
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Receiving arms from NATO and GCC states, rebel forces initially made significant advances against the government forces, who were receiving arms from Iran and Russia. Rebels captured the regional capitals of Raqqa in 2013 and Idlib in 2015. Consequently, in September 2015, Russia launched a military intervention in support of the government, shifting the balance of the conflict. By late 2018, all rebel strongholds, except parts of Idlib region, had fallen to the government forces.
In 2014, the Islamic State group seized control of large parts of Eastern Syria and Western Iraq, prompting the U.S.-led CJTF coalition to launch aerial bombing campaign against it, while providing ground support to the Kurdish-majority Syrian Democratic Forces. Culminating in the Battle of Raqqa, the Islamic State was territorially defeated by late 2017. In August 2016, Turkey launched a multi-pronged invasion of northern Syria, in response to the creation of Rojava, while also fighting Islamic State and government forces in the process. Since the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire, the frontline fighting during the conflict has mostly subsided, and has been characterized by regular skirmishes.