Syrian civil war

Ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria The Syrian civil war ( , al-ḥarb al-ʾahlīyah as-sūrīyah ) is an ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria fought between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , along with domestic and foreign allies, and various domestic and foreign forces opposing both the Syrian government and each other in varying combinations. The war is currently the second deadliest of the 21st century . civil war infobox The unrest in Syria, part of a wider wave of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, grew out of discontent with the Syrian government and escalated to an armed conflict after protests calling for Assad's removal were violently suppressed. The war, which began on 15 March 2011 with major unrest in Damascus and Aleppo , is being fought by several factions: the Syrian Armed Forces and its international allies, a loose alliance of mostly Sunni opposition rebel groups (including the Free Syrian Army ), Salafi jihadist groups (including al-Nusra Front ), the mixed Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), 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, Turkey, the United States, as well as others). The U.S.-led international coalition , established in 2014 with the declared purpose of countering ISIL, has conducted airstrikes primarily against ISIL as well as some against government and pro-government targets . They have also deployed special forces and artillery units to engage ISIL on the ground. Since 2015, the U.S. has supported the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria and its armed wing, the SDF, materially, financially, and logistically. Turkey has been directly involved in operations against the Syrian government since August 2016, not only participating in airstrikes against ISIL alongside the U.S.-led coalition, but also actively supporting the Syrian opposition and occupying large swaths of northwestern Syria while engaging in significant ground combat with the SDF, ISIL, and the Syrian government. Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from the Syrian civil war spilled over into Lebanon as opponents and supporters of the Syrian government traveled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil, with ISIL and Al-Nusra also engaging the Lebanese Army. Furthermore, while officially neutral, Israel has exchanged fire with Hezbollah and Iranian forces, whose presence in southwestern Syria it views as a threat. It has also carried out repeated strikes in the rest of Syria since the start of the war, mainly targeting alleged Iranian and Hezbollah militants. International organizations have criticized virtually all sides involved, including the Ba'athist Syrian government, ISIL, opposition rebel groups, Russia, Turkey, and the U.S.-led coalition of severe human rights violations and 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 has continued. Death toll in alleged Israeli strikes near Damascus up to 23 fighters — monitor , Times of Israel "Russia accused of war crimes in Syria at UN security council session" .

Multi-sided conflict starting in 2011 civil war infobox Personal Early life Family Assadism President of Syria Foreign policy Presidential trips Tenth Five-Year Plan Occupation of Lebanon Cedar Revolution Damascus Spring Statement of 99 Statement of 1000 Damascus Declaration Operation Outside the Box Corruption Syrian civil war Arab Spring Syrian revolution Arab–Israeli conflict War against ISIS COVID-19 pandemic Regime fall Fall of Damascus (2024) Proposed handover to Syria Governments Mero I Mero II Al-Otari Safar Hijab Al-Halqi I Al-Halqi II Khamis Arnous I Arnous II Jalali Elections 2000 2007 2014 2021 v t e The Syrian civil war ( ) is an ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria fought between the Syrian Arab Republic led by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (supported by domestic and foreign allies) and various domestic and foreign forces that oppose both the Syrian government and each other, in varying combinations. Popular discontent with the Ba'athist government led to large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria in March 2011 as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. Numerous protests were violently suppressed by security forces in deadly crackdowns ordered by Bashar al-Assad, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and detentions . The uprising transformed into an insurgency with the formation of resistance militias across the country, deteriorating into a full-blown civil war by 2012. The war is currently fought by several factions. The Syrian Armed Forces , alongside its domestic and foreign allies, represent the Syrian Arab Republic and Assad government. Opposed to it is the Syrian Interim Government , a big-tent alliance of pro-democratic , nationalist opposition groups (whose military forces consist of the Syrian National Army and allied Free Syrian militias ). Another faction is the Syrian Salvation Government , whose armed forces are represented by a coalition of Sunni militias led by Tahrir al-Sham . Independent of them is the de facto autonomous territory of Rojava , whose armed wing is the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Other competing factions include Salafi Jihadist organisations such as the Al-Qaeda-branch Hurras al-Din (successor of Al-Nusra Front ) and the Islamic State (IS). A number of foreign countries, such as Iran , Russia , Turkey , and the United States , have been directly involved in the civil war ; providing support to opposing factions in the conflict. Since 2014, the U.S.-led international coalition has been conducting air and ground operations primarily against the Islamic State and occasionally against pro-Assad forces , and has been militarily and logistically supporting factions such as the Revolutionary Commando Army and Rojava's Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkish forces currently occupy parts of northern Syria and, since 2016, have fought the SDF, IS, and the Assad government while actively supporting the Syrian National Army (SNA). Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from the Syrian civil war spilled over into Lebanon as opponents and supporters of the Syrian government traveled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil. While officially neutral, Israel has exchanged border fire and conducted repeated strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian forces , whose presence in western Syria it views as a threat. Violence in the war peaked during 2012–2017, but the situation remains a crisis. By 2020, the Syrian government controlled about two-thirds of the country and was consolidating power. Frontline fighting between the Assad government and opposition groups had mostly subsided by 2023, but there had been regular flareups in northwestern Syria and large-scale protests emerged in southern Syria and spread nationwide in response to extensive autocratic policies and the economic situation. The protests were noted as resembling the 2011 revolution that preceded the civil war. The war has resulted in an estimated 470,000–610,000 violent deaths, making it the second deadliest conflict of the 21st century, after the Second Congo War . International organizations have accused virtually all sides involved—the Assad government, IS, opposition groups, Iran, Russia, Turkey, and the U.S.-led coalition —of severe human rights violations and massacres . The conflict has caused a major refugee crisis , with millions of people fleeing to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan ; however, a sizable minority has also sought refuge in countries outside of the Middle East, with Germany alone accepting over half a million Syrians since 2011. 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 has continued. "Syrians of today, Germans of tomorrow: the effect of initial placement on the political interest of Syrian refugees in Germany" . International Rescue Committee (IRC) . 31 January 2022. Twelve years on from the beginning of Syria's war By Al Jazeera Staff ,15 Mar 2023. Security Council: 12 years of war, leaves 70 per cent of Syrians needing aid , 25 January 2023, UN official website. The New York Times . 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Multi-sided war in Syria (2011–present) Belligerents Full list of factions Casualties and losses Total deaths 656,493+ Civilian deaths 219,223–306,887+ Displaced people 6.7 million internally 6.6 million externally (refugees) (March 2021) See Casualties of the Syrian civil war for details Personal Early life Family Assadism President of Syria Foreign policy Presidential trips Tenth Five-Year Plan Occupation of Lebanon Cedar Revolution Damascus Spring Statement of 99 Statement of 1000 Damascus Declaration Operation Outside the Box Corruption Syrian civil war Arab Spring Syrian revolution Arab–Israeli conflict War against ISIS COVID-19 pandemic Regime fall Fall of Damascus (2024) Proposed handover to Syria Governments Mero I Mero II Al-Otari Safar Hijab Al-Halqi I Al-Halqi II Khamis Arnous I Arnous II Jalali Elections 2000 2007 2014 2021 v t e Personal Early life Family Latifa al-Droubi (wife) Hussein al-Sharaa (father) Widad al-Khaled (mother) Maher al-Sharaa (brother) Hazem al-Sharaa (brother) Jamal al-Sharaa (brother) Maher Marwan (cousin and brother-in-law) Political offices President of Syria (2025–present) De facto leader of Syria as General commander and head of the New Syrian Administration (2024–2025) Emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (2017–2025) De facto leader of the Syrian Salvation Government Emir of the al-Nusra Front (2012–2017) President of Syria Incumbent Governments caretaker transitional Presidential trips United States Presidency Opinion polling Constitutional Declaration Conference Victory National Dialogue Syrian civil war Salvation Government Northwestern Syria Campaign (2017–2018) Offensive (2019–2020) Idlib clashes 2016 2017 2020 2021 Northern Aleppo clashes (2022) Fall of the Assad regime Opposition offensives Aleppo Hama Homs Damascus Israeli invasion of Syria Aftermath of the Syrian civil war Hezbollah clashes Western Syria clashes March 2025 Western clashes Massacres of Syrian Alawites Druze insurgency April–May 2025 clashes July 2025 clashes Massacres of Syrian Druze Damascus airstrikes SDF–Syrian government clashes Aleppo clashes Government offensives 2025 Palmyra attack v t e The Syrian civil war is an ongoing conflict in Syria that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. The Assad regime responded to the protests with lethal force, sparking a civil war that culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. All revolutionary factions were united into the Syrian caretaker government by 12 March 2025. The Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad began an insurgency , forming groups such as the Free Syrian Army . Anti-Assad forces received arms from states such as Qatar and Turkey . Pro-Assad forces received financial and military support from Iran and Russia : Iran launched a military intervention in support of the Syrian government in 2013, and Russia followed in 2015 . By this time, rebels had established the Syrian Interim Government after capturing the regional capitals of Raqqa in 2013 and Idlib in 2015. In 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) seized control over Eastern Syria and Western Iraq , prompting a United States -led coalition to launch an aerial bombing campaign against ISIS , while providing ground support and supplies to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by the People's Defense Units (YPG). In 2016, Turkey launched an invasion of northern Syria in response to the creation of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), while also establishing the Syrian National Army (SNA) to help it fight ISIS and pro-Assad forces . The December 2016 victory of pro-Assad forces in the four-year Battle of Aleppo marked the recapture of what had been Syria's largest city before the war. In Idlib Governorate , the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia formed the Syrian Salvation Government , a technocratic, Islamist administration that governed the region from 2017 until 2024. ISIS was defeated in the Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor campaigns. In December 2019, regime forces launched an offensive on Idlib province, which ended in a ceasefire lasting from 2020 until November 2024 . During this period, there were regular clashes between pro-Assad forces and HTS . HTS launched a major offensive on 27 November 2024, with support from the SNA. Aleppo fell in three days, giving momentum to revolutionaries across the country. Southern rebels launched their own offensive , capturing Daraa and Suwayda . HTS captured Hama , while the Syrian Free Army and the SDF launched separate offensives in Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor , respectively. On 8 December, Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow as Homs and Damascus fell to the revolutionaries. His prime minister transferred power to the new government, and Israel launched the invasion of Syria's Quneitra Governorate (including the UN buffer zone ) from its 58-year occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights . At the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference held at the Presidential Palace in Damascus on 29 January 2025, the new government announced the dissolution of several armed militias and their integration into the Syrian Ministry of Defense , as well as the appointment of former HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa as president of Syria . The Syrian peace process integrated all revolutionary factions into the new Syrian state institutions by 12 March 2025. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ). "On the Syrian border with Israel: 'The troops threatened to do the same thing to us as in Gaza' " . Israel took advantage of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime to extend its occupation of the Golan Heights — Syrian territory partly taken by Israel in 1967 — by several hundred square miles. The Institute for the study of War . 4 February 2025 . US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) Commander Salem Antari, who controls US-backed "Free Syrian Army" forces in the al Tanf zone, stated on February 3 that the FSA is negotiating with the interim government to integrate into the interim Defense Ministry. Antari added that the FSA is prepared to assume any duties assigned to it by the new Defense Ministry. Anadolu Ajansi . : CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link ) "In Syria, Crackdown After Protests" . The New York Times . "14th anniversary of Syrian Revolution | Nearly 657,000 persons killed since the onset of the revolution in March 2011" . "Syrian Revolution 13 years on | Nearly 618,000 persons killed since the onset of the revolution in March 2011" . "UN Human Rights Office estimates more than 306,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in Syria conflict" . Over the past ten years, civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, with an estimated 306,887 direct civilian deaths occurring.