Syrian civil war

Multi-sided war in Syria

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Syrian civil war

Military situation as of 15 July 2025 at 21:00 AST

* * *

Syrian transitional government:

Syrian Armed Forces[a]

Syrian Free Army

Turkish occupation and ex-Syrian National Army[1][b]

Syrian Democratic Forces and Deir ez-Zor defectors[6]

Suwayda Druze factions[7]

* * *

Foreign occupations:

Israeli occupation and invasion[c]

American occupation and Syrian Free Army[d]

Russian occupation[e] and Assadist insurgent presence[10][11][12]

(full list of factions, detailed map)
| Date| March 2011 (2011-03)[f] – December 2024[disputed - discuss][17][g]
Regional insurgencies and sectarian clashes ongoing

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Location|

Syria (with spillovers in neighboring countries, particularly Iraq and Lebanon)

Status|

* Bashar al-Assad is overthrown
* Assadist insurgency starts in Western Syria
* Rebels capture most of Syria and establish a caretaker government
* A transitional government is formed under Ahmed al-Sharaa
* Large-scale fighting ceases
* Israel invades Syria after the fall of Assad

Belligerents

Full list of factions

Casualties and losses

Total deaths
656,493+[22][23]
Civilian deaths
219,223–306,887+[h][26][27]
Displaced people

* 6.7 million internally
* 6.6 million externally (refugees) (March 2021)[28]
* See Casualties of the Syrian civil war for details

* v
* t
* e

Syrian civil war

Timeline

* Background and causes
* Casualties
* Cities
* Terrorism
* Massacres

* v
* t
* e

Civil uprising in Syria (March–August 2011)

* Daraa
* Baniyas
* Homs (May–August 2011)
* Talkalakh
* Rastan and Talbiseh
* 1st Jisr ash-Shughur
* Hama
* Latakia

* v
* t
* e

Start of insurgency in Syria (Sept. 2011 – April 2012)

* Siege of Homs
* 1st Homs offensive
* 1st Idlib Gov.
* Syrian–Turkish border
* Jabal al-Zawiya
* 1st Idlib City
* Saraqib
* 1st Rastan
* Hama Gov.
* Daraa Gov.
* Rif Dimashq Gov.
* 1st Rif Dimashq
* 1st Zabadani
* Douma
* 1st Deir ez-Zor Gov.
* Hatla
* Aleppo Gov.
* Azaz
* 2nd Rastan
* 1st al-Qusayr
* 2nd Idlib Gov.
* Taftanaz

* v
* t
* e

UN ceasefire; Rebel advances (May 2012 – Dec. 2013)

* 3rd Rastan
* Houla
* 1st Northern Homs
* Al-Haffah
* Al-Qubeir
* Al-Tremseh
* 3rd Idlib Gov.
* 1st Damascus
* Bombing
* 1st Aleppo city
* Anadan
* Menagh Air Base
* Base 46
* Khan al-Assal
* 1st Aleppo offensive
* 2nd Aleppo offensive
* Syrian Kurdistan and Kurdish–Islamist conflict
* Hasaka campaign
* Ras al-Ayn
* al-Yaarubiyah
* Tell Hamis and Tell Brak
* Tell Abyad
* 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 Gov.
* 1st Raqqa city
* 1st Daraa offensive
* 4th Rif Dimashq
* Jdaidet al-Fadl
* Tadamon
* Ghouta
* 2nd al-Qusayr
* 3rd al-Qusayr
* Eastern Ghouta
* 2nd Hama offensive
* Bayda and Baniyas
* 1st Latakia offensive
* Ma'loula
* Sadad
* 5th Rif Dimashq
* 1st Qalamoun
* Adra

* v
* t
* e

Rise of ISIS in 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
* 2nd Deir ez-Zor Gov.
* 1st Shaer gas field
* 1st Eastern Syria
* Tabqa Airbase
* 3rd Hama offensive
* 6th Rif Dimashq
* 1st Quneitra
* 1st Kobanî

* v
* t
* e

U.S.-led intervention, Rebel and ISIL advances (Sept. 2014 – Sept. 2015)

* U.S.-led intervention
* Homs school bombing
* 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

* v
* t
* e

Russian intervention (Sept. 2015 – March 2016)

* Russian intervention
* 3rd Quneitra
* 2nd Northwestern Syria
* 3rd Latakia offensive
* Su-24 shootdown
* 5th Aleppo offensive
* al-Hawl
* 2nd 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

* v
* t
* e

Aleppo escalation and Euphrates Shield (March 2016 – February 2017)

* 8th Aleppo offensive
* 6th Daraa
* 9th–11th Aleppo offensives
* Al-Dumayr
* 1st East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict
* 1st Qamishli
* Aleppo bombings
* 8th Rif Dimashq
* 3rd Shaer gas field
* Northern Raqqa
* Jableh & Tartus
* 1st 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 Gov.
* 17th Aleppo offensive
* 4th Palmyra
* 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

* v
* t
* e

Collapse of the Islamic State in Syria (Feb. – Nov. 2017)

* Eastern Homs offensive
* al-Jina mosque
* 6th Hama offensive
* Tabqa
* Khan Shaykhun
* US Shayrat strike
* Aleppo bus bombing
* April 2017 Turkish airstrikes
* 2nd East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict
* 2nd Syrian Desert
* Maskanah
* East Hama
* 2nd Raqqa city
* 9th Daraa
* Southern Raqqa
* Iranian Deir ez-Zor strike
* Ja'din
* Jobar
* 5th Quneitra
* Central Syria
* 3rd Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* 4th Qalamoun
* 3rd Deir ez-Zor Gov.
* 2nd Eastern Syria
* 5th Deir ez-Zor offensive
* Euphrates Crossing
* Mayadin
* 2nd Abu Kamal
* 7th Hama offensive

* v
* t
* e

Rebels in retreat and Operation Olive Branch
(Nov. 2017 – Sep. 2018)

* 3rd Northwestern Syria
* Eastern Syria insurgency
* Atarib
* Harasta
* Beit Jinn
* 3rd Syrian Desert
* 6th Deir ez-Zor offensive
* 1st Southern Damascus
* Olive Branch
* Afrin
* SDF insurgency
* Khasham
* Feb 2018 Israel–Syria incident
* 10th Rif Dimashq (Douma)
* 4th Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* 2nd Southern Damascus
* U.S.-led missile strikes
* 2nd Northern Homs
* 2nd Eastern Qalamoun
* 3rd Southern Damascus
* Deir ez-Zor SAA-SDF clashes
* House of Cards
* 1st As-Suwayda
* 2nd Southern Syria
* 2nd As-Suwayda
* 3rd As-Suwayda
* 2nd Qamishli

* v
* t
* e

Idlib demilitarization
(Sep. 2018 – April 2019)

* Idlib demilitarization
* 5th Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* 1st Israeli missile strikes
* 2nd Iranian strike
* Northern border clashes
* Daraa insurgency
* Manbij bombing
* Baghuz Fawqani
* U.S. airstrike

* v
* t
* e

First Idlib offensive, Operation Peace Spring, & Second Idlib offensive (April 2019 – March 2020)

* 4th Northwestern
* Tell Rifaat
* Raqqa & Azaz
* Hass
* 2nd Israeli missile strikes
* Peace Spring (2nd Ras al-Ayn)
* Kayla Mueller
* Northern bombings
* 3rd Israeli missile strikes
* Qah
* 5th Northwestern
* Balyun
* Spring Shield
* 2nd U.S. missile strikes
* 10th Daraa

* v
* t
* e

Idlib ceasefire (March 2020 – Nov. 2024)

* 6th Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* Ayn Issa
* Qamishli & Al-Hasakah
* 4th Israeli missile strikes
* 3rd Qamishli
* 11th Daraa
* 7th Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* 3rd Al-Hasakah city
* 1st Aleppo inter-rebel conflict
* Jabal al-Bishrī
* 2nd Aleppo inter-rebel conflict
* Claw-Sword
* Northwestern clashes
* 3rd U.S. missile strikes
* 2nd Northern clashes
* Deir ez-Zor clashes
* 3rd Northern clashes
* Homs drone strike
* Israel–Hezbollah conflict (Iranian consulate airstrike)
* February 2024 airstrikes
* Anti-Turkish riots
* Masyaf raid

* v
* t
* e

Opposition offensives and Assad overthrown (Nov. – Dec. 2024)

* Opposition offensives
* 2nd Aleppo city
* Hospital strike
* 8th Hama offensive
* 19th Aleppo offensive
* 7th Deir ez-Zor offensive
* 3rd Homs offensive
* 6th Palmyra
* Al-Mustariha strike
* 3rd Southern Syria
* 3rd Damascus
* Fall of the Assad regime

* v
* t
* e

Transitional government (Dec. 2024 – present)

* Northeastern
* 2nd Manbij
* 2nd Kobani
* 20th Aleppo offensive
* Israeli invasion of Syria
* Damascus airstrikes
* Hezbollah–Syria clashes
* Assadist insurgency
* 1st Western clashes
* 12th Daraa
* 2nd Western clashes
* Syrian Alawites massacres
* Druze insurgency
* Jaramana
* 4th Southern Syria
* Syrian Druze massacres
* 5th Southern Syria
* Mar Elias Church attack

* v
* t
* e

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
* Turkish occupation of northern Syria
* Kurdish riots

* * *

* 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 Iran
* 2017 Tehran attacks
* 2017 Deir ez-Zor missile strike
* 2024 Iranian airstrikes in Syria

* * *

* Spillover in Turkey
* Russian Su-24 shootdown
* Andrei Karlov
* Balyun airstrikes
* Kafr Takharim airstrikes

* * *

* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war

* * *

* Spillover in Europe

* v
* t
* e

Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war

Foreign intervention on behalf of Syrian Arab Republic

* Russian involvement
* 2015 intervention
* Iranian intervention
* 2017 missile strike
* 2012 Hezbollah involvement

Foreign intervention in behalf of Syrian rebels

* Foreign rebel fighters
* Turkish involvement
* Turkey–Islamic State conflict
* Tomb of Suleyman Shah relocation
* Euphrates Shield
* 2017 airstrikes
* Idlib Governorate operation
* Afrin operation
* 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria
* Israel's role

U.S.-led intervention against ISIL

* US intervention
* Timeline
* List of attacks
* 2014 rescue operation
* May 2015 raid
* 2017 missile strikes
* Qatari involvement
* Jordanian intervention
* Operation Martyr Muath
* Lebanon's role
* Saudi involvement
* April 2018 missile strikes
* Dutch involvement
* German intervention
* French intervention
* Australian intervention
* UK intervention

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Bashar al-Assad

|

* * *

Personal

* Early life
* Family
* Assadism

* * *

President of Syria

* Presidency
* Foreign policy
* Presidential trips
* Occupation of Lebanon
* Cedar Revolution
* Damascus Spring
* Damascus Declaration
* Operation Outside the Box

* * *

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

|  |

This article is part of
a series about

Ahmed al-Sharaa

|

* * *

Personal

* Early life
* Family
* Latifa al-Droubi (wife)
* Hussein al-Sharaa (father)
* Maher al-Sharaa (brother)
* Hazem al-Sharaa (brother)
* Jamal al-Sharaa (brother)

* * *

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)
* Emir of the al-Nusra Front (2012–2017)

* * *

President of Syria
Incumbent

* Presidential trips
* 2025 Interim Constitution
* 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)

* * *

Governments

* Provisional
* caretaker
* transitional

* * *

Fall of the Assad regime

* Opposition offensives
* Aleppo
* Hama
* Homs
* Damascus
* Israeli invasion of Syria
* Hezbollah clashes
* Assad loyalist insurgency
* March 2025 Western clashes
* Massacres of Syrian Alawites
* July 2025 Southern clashes
* Damascus airstrikes

* * *

* v
* t
* e

Part of a series on

Islamism

Fundamentals

* Islam
* History
* Culture
* Economics
* Politics
* Secularism

Ideologies

* Salafi movement
* Salafi jihadism
* International propagation
* By region
* Deobandi movement
* Deobandi jihadism
* Qutbism
* Khomeinism
* Shia Islamism
* Islamic fundamentalism
* Islamic nationalism

Concepts

* Apostasy in Islam
* Takfir
* Islamic governance
* Caliphate
* Islamic democracy
* Islamic feminism
* Islamic liberalism
* Islamic socialism
* Islamic extremism
* Islamic state
* Islamic republic
* Spread of Islam (of knowledge)
* Jihad
* Islamic terrorism
* Jihadism
* Pan-Islamism
* Political Islam
* aspects
* Post-Islamism
* Sharia
* Shura
* Two-nation theory
* Ummah

Influences

* Anti-communism
* Anti-imperialism
* Anti-Zionism
* Decolonization
* Islamic Golden Age
* Islamic revival

Movements

Scholastic

* Barelvi
* Dawat-e-Islami
* Deobandi
* Nurcu
* Salafism
* Madkhalism
* Ahl-i Hadith
* Sahwa movement
* Wahhabism
* International propagation
* by country/region

Political

* Salafist Front
* Salafist Call
* Movement of Society for Peace
* Hamas
* Party of Democratic Action
* Jamaat-e-Islami
* Millî Görüş
* Muslim Brotherhood
* List of Islamic political parties

Militant

* Militant Islamism based in
* MENA region
* South Asia
* Southeast Asia
* Sub-Saharan Africa

Key texts

* The Caliphate or the Grand Imamate (Rashīd Rīďha 1922)
* Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (Iqbal 1930s)
* Principles of State and Government (Asad 1961)
* Ma'alim fi al-Tariq ("Milestones") (Qutb 1965)
* Islamic Government:
Governance of the Jurist ("Velayat-e faqih") (Khomeini 1970)

Heads of state

* Ahmed al-Sharaa
* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
* Ruhollah Khomeini
* Mohamed Morsi
* Muammar Gaddafi
* Alija Izetbegović
* Ismail Haniyeh
* Zia ul-Haq
* Ali Khamenei
* Omar al-Bashir
* Mohammed Omar
* House of Saud
* House of Thani
* Hibatullah Akhundzada
* Sadiq al-Mahdi

Key ideologues

* Abu Hamza al-Masri
* Rabee al-Madkhali
* Muhammad Abduh
* Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī
* Qazi Hussain Ahmad
* Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani
* Muhammad Asad
* Hassan al-Banna
* Rached Ghannouchi
* Safwat Hegazi
* Muhammad Iqbal
* Ali Khamenei
* Ruhollah Khomeini
* Necip Fazıl Kısakürek
* Abul A'la Maududi
* Abul Hasan Nadwi
* Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani
* Yusuf al-Qaradawi
* Sayyid Qutb
* Tariq Ramadan
* Ata Abu Rashta
* Rashid Rida
* Navvab Safavi
* Ali Shariati
* Haji Shariatullah
* Hassan Al-Turabi
* Ahmed Yassin
* Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab

Criticism

* Liberal and reform movements within Islam
* in Europe
* in North America
* Khaled Abu al-Fadl
* Farag Foda
* Abdelwahab Meddeb
* Maryam Namazie
* Maajid Nawaaz
* Sam Harris
* Olivier Roy
* Bassam Tibi
* Muhammad Sa'id al-Ashmawi
* Gilles Kepel
* Shiraz Maher
* Magnus Ranstorp

Related topics

* Islam and modernity
* Modernism
* Islam and other religions
* Islamophobia

* Islam portal
* Politics portal

* v
* t
* e

The Syrian civil war 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. The Assad regime responded to the protests with lethal force, sparking a civil war. The Syrian revolution lasted almost 14 years and culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Many sources regard this as the end of the civil war.[17][disputed - discuss]

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.

## Overview and timeline

[edit]

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the Syrian civil war.

### Protests, civil uprising, and armed insurgency (2011–2012)

[edit]

Main articles: Arab Spring and Syrian revolution

Military situation in March 2013 Military situation in August 2016 Military situation from March 2020 to November 2024 Military situation in February 2025

For a chronological guide, see January–April 2011, May–August 2011, September–December 2011 and January–April 2012 timelines.

Further information: Syrian revolution, Early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war, and Kofi Annan Syrian peace plan

In March 2011, popular discontent with President Bashar al-Assad's Ba'athist government led to large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region.[29][30] Numerous protests were violently suppressed by security forces in deadly crackdowns ordered by Assad, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and detentions, many of whom were civilians.[29][30] The Syrian revolution transformed into an insurgency with the formation of resistance militias across the country, developing into a full civil war by 2012.[i]

### Peak of violence, foreign interventions (2012–2020)

[edit]

The war has been fought by several factions. From 2011 to December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, alongside its domestic and foreign allies, represented the Syrian Arab Republic and Assad's Ba'athist government. Alternative governments rose in opposition to Assad's rule, including the Syrian Interim Government, a big-tent alliance of pro-democratic, nationalist opposition groups whose military forces consisted of the Syrian National Army (SNA) and allied Free Syrian militias. Another is the Syrian Salvation Government, whose armed forces were represented by a coalition of Sunni militias led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Independent of them is the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, whose military force is the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a multi-ethnic, Arab-majority force led by the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG). Other competing factions include jihadist organizations such as al-Qaeda's Syrian branch Hurras al-Din (the successor of Al-Nusra Front) and the Islamic State (IS).

The civil war has also served as a proxy war[31] as a number of foreign countries–including Turkey, Iran, Russia and the United States–have been directly involved in the conflict, providing support to opposing factions. Iran, Russia and Hezbollah supported Assad's government militarily, with Iran intervening in 2013 and Russia conducting airstrikes and ground operations in the country beginning in September 2015. In 2014, the US-led international coalition officially began conducting air and ground operations–primarily against the Islamic State, al-Qaeda elements such as Hurras al-Din and the Khorasan group and occasionally against pro-Assad forces–and has been militarily and logistically supporting factions such as the Syrian Free Army and the SDF. Turkish forces occupied parts of northern Syria and have fought the SDF, Assad government and Islamic State alike while actively supporting the 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 exchanged border fire and conducted repeated strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian elements inside Syria, whose presence in the country it viewed as a security threat.[32][33]

Violence in the war peaked during 2012–2017 amid rebel and government offensives and sectarian and Islamist violence.[34][35] International organizations had accused virtually all sides involved—the Assad government, the Islamic State, opposition groups, Iran, Russia,[36] Turkey[37] and the US-led coalition[38]—of severe human rights violations and massacres.[39] The conflict had caused a major refugee crisis, with millions of people fleeing to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan;[40][41] however, a sizable minority also sought refuge in countries outside of the Middle East, with Germany alone accepting over half a million Syrians since 2011.[41] Since 2011 a number of peace initiatives had been launched, including the March 2017 Geneva peace talks on Syria led by the United Nations, but fighting continued.[42]

Escalation; Government clashes with Rebel (2012–2013)

For a chronological guide, see May–August 2012, September–December 2012, January–April 2013 and May–December 2013 timelines.

Further information: 2012–2013 escalation of the Syrian civil war

Rise of the Islamist groups (January–August 2014)

For a chronological guide, see January–July 2014 timeline.

Further information: Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian civil war

US intervention (September 2014 – August 2015)

For a chronological guide, see August–December 2014 and January–July 2015 timelines.

Further information: US intervention in the Syrian civil war, 2015 Southern Syria offensive, Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015), Battle of Idlib (2015), Palmyra offensive (May 2015), Palmyra offensive (July–August 2015), and Battle of al-Hasakah (2015)

Russian intervention; first partial ceasefire (September 2015 – August 2016)

For a chronological guide, see August–December 2015 and January–April 2016 and May–August 2016 timelines.

Further information: Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war

Aleppo recaptured; Russian/Iranian/Turkish-backed ceasefire (September 2016 – April 2017)

For a chronological guide, see September–December 2016 and January–April 2017 timeline.

Further information: Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)

Syrian-American conflict; de-escalation zones (April–August 2017)

For a chronological guide, see May–August 2017 timeline.

Further information: Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, 2017 Shayrat missile strike, and Hama offensive (March–April 2017)

ISIL siege of Deir ez-Zor broken; CIA program halted; Russian forces permanent (September–December 2017)

For a chronological guide, see September–December 2017 timeline.

Further information: Deir ez-Zor offensive (September–November 2017) and Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–2017)

Government forces advance in Hama province and Ghouta; Turkish intervention in Afrin (January–March 2018)

For a chronological guide, see January–April 2018 timeline.

Further information: Northwestern Syria campaign (October 2017 – February 2018), Operation Olive Branch, Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), and February 2018 Israel–Syria incident

Douma chemical attack; US-led missile strikes; southern Syria offensive (April–August 2018)

For a chronological guide, see May–August 2018 timeline.

Further information: Douma chemical attack, Operation House of Cards, and Syria missile strikes (September 2018)

Idlib demilitarization; Partial US withdrawal; Iraq strikes ISIL targets (September–December 2018)

For a chronological guide, see September–December 2018 timeline.

Further information: Idlib demilitarization (2018–2019)

ISIL attacks continue; US states conditions of withdrawal; fifth inter-rebel conflict (January–April 2019)

For a chronological guide, see January–April 2019 timeline.

Further information: National Front for Liberation–Tahrir al-Sham conflict

New outbreaks of civil war; northwestern offensive; northern buffer zone established (May–August 2019)

For a chronological guide, see May–August 2019 timeline.

Further information: Northwestern Syria offensive (April–August 2019)

US forces withdraw from buffer zone; Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria (September–December 2019)

For a chronological guide, see September–December 2019 timeline.

Further information: 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria

In October 2019, Kurdish leaders of the AANES announced they had reached a major deal with the Assad government, allowing for Syrian Army forces to enter Kurdish-held towns along the Syria–Turkey border. The deal was part of an effort to resist Turkey's cross-border incursion into AANES territory after US forces withdrew from the area after the collapse of the Northern Syria Buffer Zone.[43][44][45] In November 2019, Russia, Turkey and the Assad government established a new buffer zone in northern Syria that deescalated the Kurdish-Turkish clashes.[46] US-led coalition forces regrouped in eastern Syria in continued support of the SDF against the Islamic State insurgency, amid tensions with local Russian forces and Iranian elements in the region.[47][48]

By the end of the decade, the war had 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.[49]

### Stalemate and frozen conflict (2020–2024)

[edit]

For a chronological guide, see 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and January–October 2024 timelines.

Further information: Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019 – March 2020), Operation Spring Shield, and Southern Syria protests (2023–24)

Following the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire, frontline fighting between the Syrian government under Assad and opposition groups had mostly subsided. By 2021, the Assad government controlled about two-thirds of the country and was consolidating power.[50][18] Although, regular flare-ups occurred among factions 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 at the time as resembling the 2011 revolution that preceded the civil war.[51][52][53][54][55]

The civil war had largely settled into a stalemate by early 2023. The United States Institute of Peace said:

> Twelve years into Syria's devastating civil war, the conflict appears to have settled into a frozen state. Although roughly 30% of the country is controlled by opposition forces, heavy fighting has largely ceased and there is a growing regional trend toward normalizing relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Over the last decade, the conflict erupted into one of the most complicated in the world, with a dizzying array of international and regional powers, opposition groups, proxies, local militias and extremist groups all playing a role. The Syrian population has been brutalized, with nearly a half a million killed, 12 million fleeing their homes to find safety elsewhere, and widespread poverty and hunger. Meanwhile, efforts to broker a political settlement have gone nowhere, leaving the Assad regime firmly in power.[56]

The US Council on Foreign Relations said:

> The war whose brutality once dominated headlines has settled into an uncomfortable stalemate. Hopes for regime change have largely died out, peace talks have been fruitless, and some regional governments are reconsidering their opposition to engaging with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. The government has regained control of most of the country, and Assad's hold on power seems secure.[57]

However, major clashes continued between Turkish forces and factions within Syria. In late 2023, Turkish forces continued to attack Kurdish forces in northern Syria.[58] Starting on 5 October 2023, the Turkish Armed Forces launched a series of air and ground strikes targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria (AANES territory). The airstrikes were launched in response to the 2023 Ankara bombing, which the Turkish government alleged was carried out by attackers originating from northeastern Syria.[59]

### Fall of the Assad regime, transitional government (2024–present)

[edit]

See also: Fall of the Assad regime, Syrian caretaker government, Syrian transitional government, 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, and Operation Dawn of Freedom

For a chronological guide, see November 2024–present timeline.

Further information: Southern Syria offensive (2024), Deir ez-Zor offensive (2024), Battle of Aleppo (2024), 2024 Hama offensive, 2024 Homs offensive, Palmyra offensive (2024), Fall of Damascus (2024), Syrian insurgency (2024–present), 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria, Hezbollah–Syria clashes (2024–present), Western Syria clashes, and March 2025 Western Syria clashes

Syrian opposition offensives which overthrew Assad's regime in 11 days.

On 27 November 2024, a coalition of opposition groups called the Military Operations Command,[60] led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, launched a major offensive[61] against the Syrian Army and other pro-government forces in Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Homs Governorates.[62] This was followed by other rebel offensives from the Southern Operations Room, the SDF and the Syrian Free Army which all began seizing Syrian government territory in the country's south and east.[63][64][65][66] On 29 November, rebel forces entered Aleppo as Syrian Army positions collapsed across the country.[67] On 7 December, rebel forces entered Damascus and the next day, on 8 December, Bashar al-Assad was reported to have fled the capital.[68] The Syrian Army confirmed Assad was no longer in power and had fled the country,[69][70][71] resulting in the collapse of his regime and ending over 60 years of Ba'athist rule under the Assad dynasty.[72][73][74][75][76] Assad and his family fled to Moscow and were granted asylum in Russia.[69][77][78][79]

The fall of Assad has been said to mark the end of the Syrian civil war.[17]

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali recognized the transfer of power to the Syrian Salvation Government, which established a caretaker government in Damascus with Mohammed al-Bashir serving as the prime minister.[80] Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Syrian Salvation Government and emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, became de facto leader of Syria.[81]

On 8 December 2024, the day that the Assad regime fell, Israel invaded southern Syria, subsuming the Golan Heights buffer zone and capturing Quneitra, the Syrian portion of Mount Hermon, and surrounding towns and villages, while also carrying out a bombing campaign against Syrian military bases. Israel has maintained a military occupation of the buffer zone.[82][83] The Turkish-backed SNA launched an offensive against the SDF, which ended with the capture of Manbij on 11 December.

At the Syrian Revolution Victory conference held in Damascus on 29 January 2025, the new government appointed al-Sharaa as president of Syria during the transitional phase and announced the dissolution of several armed militias and their integration into the Syrian Army under the Syrian Ministry of Defense.

Shortly after Assad's fall, Assad loyalists, including the Syrian Popular Resistance, began carrying out ambushes against the forces of the new government in Syria's western coastal region. There were also some clashes on the Syria-Lebanon border between government forces and Hezbollah. In early March, Assadist insurgents launched a coordinated attack on government forces in the coastal region, and government forces launched a counter-offensive. This was accompanied by sectarian violence, mainly against Alawites. The Syrian government announced it had completed its military operation against Assad loyalists on 10 March 2025.[84]

Also on 10 March 2025, the Kurdish-led SDF (which controlled Northeast Syria) signed an agreement with the Syrian caretaker government to join Syria's new state institutions.[85]

There were some clashes between pro-government forces and the Syrian Druze armed coalition in Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria from 28 February to 2 March, and again from 28 April to 2 May 2025\. These ended with agreements between the Syrian government and Druze paramilitaries.[7]

In May 2025, Islamic State reported its first attack on the new Syrian government forces following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. It claimed to have attacked a military vehicle in Suwayda province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that one soldier was killed and three wounded by a remotely-triggered landmine.[86]

By late May 2025, the Institute for the Study of War reported that Assadist insurgent attacks had largely stopped since March, and that clashes involving Druze militias had also largely ended since early May.[87]

In July 2025, there were armed clashes between Syrian Druze and Bedouin in Suwayda. The Syrian military were deployed to restore order and clashed with some of the militants involved. Syrian government forces were reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as conducting mass execution of Druze civilians. Three hundred members of the Druze religious minority were killed, including 146 fighters and 154 civilians, 83 of whom were "summarily executed" by government forces, the SOHR said on Thursday evening.[88] The Israeli Air Force (A large minority of Druze live in Israel.) said it struck Syrian tanks in the area as a "warning" to the new Syrian government. The next day Israel bombed government buildings in Damascus such as the Ministry of Defense and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace.[89][90]

## Background

[edit]

Main articles: Background and causes of the Syrian revolution and Modern history of Syria

### Assad government

[edit]

See also: Ba'athist Syria, Presidency of Hafez al-Assad, Presidency of Bashar al-Assad, and Assad family

The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party government came to power through a coup d'état in 1963 by overthrowing the Second Syrian Republic. A second coup in 1966 ousted the old Baathist leadership of Michel Aflaq, replacing it with a militaristic, hard-left, pro-Soviet regime led by Salah Jadid, causing a split between the Syrian branch of Ba'ath, which supported Jadid, and the Iraqi branch, which remained loyal to Aflaq. Jadid was in turn removed in November 1970 by General Hafez al-Assad, an Alawite who declared himself President in March 1971.[91] This marked the beginning of the domination of personality cults centred around the Assad family that pervaded all aspects of Syrian daily life and was accompanied by a systematic suppression of civil and political freedoms, becoming the central feature of state propaganda. Authority in Ba'athist Syria was monopolised by three power-centres: Alawite loyalist clans, the Ba'ath Party and the Syrian Armed Forces. All three united by their allegiance to the Assad family.[92][93][94]

The Syrian Regional Branch 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.[95] On 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented a new constitution, leading to a national crisis. The 1973 Constitution entrusted the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party with the distinctive role as the "leader of the state and society", empowering it to mobilise the civilians for party programmes, issue decrees to ascertain their loyalty and supervise all legal trade unions. Ba'athist ideology was imposed upon children as a compulsory part of school curricula as the Armed Forces became highly monitored by the Party. The constitution removed Islam from being recognised as the state religion and stripped existing provisions such as the requirement that the president of Syria be Muslim. These measures caused widespread furor amongst the public, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama. The Assad regime violently crushed the Islamic revolts that occurred during 1976–1982, waged by revolutionaries from the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood.[96]

The Ba'ath Party carefully constructed Assad as the guiding father figure of the party and modern Syrian nation, advocating the continuation of Assad dynastic rule of Syria. As part of the publicity efforts to brand the nation and Assad family as inseparable, slogans such as "Assad or we burn the country", "Assad or to hell with the country" and "Hafez Assad, forever" became an integral part of the state and party discourse during the 1980s. Eventually the party organisation itself became a rubber stamp and the power structures became deeply dependent on sectarian affiliation to the Assad family and the central role of armed forces needed to crack down on dissent in the society. Critics of the regime have pointed out that deployment of violence is central to the rule of Ba'athist Syria and describe it as "a dictatorship with genocidal tendencies".[97] Hafez al-Assad's nearly three-decade rule was marked by its methods, ranging from censorship to violent measures of state terror such as mass murders, forced deportations and brutal practices such as torture, which were unleashed collectively upon the civilian population.[94] Upon Hafez al-Assad's death in 2000, his son Bashar al-Assad succeeded him as the President of Syria.[97]

Bashar's wife Asma, a Sunni Muslim born and educated in Britain, was initially hailed in the Western press as a "rose in the desert".[98][99] The couple once raised hopes amongst Syrian intellectuals and outside Western observers, being seen as a path towards implementing economic and political reforms. However, Bashar failed to deliver on promised reforms, instead cracking down on the civil society groups, political reformists and democratic activists that emerged during the Damascus Spring in the 2000s.[100] Bashar Al-Assad claims that no 'moderate opposition' to his government exists, and that all opposition forces are Islamists focused on destroying his secular leadership; his view was that terrorist groups operating in Syria are "linked to the agendas of foreign countries".[101]

### Demographics

[edit]

Main article: Demographics of Syria

The total Syrian population in July 2018 was estimated at 19,454,263 people. By ethnic groups, Syria was approximately Arab 50%, Alawite 15%, Kurd 10%, Levantine 10% and 15% of other ethnic groups (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Assyrian, Turkmen and Armenian). Its religious breakdown was: Muslim 87% (official; includes Sunni 74% and Alawi, Ismaili and Shia 13%), Christian 10% (mainly of Eastern Christian churches[102]—may now be smaller as a result of Christians fleeing the country), Druze 3% and Jewish (uncounted in the estimate, but with few remaining in Damascus and Aleppo).[103]

### Socioeconomic background

[edit]

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.[104] 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.[105]

The country also faced particularly high youth unemployment rates.[106] At the start of the war, discontent with the government was strongest in Syria's poor areas, predominantly among conservative Sunnis.[104] These included cities with high poverty rates, such as Daraa and Homs, and the poorer districts of large cities.

### Drought

[edit]

The unrest 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.[107] This migration strained infrastructure already burdened by the influx of some 1.5 million refugees from the Iraq War.[108] The drought has also been linked to anthropogenic global warming, with evidence that human-caused climate change influenced the severity and duration of the regional drought.[109][110][111] Some analysis, however, has challenged the relative contribution of climatic changes to the conflict, arguing that other factors played a more important role.[112][113][114] Adequate water supply continues to be an issue in the ongoing civil war and is frequently the target of military action.[115][116]

### Human rights

[edit]

Main articles: Human rights in Syria and Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war

The human rights situation in Syria has long been the subject of harsh critique from global organizations.[117] The rights of free expression, association and assembly were strictly controlled in Syria even before the uprising.[118] The country remained under a state of emergency from 1963 until 2011 and public gatherings of more than five people were banned.[119] Security forces had sweeping powers of arrest and detention.[120] Despite hopes for democratic change with the 2000 Damascus Spring, Bashar al-Assad was widely reported as having failed to implement any improvements. In 2010, he imposed a controversial national ban on female Islamic dress codes (such as face veils) across universities, where reportedly over a thousand primary school teachers that wore the niqab were reassigned to administrative jobs.[121] A Human Rights Watch report issued just before the beginning of the 2011 uprising stated that Assad had failed to substantially improve the state of human rights since taking power.[122]

## Belligerents

[edit]

Main article: Belligerents in the Syrian civil war

Local, regional and international actors involved in the Syrian civil war prior to the fall of the Assad regime.

### Syrian factions

[edit]

There are numerous factions, both foreign and domestic, involved in the Syrian civil war. These can be divided into four main groups.

* First, Ba'athist Syria led by Bashar al-Assad and backed by his Russian and Iranian allies.
* Second, the Syrian opposition consisting of two alternative governments:
* i) the Syrian Interim Government backed by the Syrian National Coalition, a big-tent coalition of democratic, Syrian nationalist and Islamic political groups whose defense forces consist of the Syrian National Army[123] and Free Syrian Army, and
* ii) the Syrian Salvation Government, a Sunni Islamist coalition led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.[124]
* Third, the Kurdish-dominated Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and its military wing, the Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by the United States, France and other coalition allies.[125]
* Fourth, the global jihadist camp consisting of al-Qaeda affiliate Guardians of Religion Organisation and its rival Islamic State.[126]

The Syrian government, the opposition and the SDF all received support—militarily, logistically and diplomatically—from foreign countries, leading the conflict to often be described as a proxy war.[127]

### Foreign involvement

[edit]

Main article: Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war

See also: Israel and the Syrian civil war

Map of states with military/paramilitary forces deployed in Syria.

Syria

Supported the Assad government with troops

Supported the Assad government with militia

Supporting Syrian rebels or a non-government faction with troops

The major parties that supported the Syrian government were Iran,[128] Russia[129] and Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Syrian rebel groups received political, logistic and military support from the United States,[130][131] Turkey,[132] Saudi Arabia,[133] Qatar,[134] Britain, France,[135] Israel[136][137] and the Netherlands.[138] Under the aegis of operation Timber Sycamore and other clandestine activities, CIA operatives and US special operations troops have trained and armed nearly 10,000 rebel fighters at a cost of $1 billion a year since 2012.[139][140] Iraq had also been involved in supporting the Syrian government, but mostly against ISIL.[141]

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant group, was significantly involved in the Syrian Civil War. Starting from the 2011 Syrian revolution, Hezbollah provided active support to the Ba'athist government forces.[142][143] By 2012, the group escalated its involvement, deploying troops across Syria.[144] In 2013, Hezbollah publicly acknowledged its presence in Syria, intensifying its ground commitment. This involvement included an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 fighters at any given time, comprising Special Forces, standing forces from all units, part-time fighters and new recruits with accelerated combat training. Hezbollah's presence, supported by Iranian weaponry and training, further complicated the conflict dynamics, drawing Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah and Iranian targets in Syria.[145]

### Spillover

[edit]

Main article: Spillover of the Syrian civil war

Further information: War in Iraq (2013–2017)

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.[146]

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.[147]

## Weaponry and warfare

[edit]

See also: List of equipment of the Syrian Army, List of military equipment used by Syrian opposition forces, and Improvised artillery in the Syrian civil war

'Hell cannon' Improvised artillery found after the battle of Aleppo in 2016 Syrian Army T-72 tank during the 2018 Rif Dimashq offensive

### Chemical weapons

[edit]

Main articles: Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war and Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons

See also: Syria and weapons of mass destruction and Syria chemical weapons program

Sarin, mustard agent and chlorine gas have been used during the conflict. Numerous casualties led to an international reaction, especially the 2013 Ghouta chemical attack. A UN fact-finding mission was requested to investigate reported chemical weapons attacks. In four cases, UN inspectors confirmed the use of sarin gas.[148] In August 2016, a confidential report by the UN 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 ISIL for using sulfur mustard on the town of Marea in August 2015.[149]

The United States and the European Union have said the Syrian government has conducted 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 at a "military research site".[150] After the April 2017 Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, the United States launched its first intentional attack against Syrian government forces. An investigation conducted by Tobias Schneider and Theresa Lutkefend of the GPPi research institute documented 336 confirmed attacks involving chemical weapons in Syria between 23 December 2012 and 18 January 2019. The study attributed 98% of the total chemical attacks to the Assad regime. Almost 90% of the attacks occurred after Ghouta chemical attack in August 2013.[151][152]

In April 2020, the UN Security Council briefing was held on the findings of a global chemical weapons watchdog, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which found that the Syrian Air Force used sarin and chlorine during multiple attacks in 2017. Syria's close allies, Russia, and other European countries debated the issue, during which Moscow dismissed the OPCW findings while many Western European countries called for accountability for the government's war crimes.[153] The UN Deputy ambassador from Britain, Jonathan Allen, stated that the report by the OPCW's Investigation Identification Team (IIT) claimed that the Syrian regime is responsible for using chemical weapons in the war on at least four occasions. The information was also noted in two UN-mandated investigations.[154]

In April 2021, Syria was suspended from the OPCW through the public vote of member states for not cooperating with the IIT and for violating the Chemical Weapons Convention.[155][156][157] Findings of another OPCW investigation report published in July 2021 concluded that the Syrian regime had engaged in confirmed chemical attacks at least 17 times, out of the 77 reported incidents of chemical weapons usage attributed to Assadist forces.[158][159]

### Cluster bombs

[edit]

Syria is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions and does not recognize the ban on the use of cluster bombs. The Syrian Army is reported 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." He adds of the weapons that "The initial toll is only the beginning because cluster munitions often leave unexploded bomblets that kill and maim long afterward."[160]

### Thermobaric weapons

[edit]

Russian thermobaric weapons, also known as "fuel-air bombs", were used by the government's side during the war. 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".[161] One Buratino thermobaric rocket launcher "can obliterate a roughly 200 by 400 metres (660 by 1,310 feet) area with a single salvo".[161] 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.[162] 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.[163] In August 2013, the BBC reported on the use of napalm-like incendiary bombs on a school in northern Syria.[164]

### Anti-tank missiles

[edit]

An Army of Glory fighter launches a BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile at a Syrian government position during the 2017 Hama offensive.

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.[165] US-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.[166] The US has also supplied many Eastern European sourced 9K111 Fagot launchers and warheads to Syrian rebel groups under its Timber Sycamore program.[167]

### Ballistic missiles

[edit]

See also: Operation Laylat al-Qadr

In June 2017, Iran attacked ISIL targets in the Deir ez-Zor area in eastern Syria with Zolfaghar ballistic missiles fired from western Iran,[168] in the first use of mid-range missiles by Iran in 30 years.[169] According to Jane's Defence Weekly, the missiles travelled 650–700 kilometres.[168]

## Sectarianism

[edit]

Main articles: Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war and Federalization of Syria

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. This resulted in calls for persecution of the Alawites by parts of the opposition.[170]

A third of 250,000 Alawite men of military age have been killed fighting in the Syrian civil war.[171] In May 2013, SOHR stated that out of 94,000 killed during the war, 41,000 of which being Alawites.[172]

According to The Daily Beast news website, many Syrian Christians stated in November 2013 that they had fled after they were targeted by the anti-government rebels.[173]

As militias and non-Syrian Shia—motivated by pro-Shia sentiment rather than loyalty to the Assad government—have taken over fighting the anti-government forces from the weakened Syrian Army, fighting has taken on a more sectarian nature. One opposition leader has said 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"—reportedly 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".[174]

In 2025 after the defeat of Assad and the rise of the Transitional government an ongoing series of mass killings and massacres against Alawites has occurred in Syria since March 2025 as part of communal and sectarian violence by fighters aligned with the Syrian caretaker government (including locally mobilised civilians, Syrian National Army (SNA) militias and Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah) and armed remnants of the former Assad regime. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 1,614 civilians were killed by armed militias supporting the Syrian government since 6 March. The observatory estimated actual numbers to be much higher.[175]

## Kurdish autonomy in northeastern Syria

[edit]

Main articles: Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and Rojava conflict

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava,[j] is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria.[179][180] The region does not claim to pursue full independence but autonomy within a federal and democratic Syria.[181] Rojava consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij and Deir Ez-Zor.[182][183] The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing Rojava conflict, in which its official military force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has taken part.[184][185]

While entertaining some foreign relations, the region is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria or any state except for the Catalan Parliament.[186][187] The AANES has widespread support for its universal democratic, sustainable, autonomous pluralist, equal and feminist policies in dialogues with other political parties and organizations.[188][189][190][191] Northeastern Syria is polyethnic and home to sizeable ethnic Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian populations, with smaller communities of ethnic Turkmen, Armenians, Circassians and Yazidis.[192][193][194]

The supporters of the region's administration state that it is an officially secular polity[195][196] with direct democratic ambitions based on an anarchistic, feminist and libertarian socialist ideology promoting decentralization, gender equality,[197][198] environmental sustainability, social ecology and pluralistic tolerance for religious, cultural and political diversity, and that these values are mirrored in its constitution, society and politics, stating it to be a model for a federalized Syria as a whole, rather than outright independence.[181][199][200][201][202] The region's administration has also been accused by some partisan and nonpartisan sources of authoritarianism, support of the Syrian government,[203] Kurdification and displacement.[204] However, despite this the AANES has been the most democratic system in Syria, with direct open elections, universal equality, respecting human rights within the region, as well as defense of minority and religious rights within Syria.[188][205][206][207][208][209][210]

In March 2015, the Syrian Information Minister announced that his government considered recognizing Kurdish autonomy "within the law and constitution".[211] While the region's administration was not invited to the Geneva III peace talks on Syria,[212] or any of the earlier talks, Russia in particular called for the region's inclusion and did to some degree carry the region's positions into the talks, as documented in Russia's May 2016 draft for a new constitution for Syria.[213][214]

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announcing the Deir ez-Zor campaign in 2017

An analysis released in June 2017 described the region's "relationship with the government fraught but functional" and a "semi-cooperative dynamic".[215] In late September 2017, Syria's Foreign Minister said that Damascus would consider granting Kurds more autonomy in the region once ISIL was defeated.[216]

On 13 October 2019, the SDF announced that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian Army which allowed the latter to enter the SDF-held cities of Manbij and Kobani in order to dissuade a Turkish attack on those cities as part of the cross-border offensive by Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.[217] The Syrian Army also deployed in the north of Syria together with the SDF along the Syrian-Turkish border and entered into several SDF-held cities such as Ayn Issa and Tell Tamer.[218][219] Following the creation of the Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone, the SDF stated that it was ready to work cooperatively with the Syrian Army if a political settlement between the Syrian government and the SDF was achieved.[220]

According to information gathered in December 2021, Iraqi authorities have repatriated 100 Iraqi fighters from the ISIL (ISIS) group who were being held by Kurdish forces in northeast Syria.[221]

As of 2022, the main military threat and conflict faced by Rojava's official defense force, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are firstly, an ongoing conflict with ISIS; and secondly, ongoing concerns of possible invasion of the northeast regions of Syria by Turkish forces, in order to strike Kurdish groups in general, and Rojava in particular.[222][223][224] An official report by the Rojava government noted Turkey-backed militias as the main threat to the region of Rojava and its government.[225]

In May 2022 Turkish and opposition Syrian officials said that Turkey's Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army are planning a new operation against the SDF, composed mostly of the YPG/YPJ.[226][227] The new operation is set to resume efforts to create 30-kilometre-wide (19 mi) "safe zones" along Turkey's border with Syria, President Erdoğan said in a statement.[228] The operation aims at the Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions west of the Euphrates and other areas further east. Meanwhile, Ankara is in talks with Moscow over the operation. President Erdoğan reiterated his determination for the operation on 8 August 2022.[229]

On 5 June 2022, the leader of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, said that forces of the Kurdish government in the AANES were willing to work with Syrian government forces to defend against Turkey, saying "Damascus should use its air defense systems against Turkish planes." Abdi said that Kurdish groups would be able to cooperate with the Syrian government, and still retain their autonomy.[230][231][232][233][234] The joint discussions were a result of the negotiation processes that had begun in October 2019.[235] In early 2023, reports indicated that the forces of Islamic State in Syria had mostly been defeated, with only a few cells remaining in various remote locations.[236][237][238]

As of 2023, Turkey was continuing its support for various militias within Syria, consisting mostly of the Syrian National Army, which periodically attempted some operations against Kurdish groups.[226][227][239] One stated goal was to create "safe zones" along Turkey's border with Syria, according to a statement by Turkish President Erdoğan.[228] The operations were generally aimed at the Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions west of the Euphrates and other areas further east. President Erdoğan openly stated his support for the operations, in talks with Moscow in mid-2022.[229]

## Humanitarian impact

[edit]

Human toll of the Syrian civil warRestDisplacedRefugeesCasualitiesRestDisplacedRefugeesCasualitiesHuman toll of Syrian Civil War

Pre-war population 22 ±.5; Internally displaced 6 ±.5, Refugees 5.5 ±.5, Fatalities 0.5 ±.1 (millions)[citation needed]
Syrian refugees
By country| Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan
Settlements| Camps: Jordan
Internally displaced Syrians
Casualties of the war
Crimes| War crimes, massacres, rape
Return of refugees, Refugees as weapons, Prosecution of war criminals

* v
* t
* e

### Refugees

[edit]

Syrian refugees in Lebanon living in cramped quarters (6 August 2012)

Main article: Refugees of the Syrian civil war

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2024)

|

As of December 2022, an estimated 6.7 million refugees have been forced to flee Syria,[240] with approximately 5.5 million Syrian refugees residing across the five nearby countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Germany hosts the largest refugee population out of any non-neighboring nation with more than 850,000 Syrian refugees.[241]

Over 3.7 million Syrian refugees are in Turkey.[242] Many refugees are housed in a system of a dozen Syrian refugee 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.[243] The massive sustained presence of Syrian refugees has fueled resentment from Turkish citizens and figures across the country's political spectrum. They have been employed as scapegoats during periods of crisis within the country. Measures have been put in place to "drive them out" including raised fees on utilities such as water and services such as marriage licences. There has been an increase on attacks targeting Syrian refugees in the country.[244]

In 2013, one in three of Syrian refugees (about 667,000 people) sought safety in Lebanon, which had a population of 5.2 million in 2012.[245][246]

In September 2014, the UN stated that the number of Syrian refugees had exceeded three million.[247] 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. Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham claimed in 2014 that more than 450,000 Syrian Christians have been displaced by the conflict.[248] As of September 2016[update], the European Union has reported that there are 13.5 million refugees in need of assistance in the country.[249] Australia is being appealed to rescue more than 60 women and children stuck in Syria's Al-Hawl camp ahead of a potential Turkish invasion.[250]

A report from NGO ACT Alliance found that refugees in camps in north-eastern Syria have tripled in 2019.[251] Numerous refugees remain in local refugee camps. Conditions there are reported to be severe, especially during the winter.[252][253] In 2019, 4,000 people were housed at the Washokani Camp. The Kurdish Red Cross was the only organization known to have helped the camp's refugees. Numerous camp residents called for assistance from international groups.[254][255]

On 30 December 2019, over 50 Syrian refugees, including 27 children, were welcomed in Ireland, where they started afresh in their new temporary homes at the Mosney Accommodation Centre in Co Meath. The migrant refugees were pre-interviewed by Irish officials under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP).[256]

#### Return of refugees

[edit]

Main article: Return of refugees of the Syrian civil war

Another aspect of the post-war years will be how to repatriate the millions of refugees. The Syrian government has put forward a law commonly known as "law 10", which could strip refugees of property, such as damaged real estate. There are also fears among some refugees that if they return to claim this property they will face negative consequences, such as forced conscription or prison. The Syrian government has been criticized for using this law to reward those who have supported the government. However, the government said this statement was false and has expressed that it wants the return of refugees from Lebanon.[257][258] In December 2018, it was also reported that the Syrian government has started to seize property under an anti-terrorism law, which is affecting government opponents negatively, with many losing their property. Some people's pensions have also been cancelled.[259]

Erdogan said that Turkey expects to resettle about 1 million refugees in the "buffer zone" that it controls.[260][261][262][263] Erdogan claimed that Turkey had spent billions on approximately five million refugees now being housed in Turkey; and called for more funding from wealthier nations and from the EU.[264] This plan raised concerns amongst Kurds about displacement of existing communities and groups in that area.

### Internally displaced refugees

[edit]

Main article: Internally displaced persons in Syria

The violence in Syria caused millions to flee their homes. As of March 2015, Al-Jazeera estimated 10.9 million Syrians, or almost half the population, have been displaced.[265] Violence in the ongoing crisis in northwest Syria had forced 6,500 children to flee every day over the last week of January 2020. The recorded count of displaced children in the area has reached more than 300,000 since December 2019.[266]

As of 2022, there are 6.2 million internally displaced persons in Syria according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2.5 million of those are children. 2017 alone saw the displacement of at least 1.8 million people, many of them being displaced for the second and third time.[267]

Hundreds of boys are being held hostage by ISIS. As of 25 January 2022, The New York Times stated that the fight over a prison in northeastern Syria has brought attention to the plight of thousands of foreign children who were brought to Syria by their parents to join the Islamic State caliphate and have been detained for three years in camps and prisons in the region, abandoned by their home countries.[268]

An estimated 40,000 foreigners, including children, travelled to Syria to fight for the caliphate or work for it. Thousands of them had brought their small children with them. There were also other children born there. When ISIS lost control of the last piece of territory in Syria, Baghuz, three years ago, surviving women and young children were detained in camps, while suspected militants and boys, some as young as 10, were imprisoned.[268]

Furthermore, when the boys in the camps reach the age of adolescence, they are usually transferred to Hasaka's Sinaa prison, where they are packed into overcrowded cells with no access to sunlight. According to prison guards in the area, there is insufficient food and medical attention.[268] When the boys reach the age of 18, they are sent to the regular prison population, where wounded ISIS members are placed three to a bed.[268]

### Casualties

[edit]

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[269]

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".[270] Four months later, the UN's updated figure for the death toll had reached 80,000.[271] 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.[272][273] 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.[274]

One problem has been determining the number of "armed combatants" who have died, due to many sources counting rebel fighters who were not government defectors as civilians.[275] 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.[276] In addition, UNICEF reported that over 500 children had been killed by early February 2012,[277] and another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons;[278] both of these reports have been contested by the Syrian government. Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners are known to have died under torture.[279] In mid-October 2012, the pro-opposition monitoring group SOHR reported the number of children killed in the conflict had risen to 2,300,[280] and in March 2013, opposition sources stated that over 5,000 children had been killed.[281][better source needed] In January 2014, a report was released detailing the systematic killing of more than 11,000 detainees of the Syrian government.[282]

Wounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo, October 2012 A girl from the Syrian city of Qamishli who lost her leg during the Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria in October 2019

On 20 August 2014, a new U.N. study concluded that at least 191,369 people have died in the Syrian conflict.[283] 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 1.9m wounded (reaching a total of 11.5% of the entire population either wounded or killed).[284] A report by the pro-opposition SNHR in 2018 mentioned 82,000 victims that had been forcibly disappeared by the Syrian government, added to 14,000 confirmed deaths due to torture.[285] According to various war monitors, Syrian Armed Forces and pro-Assad forces has been responsible for over 90% of the total civilian casualties in the civil war.[k]

On 15 April 2017, a convoy of buses carrying evacuees from the besieged Shia towns of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya, which were surrounded by the Army of Conquest,[293] was attacked by a suicide bomber west of Aleppo,[294] killing more than 126 people, including at least 80 children.[295] On 1 January 2020, at least eight civilians, including four children, were killed in a rocket attack on a school in Idlib by Syrian government forces, the Syrian Human Rights Observatory (SOHR) said.[296]

In January 2020, UNICEF warned that children were bearing the brunt of escalating violence in northwestern Syria. More than 500 children were wounded or killed during the first three quarters of 2019, and over 65 children fell victim to the war in December alone.[297]

Over 380,000 people have been killed since the war in Syria started nine years ago, war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on 4 January 2020. The death toll comprises civilians, government soldiers, militia members and foreign troops.[298]

In an airstrike by Russian forces loyal to the Syrian government, at least five civilians were killed, out of which four belonged to the same family. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the death toll included three children following the attack in the Idlib region on 18 January 2020.[299]

On 30 January 2020, Russian airstrikes on a hospital and a bakery killed over 10 civilians in Syria's Idlib region. Moscow immediately rejected the allegation.[300]

On 23 June 2020, Israeli raids killed seven fighters, including two Syrian in a central province. State media cited a military official as saying the attack targeted posts in rural areas of Hama province.[301]

Just four days after the start of 2022, two children were killed and five others injured in northwest Syria. In 2021 alone, over 70% of violent attacks against children have been recorded in the region.[302]

On 14 January 2022, one person was killed by a car bomb and several others were wounded in the city of Azaz in northwest Syria, three people were wounded at a marketplace in a suspected suicide bombing in the town of al Bab and another suicide bomb went off in the city of Afrin at a roundabout.[303]

### Human rights violations and war crimes

[edit]

Main articles: Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war and Human rights in Syria

See also: Syrian mass graves, Human rights in Islamic State-controlled territory, List of massacres during the Syrian civil war, Rape during the Syrian civil war, Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war, and Prosecution of Syrian civil war criminals

Victims of the Ghouta chemical attack perpetrated by Syrian regime forces in August 2013

United Nations and human rights organizations have asserted that human rights violations have been committed by both the government and the rebel forces, with the "vast majority of the abuses having been committed by the Syrian government".[304] Numerous human rights abuses, political repression, war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Assad government throughout the course of the conflict has led to international condemnation and widespread calls to convict Bashar al-Assad in the International Criminal Court (ICC).[l] The unprecedented scale of the atrocities launched by government forces since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution has led to international outrage, and Syria's membership was suspended from various international organizations.[310][311]

According to three international lawyers,[312] 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.[313] 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.[314] Atrocities committed by the Assad regime have been described as the "greatest war crimes of the 21st century", with chilling revelations of torture, rapes, massacres and extermination being leaked through the 2014 Caesar Report, which contained photographic evidence gathered by a dissident army photographer who worked in Ba'athist military prisons.[311] According to international lawyer Stephen Rapp:

> We've got better evidence—against Assad and his clique—than we had against Milosevic in Yugoslavia, or we had in any of the war crimes tribunals in which I've involved in, some extent, even better than we had against the Nazis at Nuremberg, because the Nazis didn't actually take individual pictures of each of their victims with identifying information on them.[311]

The UN reported in 2014 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 to 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.[315][316] In Yarmouk Camp 20,000 residents faced 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.[315][317] In July 2015, the UN removed Yarmouk from its list of besieged areas in Syria, despite not having been able deliver aid there for four months, and declined to say why it had done so.[318] After intense fighting in April/May 2018, Syrian government forces finally took the camp, its population now reduced to 100–200.[319]

ISIS forces have also been criticized by the UN of using public executions and killing of captives, 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.[320] ISIS also persecuted gay and bisexual men.[321]

Enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions have also been a feature since the Syrian uprising began.[322] An Amnesty International report, published in November 2015, stated the Syrian government has forcibly disappeared more than 65,000 people since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.[323] 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.[324]

In February 2017, Amnesty International published a report which stated the Syrian government murdered an estimated 13,000 persons, mostly civilians, at the Saydnaya military prison. They stated 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".[325] Three months later, the United States State Department stated a crematorium had been identified near the prison. According to the US, 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.[326] Amnesty International expressed surprise at the reports 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.[327] The Syrian government said the reports were not true.[citation needed]

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 reported 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.[328][better source needed]

On 11 September 2019, the UN investigators said that air strikes conducted by the US-led coalition in Syria have killed or wounded several civilians, denoting that necessary precautions were not taken leading to potential war crimes.[329]

Protest in Berlin, showing image of murdered Syrian-Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf

In late 2019, as the violence intensified in northwest Syria, thousands of women and children were reportedly kept under "inhumane conditions" in a remote camp, said UN-appointed investigators.[330] In October 2019, Amnesty International stated that it had gathered evidence of war crimes and other violations committed by Turkish and Turkey-backed Syrian forces who are said to "have displayed a shameful disregard for civilian life, carrying out serious violations and war crimes, including summary killings and unlawful attacks that have killed and injured civilians".[37]

According to a 2020 report by UN-backed investigators into the Syrian civil war, young girls aged nine and above have been raped and inveigled into sexual slavery, while boys have been put through torture and forcefully trained to execute killings in public. Children have been attacked by sharpshooters and lured to be bargaining chips for ransoms.[331]

On 6 April 2020, the United Nations published its investigation into the attacks on humanitarian sites in Syria. In its reports, the UN said it had examined six sites of attacks and concluded that the airstrikes had been carried out by the "Government of Syria and/or its allies." However, the report was criticized for being partial towards Russia and not naming it, despite proper evidence. "The refusal to explicitly name Russia as a responsible party working alongside the Syrian government ... is deeply disappointing", the HRW quoted.[332]

On 27 April 2020, the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported the continuation of multiple crimes in the month of March and April in Syria. The rights organization claimed that the Syrian regime killed 44 civilians, including six children, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also said that Syrian forces held 156 people captive while committing at least of four attacks on vital civilian facilities. The report further recommended that the UN impose sanctions on the Bashar al-Assad regime if it continues to commit human rights violations.[333]

On 8 May 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, raised serious concern that rebel groups, including ISIL terrorist fighters, may be using the COVID-19 pandemic as "an opportunity to re-group and inflict violence in the country".[334]

On 21 July 2020, the Syrian government forces carried out an attack and killed two civilians with four Grad rockets in western al-Bab sub-district.[335]

On 14 January 2022, in the rebel-held city of Azaz in northwest Syria, a car bomb went off killing one and wounding several bystanders. According to a rescue worker, an improvised explosive device had been housed inside a car and then the car was planted near a local transport office in the city which is close to the Turkish border. In the town of al Bab, a suicide bomb went off wounding three and in the city of Afrin, another suicide bomb went off at a roundabout. All these three bombings happened in a span of hours and minutes from each other.[303]

According to Al-Jazeera, a rocket attack on a northern Syrian town controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters killed six civilians and injured more than a dozen others on 21 January 2022. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, it was unclear who fired the artillery shells, but the attack came from a region populated by Kurdish fighters and Syrian government forces.[336]

After an attack on a Syrian jail on 23 January 2022, over 120 individuals were killed in an ongoing conflict between Kurdish-led troops and ISIL (ISIS) fighters. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "at least 77 IS members and 39 Kurdish fighters, including internal security forces, prison guards and counter-terrorism forces were killed" in the attack.[337] On 17 December 2023, eight civilians, including a pregnant woman, were killed during bombardments by the Syrian Arab Army on the town of Darat Izza. War monitor SOHR reported that pro-Assad forces deliberately perpetrated a massacre by "directly targeting residential areas, using artillery shells and rocket launchers".[338]

#### Prosecution of Syrian civil war criminals

[edit]

Main article: Prosecution of Syrian civil war criminals

In 2022, a German court sentenced Anwar Raslan, 58, a high-ranking official of President Bashar al-Assad's regime to life imprisonment after he sought asylum in Germany and was arrested in 2019. He was charged with being complicit to the murder of at least 27 people coupled with the sexual assault and torture of at least another 4,000 people between 29 April 2011, and 7 September 2012. Raslan was a mid-level officer in Branch 251 and oversaw the torture of detainees. His trial was one of an unprecedented nature because Germany took on a trial of crimes committed in the Syrian war and the human rights lawyers took this on under the principle of "universal jurisdiction". Universal Jurisdiction is a concept in German law that allows for serious crimes to be tried in Germany even if they did not happen in the country. His co-defendant Eyad al-Gharib, 44, a low-level officer in Branch 251 was also sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison on 24 February 2021. Eyad's duties included the transport of detainees to locations where they would be tortured for days on end. It was his knowledge of the fact that torture was happening there that landed him the sentence.[339][340]

### Crime wave

[edit]

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.[341]

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.[342]

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.[343] 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.[343]

Syria has become the chief location for manufacturing Captagon, an illegal amphetamine. Drugs manufactured in Syria have found their way across the Gulf, Jordan and Europe but have at times been intercepted. In January 2022, a Jordanian army officer was shot and killed and three army personnel injured after a shoot out erupted between drug smugglers and the army. The Jordanian army has said that it shot down a drone in 2021 that was being used to smuggle a substantial amount of drugs across the Jordanian border.[344]

### Epidemics

[edit]

Further information: COVID-19 pandemic in Syria

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 disease risk to countries to which they have fled.[345] Four hundred thousand civilians were isolated by the Siege of Eastern Ghouta from April 2013 to April 2018, resulting in acutely malnourished children according to the United Nations Special Advisor, Jan Egeland, who urged the parties for medical evacuations. 55,000 civilians are also isolated in the Rukban refugee camp between Syria and Jordan, where humanitarian relief access is difficult due to the harsh desert conditions. Humanitarian aid reaches the camp only sporadically, sometimes taking three months between shipments.[346][347]

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".[348]

In June 2020, the United Nations reported that after more than nine years of war, Syria was falling into an even deeper crisis and economic deterioration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 26 June, a total of 248 people were infected by COVID-19, out of which nine people died. Restrictions on the importation of medical supplies, limited access to essential equipment, reduced outside support and ongoing attacks on medical facilities left Syria's health infrastructure in peril, and unable to meet the needs of its population. Syrian communities were additionally facing unprecedented levels of hunger crisis.[349]

In September 2022, the UN representative in Syria reported that several regions in the country were witnessing a cholera outbreak. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza called for an urgent response to contain the outbreak, saying that it posed "a serious threat to people in Syria". The outbreak was linked to the use of contaminated water for growing crops and the reliance of people on unsafe water sources.[350]

### Humanitarian aid

[edit]

Main article: Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war

US aid to Syrian opposition forces, May 2013

The conflict holds the record for the largest sum ever requested by UN agencies for a single humanitarian emergency, $6.5 billion worth of requests of December 2013.[351] 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.[352] The primary framework for this coordination is the Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP) which appealed for US$1.41 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Syrians affected by the conflict.[353] Official United Nations data on the humanitarian situation and response is available at an official website managed by UNOCHA Syria (Amman).[354] UNICEF is also working alongside these organizations to provide vaccinations and care packages to those in need. 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.[355]

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.[356] 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.[357] Islamic Relief has stocked 30 hospitals and sent hundreds of thousands of medical and food parcels.[358]

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.[359] Israel supplied aid through Operation Good Neighbor, providing medical treatment to 750 Syrians in a field hospital located in Golan Heights where rebels say that 250 of their fighters were treated.[360] Israel established two medical centers inside Syria. Israel also delivered heating fuel, diesel fuel, seven electric generators, water pipes, educational materials, flour for bakeries, baby food, diapers, shoes and clothing. Syrian refugees in Lebanon make up one quarter of Lebanon's population, mostly consisting of women and children.[361] In addition, Russia has said it created six humanitarian aid centers within Syria to support 3000 refugees in 2016.[362]

On 9 April 2020, the UN dispatched 51 truckloads of humanitarian aid to Idlib. The organization said that the aid would be distributed among civilians stranded in the northwestern part of the country.[363]

On 30 April 2020, Human Rights Watch condemned the Syrian authorities for their longstanding restriction on the entry of aid supplies.[364] It also demanded the World Health Organization to keep pushing the UN to allow medical aid and other essentials to reach Syria via the Iraq border crossing, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the war-torn nation. The aid supplies, if allowed, will allow the Syrian population to protect themselves from contracting the COVID-19 virus.[365]

#### 2019 UN cross-border aid dispute

[edit]

As of December 2019, a diplomatic dispute is occurring at the UN over re-authorization of cross-border aid for refugees. China and Russia oppose the draft resolution that seeks to re-authorize crossing points in Turkey, Iraq and Jordan; China and Russia, as allies of Assad, seek to close the two crossing points in Iraq and Jordan, and to leave only the two crossing points in Turkey active.[366] The current authorization expired on 10 January 2020.[367]

All of the ten individuals representing the non-permanent members of the Security Council stood in the corridor outside of the chamber speaking to the press to state that all four crossing points are crucial and must be renewed.[366]

United Nations official Mark Lowcock is asking the UN to re-authorize cross-border aid to enable aid to continue to reach refugees in Syria. He says there is no other way to deliver the aid that is needed. He noted that four million refugees out of the over eleven million refugees who need assistance are being reached through four specific international crossing points. Lowcock serves as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.[368]

Russia, aided by China's support, has vetoed the resolution to retain all four border crossings. An alternate resolution also did not pass.[369][370] The US strongly criticized the vetoes and opposition by Russia and China.[371][372] China explained the reason for veto is the concern of "unilateral coercive measures" by certain states causing humanitarian suffering on the Syrian people. It views lifting all unilateral sanctions respecting Syrian sovereignty and for humanitarian reasons is a must.[373]

## Cultural impact

[edit]

Main articles: Tourism in Syria, List of heritage sites damaged during the Syrian civil war, and Destruction of cultural heritage by the Islamic State

See also: Syrian civil war in popular culture

The Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which was destroyed by ISIL in August 2015

As of March 2015[update], the war has affected 290 heritage sites, severely damaged 104, and completely destroyed 24.[needs update] Five of the six UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Syria have been damaged.[265] Destruction of antiquities has been caused by shelling, army entrenchment, and looting at various tells, museums and monuments.[374] 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.[375]

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 said to be 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.[376]

In 2014 and 2015, following the rise of the Islamic State, 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.[377] The 13th-century Palmyra Castle was extensively damaged by retreating militants during the Palmyra offensive in March 2016.[378] IS also destroyed ancient statues in Raqqa,[379] and a number of churches, including the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Deir ez-Zor.[380]

In January 2018 Turkish airstrikes 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.[381] According to a September 2019 report published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, more than 120 Christian churches have been destroyed or damaged in Syria since 2011.[382]

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.[383]

As a result of the war many children's books have been published surrounding themes and stories of Syrian children of war. Some examples of this would be Tomorrow by Nadine Kaadan, My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne del Rizzo and Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh.[384]

## Media coverage

[edit]

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.[385]

### ISIL executions

[edit]

On 19 August 2014, American journalist James Foley was executed by ISIL, who said it was in retaliation for the United States operations in Iraq. Foley was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012 by Shabiha militia.[386] ISIL also threatened to execute Steven Sotloff, who was kidnapped at the Syrian–Turkish border in August 2013.[387] There were reports ISIS captured a Japanese national, two Italian nationals, and a Danish national as well.[388] 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.[389] 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.[390]

## International reactions and diplomacy

[edit]

Main article: International reactions to the Syrian civil war

See also: Vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions on Syria

Esther Brimmer (US) 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[391] 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.[392] 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.[393]

### Economic sanctions

[edit]

See also: Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act and Syria–United States relations § Economic sanctions

The US Congress has enacted punitive sanctions on the Syrian government for its actions during the Civil War. These sanctions would penalize any entities lending support to the Syrian government, and any companies operating in Syria.[394][395][396][397] US President Donald Trump tried to protect the Turkish President Erdogan from the effects of such sanctions.[398]

Some activists welcomed this legislation.[399] Some critics contend that these punitive sanctions are likely to backfire or have unintended consequences; they argue that ordinary Syrian people will have fewer economic resources due to these sanctions (and will thus need to rely more the Syrian government and its economic allies and projects), while the sanctions' impact on ruling political elites will be limited.[394][400][401]

Mohammad al-Abdallah, executive director of Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC), said that the sanctions will likely hurt ordinary Syrian people, saying, "it is an almost unsolvable unfeasible equation. If they are imposed, they will indirectly harm the Syrian people, and if they are lifted, they will indirectly revive the Syrian regime;" he attributed the sanctions to "political considerations, as the United States does not have weapons and tools in the Syrian file, and sanctions are its only means."[402]

Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, said "...going forward, we're seeing more economic warfare. It seems that the US, having failed to change the regime in Syria by military force or by proxies, is tightening the economic screws and the main reason why the US is keeping hold of the production facilities in eastern Syria. So, the economic situation is becoming more and more serious and dire in Syria and it's a major reason why refugees are not going back."[citation needed]

In June, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced new economic sanctions on Syria targeting foreign business relations with the Syrian government. Under the Caesar Act, the latest sanctions were to be imposed on 39 individuals and entities, including Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.[403]

On 17 June 2020, James F. Jeffrey, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, signalled that the UAE could be hit with sanctions under the Caesar Act if it pushed ahead with normalisation efforts with the Syrian regime.[404]

### 2019 negotiations

[edit]

Main articles: Syrian civil war ceasefires and Safe Zone (Syria)

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.[42] The Syrian government has refused efforts to negotiate with what it describes as armed terrorist groups.[405] On 1 February 2016, the UN announced the formal start of the UN-mediated Geneva Syria peace talks[406] 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.[407] On 14 March 2016, Geneva peace talks resumed. The Syrian government stated 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.[408]

A new round of talks between the Syrian government and some groups of Syrian rebels concluded on 24 January 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, with Russia, Iran and Turkey supporting the ceasefire agreement brokered in late December 2016.[409] 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.[409] 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.[410][411]

On 18 September 2019, Russia stated the United States and Syrian rebels were obstructing the evacuation process of a refugee camp in southern Syria.[412]

On 28 September 2019, Syria's top diplomat demanded the foreign forces, including that of US and Turkey, to immediately leave the country, saying that the Syrian government holds the right to protect its territory in all possible ways if they remain.[413]

President RT Erdogan said Turkey was left with no choice other than going its own way on the Syria 'safe zone' after a deadline to co-jointly establish a "safe zone" with the US in northern Syria expired in September.[414] The US indicated it would withdraw its forces from northern Syria after Turkey warned of incursion in the region that could instigate fighting with American-backed Kurds.[415]

### Buffer zone with Turkey

[edit]

See also: Northern Syria Buffer Zone, Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone, and 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria

In October 2019, in response to the Turkish offensive, Russia arranged for negotiations between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led forces.[416] Russia also negotiated a renewal of a cease-fire between Kurds and Turkey that was about to expire.[417]

Russia and Turkey agreed via the Sochi Agreement of 2019 to set up a Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone. Syrian President Assad expressed full support for the deal, as various terms of the agreement also applied to the Syrian government.[418][46] The SDF stated that they considered themselves as "Syrian and a part of Syria", adding that they would agree to work with the Syrian Government.[419] The SDF officially announced their support for the deal on 27 October.[204][420][421]

The agreement reportedly included the following terms:[418][422][423][424][425][426]

* A buffer zone would be established in northern Syria. The zone would be around 30 kilometres (19 mi) deep,[m] stretching from Euphrates River to Tall Abyad and from Ras al-Ayn to the Iraq-Syria border, but excluding the town of Qamishli, the Kurds' de facto capital.[427]
* The buffer zone would be controlled jointly by the Syrian Army and Russian Military Police.
* All YPG forces, which constitute the majority of the SDF, must withdraw from the buffer zone entirely, along with their weapons, within 150 hours from the announcement of the deal. Their withdrawal would be overseen by Russian Military Police and the Syrian Border Guards, which would then enter the zone.

### Syrian Constitutional Committee

[edit]

Main article: Syrian Constitutional Committee

In late 2019, a new Syrian Constitutional Committee began operating in order to discuss a new settlement and to draft a new constitution for Syria.[428][429] This committee comprises about 150 members. It includes representatives of the Syrian government, opposition groups and countries serving as guarantors of the process, such as Russia. However, this committee has faced strong opposition from the Assad government. Fifty of the committee members represent the government, and 50 members represent the opposition.[429] Until the Assad government agrees to participate, it is unclear whether the third round of talks will proceed on a firm schedule.[429]

In December 2019, the EU held an international conference which condemned any suppression of the Kurds, and called for the self-declared Autonomous Administration in Rojava to be preserved and to be reflected in any new Syrian Constitution. The Kurds are concerned that the independence of their declared Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in Rojava might be severely curtailed.[430]

Rojava officials condemned the fact that they were excluded from the peace talks and stated that "having a couple of Kurds" in the committee did not mean that the Syrian Kurds were properly represented in it.[431] The co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council accused Turkey of vetoing the representation of Syrian Kurds within the committee.[432] The Kurdish administration also organized demonstrations in front of the UN office in Qamishli to protest their exclusion from the committee.[433]

### Arab League

[edit]

See also: Saudi Arabia–Syria relations

On 13 April 2023, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Jeddah to meet Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan. After frayed relations during the Syrian civil war, both nations now seek "a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves the unity, security and stability of Syria", according to the Saudi foreign ministry. The high level talks are "facilitating the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, and securing humanitarian access to the affected areas in Syria". Al-Assad previously visited the UAE, Oman as well as Saudi Arabia. The discussion also included the possible resumption of consular services between the two countries. This is the first visit to Saudi Arabia by a Syrian foreign minister since the onset of the civil war in 2011. The same week all foreign ministers of the Arab League would meet again to discuss the return of Syria to the regional organisation.[434][435]

## Scale of destruction

[edit]

Great Mosque of Aleppo in 2013, after destruction of the minaret.

Most of Raqqa suffered extensive damage during the Second Battle of Raqqa

United Nations authorities have estimated that the war in Syria has caused destruction amounting to about $400 billion.[436] The SNHR reported in 2017 that the war has rendered around 39% of Syrian mosques unserviceable for worship. More than 13,500 mosques were destroyed in Syria between 2011 and 2017. Around 1,400 were dismantled by 2013, while 13,000 mosques were demolished between 2013 and 2017.[437] According to a Syrian war monitor, over 120 churches have been damaged or demolished by during the course of Syrian war since 2011, 60% of which attacks were perpetrated by pro-Assad forces.[438] During the course of the war, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said that Syria would be able to rebuild the war-torn country on its own. As of July 2018[update], the reconstruction is estimated to cost a minimum of US$400 billion. Assad said he would be able to loan this money from friendly countries, Syrian diaspora and the state treasury.[439] Iran has expressed interest in helping rebuild Syria.[440] One year later this seemed to be materializing, Iran and the Syrian government signed a deal where Iran would help rebuild the Syrian energy grid, which has taken damage to 50% of the grid.[441] International donors have been suggested as one financier of the reconstruction.[442] As of November 2018[update], reports emerged that rebuilding efforts had already started. It was reported that the biggest issue facing the rebuilding process is the lack of building material and a need to make sure the resources that do exist are managed efficiently. The rebuilding effort have so far remained at a limited capacity and has often been focused on certain areas of a city, thus ignoring other areas inhabited by disadvantaged people.[443]

Various efforts are proceeding to rebuild infrastructure in Syria. Russia says it will spend $500 million to modernize Syria's port of Tartus. Russia also said it will build a railway to link Syria with the Persian Gulf.[444][445] Russia will also contribute to recovery efforts by the UN.[446] Syria awarded oil exploration contracts to two Russian firms.[447]

Syria announced it is in serious dialogue with China to join China's "Belt and Road Initiative" designed to foster investment in infrastructure in over one-hundred developing nations worldwide.[448][449] On Wednesday 12 January 2022, China and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding in Damascus. The memorandum was signed by Fadi al-Khalil, the Head of Planning and International Cooperation Commission for the Syrian Side and Feng Biao, the Chinese ambassador in Damascus for the Chinese side. The memorandum sees Syria join the initiative whose aim is to help expand cooperation with China and other partner countries in areas such as trade, technology, capital, human movement and cultural exchange. Among other things, it aims to define the future of this cooperation with partner states.[450]

## Syrian transitional government and peace process

[edit]

Part of a series on
the Syrian civil war

Syrian peace process

History

| Start of Syrian Revolution| 2011

|

Arab League initiatives I and II| 2011–12
Churkin peace plan| 2012
Kofi Annan peace plan (Geneva I)| 2012
Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan| 2012
U.S.–Russia peace proposal (2013)| 2013
Geneva II Mideast peace conference| 2014
Staffan de Mistura peace plan| 2015
Zabadani agreement| 2015
Vienna talks| 2015
Geneva III| 2016
US-Russia ceasefire proposal (2016)| 2016
Geneva IV| 2017
Idlib demilitarization| 2018
Northern Syria Buffer Zone| 2019
Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone| 2019
Syrian Constitutional Committee| 2019
Syrian-Turkish normalization| 2022–24
Fall of the Assad regime| 2024
Syrian caretaker government| 2024–25
Syrian Revolution Victory Conference| 2025
Syrian National Dialogue Conference| 2025
Syrian transitional government| 2025

Primary concerns

* Ba'athist Syria under Bashar al-Assad
* Human rights
* Humanitarian aid
* Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present)
* Refugees
* Secularism in Syria
* Sectarianism
* Syrian caretaker government
* Syrian transitional government

Secondary concerns

* Electricity supply
* Water supply
* Control of oil
* Situation in Aleppo

Peace brokers

* Peace envoy for Syria (United Nations)
* UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian affairs
* Arab League
* Syrian caretaker government
* Syrian transitional government

Proposals

* Federalization of Syria
* Destruction of Chemical Weapons
* Constitution amendment:

* Constitution of Syria
Constitution of Rojava
Interim Constitution of Syria

* Safe Zones

Projects

* Friends of Syria Group
* Free Syrian University
* Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently

* v
* t
* e

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi agree to integrate the SDF into the Syrian Arab Republic.

Main articles: Syrian caretaker government, Syrian Revolution Victory Conference, Syrian transitional government, and Syrian peace process

On 8 December 2024, hours after the fall of Damascus, which was carried out with Turkey's approval,[451] Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, the outgoing prime minister and last head of government of the Ba'athist regime, agreed to lead the transitional government in a caretaking capacity.[452] He then transferred power to Mohammed al-Bashir, prime minister of the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), two days later.[453] On 10 December, the transitional administration announced that it would remain in place until 1 March 2025[needs update], with all ministers from the SSG taking up their same posts in the new provisional government.[454]

A few days prior to the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian American Council (SAC) successfully lobbied for the Caesar Act sanctions to be renewed via the US National Defense Authorization Act 2025 (NDAA 2025). However, after the fall of Assad on 8 December 2024 and establishment of the Syrian caretaker government, the SAC failed to have the sanctions clause removed from the bill in time.[455] On 23 December, the Biden administration signed NDAA 2025 into law,[456] renewing the sanctions for another five years, with Reason magazine labeling the sanctions "a serious obstacle to Syria's reconstruction" post-Assad.[457]

On 29 January 2025, Syrian de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed President of Syria by the Syrian General Command for the transitional period and held the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference.[458] In his first address as president, al-Sharaa said that he would hold a "national dialogue conference" and issue a "constitutional declaration" to serve as a "legal reference" during the political transition following the dissolution of the 2012 Constitution of Ba'athist Syria.[459][460] Al-Sharaa promised to go after war criminals belonging to the former regime.[461][462] Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader Mazloum Abdi congratulated al-Sharaa on assuming the Syrian presidency and invited him to visit northeast Syria. The SDF agreed to integrate into state institutions on 10 March 2025 and the Suwayda Military Council agreed to the same on 12 March 2025, marking the unification of all Syrian revolutionary factions into the transitional government.[6][463]

On 29 March 2025, the Syrian transitional government was announced by al-Sharaa at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Damascus,[464] in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas.[465] The government replaced the Syrian caretaker government which had been formed following the fall of the Assad regime.[466]

## See also

[edit]

* Asia portal
* Current events portal
* Middle East portal
* Modern history portal

* Belligerents in the Syrian civil war

### Events within Syrian society

[edit]

* 2010s in Syria political history
* Cities and towns during the Syrian civil war
* Eastern Syria insurgency
* Inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian civil war
* Rojava conflict
* Timeline of the Syrian civil war

### Historical aspects

[edit]

* Spillover of the Syrian civil war
* Syria chemical weapons program
* Syrian Captagon industry
* Syrian–Turkish border clashes during the Syrian civil war
* Terrorism in Syria
* Spillover of the Israel–Hamas war in Syria
* Syrian civil war in popular culture
* Fall of the Assad regime

### Lists and statistical records

[edit]

* Casualty recording
* Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war
* Control of cities during the Syrian civil war
* List of Syrian defectors
* List of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Syrian civil war
* List of terrorist incidents in Syria

### Specific offensives

[edit]

* Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015) ("Battle of Victory")
* Battle of Yarmouk Camp (2015)
* 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
* Fall of Damascus

### Peace efforts and civil society groups

[edit]

* Syrian civil war ceasefires
* Syrian Democratic Council
* Syrian diaspora
* Syrian peace process
* White Helmets (Syrian civil war)

### History of other local conflicts

[edit]

* Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
* Islamist uprising in Syria from 1976 until 1982
* List of wars involving Syria
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Including ex-Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham & ex-Free Syrian Army.
2. ^ Includes former Syrian National Army factions.[2] Although the SNA as a coalition was disbanded at the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference,[3] its affiliated armed groups still fighting with the SDF. The Syrian Ministry of Defense is integrating forces that were previously part of the Syrian Interim Government.[4][5]
3. ^ Israel occupied the Golan Heights after 1967, but this is not recognized by the United Nations or any member states except Israel and the United States. Israel launched a new invasion of Syria on 8 December 2024 during the fall of Damascus, taking advantage the power vacuum created by the fall of the Assad regime to increase the amount of territory it controlled by several hundred square miles.[8]
4. ^

The Syrian Free Army and the United States operate the Al-Tanf Deconfliction Zone.[9]

5. ^ Russia retains control of its Tartus naval base and Khmeimim Air Base.
6. ^ Large-scale demonstrations in Syria began in 15 March 2011 and were subsequently suppressed by force by the Assad regime,[13] it eventually led to an all-out civil war.[14][15] In July 2011, defectors from Assad's regime formed an organized militia called the Free Syrian Army to protect protesters and strike back at Assad.[14] The International Committee of the Red Cross said the violence in Syria had become so widespread that it was in a state of civil war in July 2012.[16]
7. ^ With the Ba'athist regime prevailing, the hostilities were mostly put on hold[18][19] from 6 March 2020 until 27 November 2024, when the Syrian opposition launched a campaign of quick successful military offensives in Northwestern Syria, toppling the Assad regime on 8 December. In May 2025, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that another "full-scale civil war" could start.[20][21]
8. ^ According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian Network for Human Rights, 88-91% of these deaths were caused by the Assad regime and its allies.[24][25]
9. ^ Sources:
* Kassam, Kamal; Becker, Maria (16 May 2023). "Syrians of today, Germans of tomorrow: the effect of initial placement on the political interest of Syrian refugees in Germany". Frontiers in Political Science. 5 1100446: 3. doi:10.3389/fpos.2023.1100446. ISSN 2673-3145.
* "Syria: The story of the conflict". BBC News. 11 March 2016. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
* "Syrian Troops Open Fire on Protestors in Several Cities". The New York Times. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
* "Mid-East unrest: Syrian protests in Damascus and Aleppo". BBC News. 15 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
10. ^ The name "Rojava" ("The West") was initially used by the region's PYD-led government, before its usage was dropped in 2016.[176][177][178] Since then, the name is still used by some locals and international observers.
11. ^ Sources:[25][286][287][288][289][290][291][292]
12. ^ Sources:[305][306][307][308][309]
13. ^ Starting from the Syria–Turkey border and going south into Syria

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Türkiye says all Syrian armed groups must join state army". Daily Sabah. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
2. ^ "Forging a united front: The challenges of building Syria's new army". The New Arab. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
3. ^ "Syrian Leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa Delivers 'Victory Speech,' Outlines Syria's Future Roadmap, Announces Dissolution Of Ba'ath Party, Armed Factions Into New 'Syrian Army'; Military Operations Command Declares Al-Sharaa President Of Syria During Transitional Phase". MEMRI. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
4. ^ "Syrian Interim Government (SIG) Prime Minister Congratulates President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Puts SIG Resources At His Government's Disposal". MEMRI. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
5. ^ "Mustafa Places Interim Government at the Disposal of the Syrian State". Syrian Observer. 5 February 2025.
6. ^ a b "Syria merges Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into state institutions". Al Jazeera English. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
7. ^ a b Kelly Campa; Andie Parry. "Iran Update, May 2, 2025". Institute for the Study of War.
8. ^

* González, Ricard (31 December 2024). "On the Syrian border with Israel: 'The troops threatened to do the same thing to us as in Gaza'". EL PAÍS English. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025. "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"
* "Golan Heights: Trump signs order recognising occupied area as Israeli". BBC News. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 14 November 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
* "The Golan Heights: What's at Stake With Trump's Recognition". Council on Foreign Relations. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2025.

9. ^ "Iran Update > Syria". The Institute for the study of War. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 5 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."
10. ^ "Hundreds killed as Syria security forces battle al-Assad loyalists". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
11. ^ Cite error: The named reference `10March2025` was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. ^ Evrensel, Kouachi, Rasa, Ikram (8 March 2025). "Intense clashes erupt in Syria's Latakia after Assad loyalists attack hospitals". Anadolu Ajansi.`{{cite news}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. ^ "In Syria, Crackdown After Protests". The New York Times. 18 March 2011.
14. ^ a b "The war in Syria, explained". Vox. 8 April 2017.
15. ^ Fahim, Kareem; Saad, Hwaida (8 February 2013). "A Faceless Teenage Refugee Who Helped Ignite Syria's War". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
16. ^ "What's happening in Syria?". BBC. 16 October 2019.
17. ^ a b c
* "The end of Syria's forever war". Al Jazeera. December 2024. "Rapid advances by Syrian opposition forces end a war that began with peaceful protests before spiralling out of control."
* "Monday briefing: How the decade-long war in Syria ended almost overnight". The Guardian. December 2024.
* "FACTBOX – Syria: the war in numbers". Middle East Monitor. December 2024. "14 years of war and brutality that ended with the fall of President Bashar Al-Assad"
* "Demoralized and abandoned by allies: Why Syria's army didn't fight for Assad". The Times of Israel. December 2024. "toppling former president Bashar al-Assad as his army simply melted away. The rout abruptly ended a 13-year conflict"
* "Syrians mark a month since al-Assad's overthrow with concert in capital". Al Jazeera. January 2025. "It's been a month since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown, ending more than five decades of his family's rule in Syria and almost 14 years of civil war."
* Triche, Natalie; Hamzawy, Amr (January 2025). "The Gulf Shifts Policies in Response to the "New" Syria". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "On December 8, 2024, armed militias toppled the brutal dictatorship of the Assad family, ending a nearly fourteen-year civil war in Syria."
* Basbugoglu, Tarik (March 2025). "Syria: Understanding Assad's Unexpected Fall". Political Insight. 16. Political Studies Association: 22–25\. doi:10.1177/20419058251332341. "Bashar al-Assad's downfall marked the culmination of the Syrian civil war that began in 2011."
* Kardaş, Şaban (March 2025). "Turkey's Long Game in Syria: Moving beyond Ascendance". Middle East Policy. 32: 22–37\. doi:10.1111/mepo.12807. "Turkey's actions were decisive in the evolution of the Syrian civil war and its unexpected conclusion."
* Ford, Robert S. (March 2025). "America Can Best Help Syria by Getting Out". Foreign Affairs. "Syria's 13-year civil war ended abruptly in December"
* Yıldırım, Kürşat; Ercan, Murat (April 2025). "Geopolitical and strategic analysis of the Syrian problem after regime change". Akademik Hassasiyetler-The Academic Elegance: 619. "These conflicts, which lasted for nearly 13 years, ended on December 8, 2024 when Bashar al-Assad, the last representative of the 61-year Baathist regime, fled the country"
* "With Assad gone and Syria's war over, the White Helmets have a new mission". NPR. April 2025.
* "U.S. Toughens Demands on Syria's New Islamist-Led Leadership". The Wall Street Journal. April 2025. Archived from the original on 18 April 2025. "ousted President Bashar al-Assad from power in December, ending the country's 13-year-long civil war."
* "UN development arm plans for $1.3 billion in help for Syria, top official says". Reuters. April 2025. "Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December"
* "'I thought I'd died.' How land mines are continuing to claim lives in post-Assad Syria". Associated Press. April 2025. "While the nearly 14-year Syrian civil war came to an end with the fall of Bashar Assad on Dec. 8, war remnants continue to kill and maim."
* "At least 249 dead as Syria's land mines continue to kill civilians months after civil war ends". The Times of India. April 2025.
* "Israel and Turkey begin talks to avoid conflict in Syria". Financial Times. April 2025. "Islamist rebels toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad in December, ending more than a decade of civil war."
* "Syrians heading home find few of the basics needed to survive". UN News. United Nations. May 2025. "after more than 13 years of civil war that ended with the fall of the Assad regime last December"
* "Syrians face daunting rebuild after years of war". BBC News. May 2025. "It began in 2011 and finally ended with a rebel victory in December 2024."
* "From al-Qaeda to Syria's presidency, the rise of Ahmad al-Sharaa". ABC News (United States). May 2025. "Syria's civil war ended in December when al-Sharaa and a band of rebel fighters overthrew the government of strongman Bashar al-Assad."
* "News Analysis: Türkiye to maintain strategic foothold in Syria amid U.S. retreat". Xinhua News Agency. June 2025. "While the Syrian civil war ended in December with the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's government, the military dynamics in the north remain volatile"
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* Allsopp, Harriet; van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (2019). The Kurds of Northern Syria. Volume 2: Governance, Diversity and Conflicts. London; New York City; etc.: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-8386-0445-5.
* Lister, Charles R. (2015). The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190462475.
* Zabad, Ibrahim (2017). Middle Eastern Minorities: The Impact of the Arab Spring. London; New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-472-47441-4.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Cordesman, Anthony H.; Markusen, Max (23 March 2016). "Part Three: Stability and Conflict in Syria" (PDF). The Comparative Metrics of ISIS and 'Failed State Wars' in Syria and Iraq (Report). Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies.
* Hinnebusch, Raymond (2012). "Syria: From 'Authoritarian Upgrading' to Revolution?". International Affairs. 88 (1): 95–113\. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2346.2012.01059.x.
* 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.
* 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.
* Sorenson, David S. (2016). Syria in Ruins: The Dynamics of the Syrian Civil War. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-3837-8.
* van Dam, Nikolaos (2017). Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78672-248-5.

## External links

[edit]

Syrian civil war at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* News from Wikinews
* Data from Wikidata

* Ecowatch – Syria: Another Pipeline War

* v
* t
* e

Syrian civil war

Overviews

| Main overviews|

* Syria
* Syrian civil war
* Timeline
* Background and causes
* Syrian government reactions
* Belligerents
* Inter-rebel conflict
* Spillover
* Cities and towns
* Sectarianism and minorities
* Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017 – December 2024)
* 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
* Fall of the Assad regime

|

Effects and ongoing concerns|

* Casualties of the Syrian civil war
* Refugees of the Syrian civil war
* Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war
* Human rights violations during the Syrian civil war

Phases and processes|

* Syrian revolution
* Early insurgency phase
* 2012–2013 escalation
* Ceasefires
* Syrian peace process

World reaction|

* International reactions to the Syrian civil war
* Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war
* Reactions to the fall of the Assad regime

Specific groups and countries|

* Russian involvement
* Russian intervention
* Turkish involvement
* Turkish occupation of northern Syria
* Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone
* Russian-Turkish agreement on Syria
* US intervention in the Syrian civil war
* 2023 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria
* Kurdish Area in Syria
* Syrian Democratic Forces
* Rojava conflict
* U.S. task force

Agreements and dialogues|

* Russian-Turkish agreement on Syria
* Relations between Syrian government and Kurdish groups in Syria

Transitional phase|

* Syrian caretaker government
* Syrian transitional government

Timeline

| Background|

* 1963 coup
* 1966 coup
* Corrective Movement
* Islamist uprising
* Latakia protests
* Damascus Spring
* Qamishli riots
* Syrian occupation of Lebanon
* Damascus Declaration
* Human rights in Syria
* 2010s in Syria political history
* Arab Spring

|

2011
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Syrian revolution
* Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb
* Siege of Daraa
* Siege of Baniyas
* May Talkalakh siege
* Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh
* June Jisr ash-Shughur operation
* Siege of Hama
* Siege of Homs
* Siege of Latakia
* Deir ez-Zor clashes (2011–2014)
* Rif Dimashq clashes (Nov 2011-Mar 2012)
* Battle of Zabadani
* Battle of Douma
* Daraa Governorate clashes
* Battle of Rastan
* Idlib Governorate clashes
* December Jabal al-Zawiya massacres

2012
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* January al-Midan bombing
* Battle of Rastan
* First Battle of Idlib
* Battle of al-Qusayr
* Idlib Governorate operation (Apr)
* Battle of Taftanaz
* May Battle of Rastan
* Houla massacre
* Battle of al-Haffah
* Al-Qubeir massacre
* Battle of Tremseh
* Battle of Damascus
* 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing
* Battle of Aleppo
* Battle of Anadan
* Siege of Base 46
* Al-Hasakah Governorate campaign (2012–2013)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Aug-Oct)
* Darayya massacre
* Battle of Khirbet Al-Joz
* Battle of Maarrat al-Numan
* First siege of Wadi Deif
* Battle of Harem
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Nov 2012–Feb 2013)
* Battle of Darayya
* Aqrab massacre
* 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 (2012–2013)
* Battle of Raqqa (Mar)
* Daraa offensive
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Mar–Aug)
* Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl
* Ghouta chemical attack
* Al-Qusayr offensive
* Battle of al-Qusayr
* Bayda and Baniyas massacres
* Hama offensive
* Hatla massacre
* Khan al-Assal chemical attack
* Khan al-Assal massacre
* Adra massacre
* Battle of Ras al-Ayn
* Battle of Tell Abyad
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Sep–Nov)
* Aleppo offensive (Oct–Dec)
* Battle of al-Yaarubiyah
* Battle of Tell Hamis and Tell Brak (Dec–Jan)

2014
Jan–Jul
Aug–Dec|

* First Inter-rebel conflict
* Battle of Markada
* Deir ez-Zor offensive
* Battle of Morek
* Daraa offensive (Feb–May)
* Maan massacre
* Al-Otaiba ambush
* Idlib offensive
* Battle of Hosn
* Latakia Offensive
* Battle of Al-Malihah
* Kafr Zita chemical attack
* Second siege of Wadi Deif
* Qalamoun offensive (Jun–Aug)
* Battle of Arsal
* First Battle of the Shaer gas field
* Eastern Syria offensive
* Battle of Tabqa Airbase
* Northern Aleppo offensive (Feb–Jul)
* Hama Offensive
* Quneitra offensive
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Aug–Nov)
* Siege of Kobanî
* Homs school bombing
* Daraa offensive (Oct)
* Al-Safira offensive
* Idlib Raid
* Second Inter-Rebel Conflict
* Second Battle of the Shaer gas field
* Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Dec)

2015
Jan–Jul
Aug–Dec|

* Air Force An-26 crash
* Daraa Offensive (Jan)
* Southern Syria Offensive
* Eastern al-Hasakah offensive
* Battle of Sarrin (Mar–Apr)
* Battle of Sarrin (Jun–Jul)
* Battle of Bosra
* Idlib Offensive
* Second Battle of Idlib
* Battle of Nasib Border Crossing
* Battle of Yarmouk Camp
* Western al-Hasakah offensive
* Palmyra offensive (May)
* Qamishli bombings
* Tell Abyad offensive
* Kobanî massacre
* Quneitra offensive (Jun)
* Palmyra offensive (Jul–Aug)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Sep)
* Northwestern Syria offensive (Oct–Nov)
* Aleppo offensive (Oct–Dec)
* Al-Hawl offensive
* Homs offensive (Nov-Dec)
* East Aleppo offensive (2015–2016)
* 2015–2016 Latakia offensive
* Tishrin Dam offensive
* Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown

2016
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Second Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Jan)
* January Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
* Northern Aleppo offensive (Feb)
* Ithriyah-Raqqa offensive (Feb–Mar)
* Al-Shaddadi offensive
* February Homs bombings
* February Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
* Khanasir offensive
* Battle of Tel Abyad
* Battle of Maarrat al-Numan
* Battle of Qamishli (Apr)
* Northern Aleppo offensive (Mar–Jun)
* Palmyra offensive (Mar)
* East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (Apr–May)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Apr–May)
* Northern Raqqa offensive (May)
* May Jableh & Tartous bombings
* Ithriyah-Raqqa offensive (Jun)
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Jun–Oct)
* Manbij offensive
* Tokhar massacre
* Southern Aleppo campaign
* Battle of al-Rai (Aug)
* Operation Euphrates Shield
* Aleppo summer campaign
* Western al-Bab offensive (Sep)
* 5 September bombings
* September Deir ez-Zor air raid
* September Urum al-Kubra aid convoy attack
* Aleppo offensive (Sep–Oct)
* Dabiq offensive
* Western al-Bab offensive (Oct–Nov)
* Khan al-Shih offensive (Oct–Nov)
* Raqqa campaign
* Battle of al-Bab
* Aleppo offensive (Nov-Dec)
* Palmyra offensive (Dec)

2017
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Wadi Barada offensive (2016–2017)
* January Azaz bombing
* Desert campaign (Dec 16–Apr 17)
* Idlib clashes (Jan–Mar)
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Jan–Feb)
* Daraa offensive (Feb–Jun)
* Southwestern Daraa offensive (Feb)
* Qaboun offensive
* Palmyra offensive
* East Aleppo offensive (Jan–Apr)
* March Damascus bombings
* Al-Jinah airstrike
* Hama offensive (Mar–Apr)
* Battle of Tabqa
* Khan Shaykhun chemical attack
* Shayrat missile strike
* Aleppo bombing
* April Turkish airstrikes
* East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (Apr–May)
* Desert campaign (May–Jul)
* Maskanah Plains offensive
* East Hama offensive
* Battle of Raqqa
* Daraa offensive (Jun)
* Southern Raqqa offensive (Jun)
* Jobar offensive (Jun–Aug)
* Quneitra offensive (Jun)
* Idlib clashes (Jul)
* Central campaign
* Qalamoun (Jul–Aug)
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (Sep 17–Mar 18)
* Hama offensive (Sep)
* Northwestern campaign (Oct 17–Feb 18)
* Turkish military operation in Idlib Governorate
* Battle of Harasta
* Eastern campaign (Sep–Dec)
* Euphrates Crossing offensive
* Mayadin offensive
* Battle of Deir ez-Zor (Sep–Nov)
* Abu Kamal offensive
* Beit Jinn offensive

2018
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Operation Olive Branch
* Battle of Khasham
* Rif Dimashq offensive (Feb–Apr)
* Southern Damascus offensive (Jan–Feb)
* Syrian Liberation Front–Tahrir al-Sham conflict
* Southern Damascus offensive (Mar)
* Douma chemical attack
* Missile strikes (Apr)
* Northern Homs offensive (Apr–May)
* Eastern Qalamoun offensive (Apr)
* Southern Damascus offensive (Apr–May)
* Deir ez-Zor clashes (Apr)
* Deir ez-Zor offensive (May–Jun)
* As-Suwayda offensive (Jun)
* Southern offensive
* As-Suwayda attacks
* As-Suwayda (Aug-Nov)
* Qamishli clashes (Sep)
* Missile strikes (Sep)
* Northern border clashes

2019
Jan–Apr
May–Aug
Sep–Dec|

* Idlib inter-rebel conflict
* Manbij bombing
* Battle of Baghuz Fawqani
* ISIL insurgency in Deir-ez-Zor
* Dêrik prison escape attempt
* Tell Rifaat clashes
* Northwestern offensive (Apr–Aug)
* June bombings
* Hass refugee camp bombing
* Missile strikes (Aug)
* Turkish offensive into northeast
* Barisha raid
* November bombings
* Israeli missile strikes (Nov)
* Qah missile strike
* Northwestern offensive (Dec 19–Mar 20)
* US airstrikes

2020
Jan–Dec|

* COVID-19 pandemic
* Afrin bombing
* Idlib Governorate clashes
* Kafr-Takharim airstrike
* Ayn Issa clashes
* Deir ez-Zor ambush

2021
Jan–Dec|

* Siege of Qamishli and Al-Hasakah
* Missile strikes (Jan)
* US airstrike (Feb)
* Battle of Qamishli (Apr)
* US airstrike (Jun)
* Daraa clashes
* Tahrir al-Sham–Junud al-Sham conflict

2022
Jan–Dec|

* Battle of al-Hasakah
* Ahrar al-Sham–Levant Front clashes
* Jabal al-Bishrī clashes
* Jarqli airstrikes
* Northern Aleppo clashes (Oct)
* Operation Claw-Sword
* Northwest clashes (Dec)

2023
Jan-Dec|

* Al-Sukhnah attack
* Damascus airstrike
* Hama attack
* Northern border clashes

2024
Jan–Oct
Nov–present|

* Opposition offensives
* Deir ez-Zor offensive
* Battle of Aleppo
* Aleppo University Hospital airstrike
* Southern offensive
* Operation Dawn of Freedom
* Manbij offensive
* Al-Mustariha strike
* Kobani clashes
* Hama offensive
* Homs offensive
* Palmyra offensive
* Fall of Damascus
* Fall of the Assad regime
* Western Syria clashes
* Massacres of Syrian Alawites
* Hezbollah-Syria clashes
* Lebanon–Syria border clashes
* Rif Dimashq clashes
* Massacres of Syrian Druze
* Turkish offensive
* Israeli invasion

2025
Nov 2024
–present|

* Jaramana clashes
* Daraa clashes
* Southern clashes (April–May)
* Mar Elias Church attack
* Southern clashes (July–present)

Spillover|

| Israel and Golan Heights:|

* March 2017 incident
* February 2018 incident
* May 2018 Israel–Iran incidents

|

Iraq:|

* Akashat ambush
* Operation al-Shabah
* April 2014 Iraqi border airstrike

Jordanian border incidents|

* April 2014 Jordanian border airstrike

Lebanon:|

* Lebanese border clashes
* Battle of Sidon
* Iranian embassy bombing in Beirut
* North Lebanon clashes
* Qalamoun (Jul–Aug 2017)

Turkey:|

* December 2011 Turkish border clash
* 2012 Turkish F-4 Phantom shootdown
* 2012 Turkish border clashes
* 2013 Reyhanlı car bombings
* January 2014 Turkish attack in Syria
* Assassination of Andrei Karlov
* Russian Air Force Al-Bab incident
* 2020 Balyun airstrikes
* Operation Spring Shield

Elsewhere:|

* Deir ez-Zor missile strike (Iran)

Belligerents

| Ba'athist regime|

| Politics of Ba'athist Syria|

* Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region
* Ba'ath Brigades
* Syrian Social Nationalist Party
* Arab Socialist Movement
* Syrian Communist Party
* Syrian Communist Party (Unified)

|

Military and militias|

* Lions of Hussein
* Guardians of the Dawn
* Arab Nationalist Guard
* Jaysh al-Muwahhidin
* Sootoro
* Ba'ath Brigades
* National Defence Forces
* Popular Committees
* Golan Regiment
* Syrian Arab Armed Forces
* Eagles of the Whirlwind
* The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria
* Military Council for the Liberation of Syria
* Syrian Popular Resistance
* Syrian Resistance
* Popular Resistance of the Eastern Region
* PFLP-GC
* Jihad Jibril Brigades
* Galilee Forces
* Free Palestine Movement
* Palestinian People's Party
* Liwa Fatemiyoun
* As-Sa'iqa
* al-Quds Brigade
* Palestine Liberation Army

Foreign support|

* Hezbollah involvement
* Iranian involvement
* Liwa Fatemiyoun
* Russian involvement
* medical facility targeting
* military intervention
* Wagner Group
* Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition
* Popular Mobilization Forces

Opposition|

| Interim government|

* National Coalition
* Local Coordination 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|

* Syrian National Army
* Free Syrian Army
* National Front for Liberation
* Army of Glory
* Authenticity and Development Front
* Army of Free Tribes
* Revolutionary Commando Army
* Muslim Brotherhood in Syria
* Grey Wolves
* Syrian Council of Tribes and Clans

Foreign support|

* US intervention
* Jordanian intervention
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Turkey

Autonomous Administration
of North and East Syria|

| DFNS Government|

* Democratic Union Party
* Kurdish National Council
* Smaller political parties

|

SDF militias|

* People's Protection Units
* Women's Protection Units
* Anti-Terror Units
* Al-Sanadid Forces
* Army of Revolutionaries
* SDF military councils
* Syriac Military Council
* Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa
* Northern Democratic Brigade

Support|

* Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
* Kurdistan Workers' Party
* International Freedom Battalion
* Sinjar Resistance Units
* Êzîdxan Women's Units

Islamists|

| Islamic State|

* Military activity of ISIL
* Dokumacılar
* Al-Barakah
* Khalid ibn al-Walid Army
* Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade
* Islamic Muthanna Movement
* Jaysh al-Jihad
* Jund al-Aqsa
* Group of the One and Only
* Liwa Dawud
* Liwa Aqab al-Islami
* Katibah Nusantara
* Katiba al-Bittar al-Libi
* Al-Khansaa Brigade
* Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah

|

al-Qaeda and allies|

* Al-Nusra Front (Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Khorasan group, Suqour al-Ezz) Jaysh Muhammad in Bilad al-Sham
* Tahrir al-Sham
* Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria
* Caucasus Emirate
* Ajnad al-Kavkaz
* Junud al-Makhdi
* Rouse the Believers Operations Room (Ansar al-Tawhid (Firqat al-Ghuraba), Hurras al-Din, Ansar al-Din Front (Harakat Sham al-Islam), Ansar al-Islam in Kurdistan)
* Jaish al-Haramoun
* Jaysh al-Sunna
* Liwa al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (Green Battalion)
* Mujahideen Shura Council
* Malhama Tactical
* Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
* Katibat Jabal al-Islam
* Jama'at Ansar al-Furqan in Bilad al Sham
* Ghuraba al-Sham
* Taliban (Pakistani Taliban, Imam Bukhari Jamaat)
* Fatah al-Islam
* Muhajirin wa-Ansar Alliance (Liwaa al-Umma)

People

* Ammar Abdulhamid
* Ali al-Abdallah
* Adnan al-Aroor
* al-Assad family
* Bashar
* Maher
* Rifaat
* Rami Makhlouf
* Hafez Makhlouf
* Riad al-Asaad
* Hadi al-Bahra
* 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
* Ahmed al-Sharaa
* Abdulbaset Sieda
* Riad Seif
* Fadwa Souleimane
* Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid
* Yaser Tabbara
* Razan Zaitouneh
* Rami Jarrah
* Abdurrahman Mustafa
* Fadlallah al-Haji

Related

| Elections|

* 2011 local elections
* 2012 parliamentary election
* 2014 presidential election
* 2015 Northern local elections
* 2016 parliamentary election
* 2017 Northern local elections
* 2017 Northern regional elections
* 2018 local elections
* 2020 parliamentary election
* 2021 presidential election

|

Issues|

* Casualties
* Cities and towns
* Chemical weapons
* Damaged heritage sites
* Foreign involvement
* Human rights violations
* Humanitarian aid
* International demonstrations and protests
* International reactions
* Massacres
* Mass graves
* Refugees
* Sectarianism and minorities
* Status of the Golan Heights
* Spillover in Lebanon
* Syrian government 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
* 39th G8 summit
* UN Security Council Resolution 2118
* Geneva II conference
* 2015 Zabadani cease-fire agreement
* Vienna talks
* 2016 Geneva talks
* Idlib demilitarization (2018–present)
* First Northern Syria Demilitarization Deal
* Second Northern Syria Demilitarization Deal
* Syrian Negotiation Commission
* Syrian Constitutional Committee

Investigations/legal cases|

* Investigations
* International Commission
* Chemical weapons
* War crimes cases
* Germany
* Canada + Netherlands vs Syria

Related topics|

* Exclusive mandate
* Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference
* Syria Files
* Syrian detainee report
* Syrian media coverage
* 2015 European migrant crisis
* Syrian civil war in popular culture

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Russia–United States relations

Diplomatic posts|

| Embassy|

* Washington D.C.
* Russian Ambassadors
* Mrs. George Pullman House

* Moscow
* US Ambassadors
* Spaso House

|

Consulates|

* Houston
* New York
* John Hammond House
* San Francisco
* Seattle
* Samuel Hyde House

* Saint Petersburg
* Vladivostok
* Yekaterinburg

United Nations|

* Headquarters
* Representatives
* Russian Mission Residency

Other|

* Elmcroft Estate
* Killenworth
* Lothrop Mansion
* Pioneer Point

Diplomacy|

| Treaties|

* Kremlin accords
* Megatons to Megawatts Program
* New START
* SORT
* START II
* START III

|

Summits|

* 1998 Moscow Summit
* 2001 Slovenia Summit
* 2005 Slovakia Summit
* 2018 Helsinki Summit
* 2021 Geneva Summit
* 2025 Alaska Summit

Prisoner
Exchanges|

* 2024 Ankara exchange
* Illegals Program exchange
* Marc Fogel exchange
* Trevor Reed exchange
* Viktor Bout–Brittney Griner exchange

Other|

* 2017 St. Petersburg raid
* 5+2 format
* Arctic Council
* Arctic Ocean Conference
* Ilulissat Declaration
* Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
* Center on Global Interests
* Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism
* Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission
* Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
* Moscow–Washington hotline
* New Great Game
* Operation Provide Hope
* RIMPAC
* Russian reset
* Obama–Medvedev Commission
* Second Cold War
* Syrian civil war
* Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons
* U.S.–Russia peace proposals
* Territorial claims in the Arctic
* United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
* U.S.–Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
* USSR–USA Maritime Boundary Agreement

Historical
Relations|

* Soviet Union–United States
* Russian Empire–United States

Space|

* APAS
* Bion satellites
* International Launch Services
* International Space Station
* Mir
* Shuttle–Mir program
* Roscosmos
* Sea Launch
* Space Flight Europe-America 500
* TOPAZ-II

Trade|

* Amtorg
* Bush legs
* Stanford US–Russia Forum
* The U.S. Russia Investment Fund
* U.S.–Russia Business Council
* U.S. Russia Foundation

Culture|

* Anglo-American School of Moscow
* St. Petersburg
* Anti-American sentiment in Russia
* Congress of Russian Americans
* Russian Cultural Center
* Russian Embassy School in Washington, D.C.
* Russian Mission School in New York

Legislation|

| Russia|

* Dima Yakovlev Law
* Guantanamo List
* Russian foreign agent law
* Russian undesirable organizations law

|

United States|

* Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
* Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act
* Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines Act
* Executive Order 14071
* Jackson–Vanik amendment
* Magnitsky Act
* Russian–Venezuelan Threat Mitigation Act
* Task Force KleptoCapture
* Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014

Incidents|

| Intelligence|

* American espionage in Russia
* Russian espionage in the United States

* 2022–2023 Pentagon document leaks
* Donald Trump's disclosures of classified information
* Russian interference in United States elections
* Links between Trump associates and Russian officials
* Maria Butina
* Steele dossier
* 2018
* 2020
* 2024
* Stephen Holmes

|

Military|

* Black Sea drone incident
* European Deterrence Initiative
* Operation Atlantic Resolve
* Kildin Island submarine incident
* Kola Peninsula submarine incident
* Norwegian rocket incident
* Pristina airport incident

Media|

* 2024 Tenet Media investigation
* Itar-Tass Russian News Agency v. Russian Kurier, Inc.
* RM Broadcasting

Other|

* Battle of Khasham
* Havana syndrome
* Kidnapping of Mormon missionaries
* Lady R incident
* Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
* Russian bounty program
* Russian Guantanamo Bay detainees
* Russian spies in the Russo-Ukrainian War
* Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident
* Zersetzung

Category

* v
* t
* e

Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

Diplomatic posts|

* Ambassadors of Iran to Saudi Arabia
* Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Tehran
* Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Iran

Diplomacy|

* Safari Club

Conflicts|

* Iranian revolution
* 1979 Khuzestan insurgency
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan
* Qatif conflict
* 1979 Qatif Uprising
* Iran–Iraq War
* Action of June 5, 1984
* Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict
* Qatar diplomatic crisis
* 2011 Egyptian revolution
* 2011 Bahraini uprising
* Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain
* insurgency in Bahrain
* 2011 Libyan civil war
* Syrian civil war
* Hezbollah involvement
* Iranian involvement
* Saudi involvement
* Spillover in Lebanon
* Axis of Resistance
* Funding of the Axis of Resistance
* Iranian intervention in Iraq
* Yemeni crisis
* Houthi insurgency
* Operation Scorched Earth
* Operation Blow to the Head
* Yemeni revolution
* Yemeni civil war
* Saudi-led intervention in Yemen
* Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict
* Houthi takeover in Yemen
* Second Libyan civil war

Incidents|

* 1987 Mecca incident
* Khobar Towers bombing
* 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
* 2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution
* Execution of Nimr al-Nimr
* 2016 attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran
* 2019 Saudi Arabia mass execution
* 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot
* 2015 Mina stampede
* 2017 Lebanon–Saudi Arabia dispute
* 2017–2020 Qatif unrest
* 2018 Riyadh missile strike
* International Maritime Security Construct
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231
* May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
* 2019 Afif attack
* Abha International Airport attacks
* Abqaiq–Khurais attack

Iranian relations
with GCC member states|

* Bahrain
* Kuwait
* Oman
* Qatar
* United Arab Emirates

Related|

* Iran–Saudi Arabia football rivalry
* Iran and state-sponsored terrorism
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
* Arab League–Iran relations
* Arab–Israeli alliance
* Warsaw Middle East conference
* Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition
* Opposition to military action against Iran
* Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
* Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition
* Gulf Cooperation Council
* Iran International
* Shia–Sunni relations
* Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia

Category:Iran–Saudi Arabia relations

* v
* t
* e

Iran–United States relations

Diplomatic posts|

* Embassy of Iran, Washington, D.C.
* Ambassadors of Iran to the United States
* Embassy of the United States, Tehran
* Ambassadors of the United States to Iran
* Interests Section of Iran in the United States
* Consulate-General of the United States, Tabriz
* Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
* Iran–United States Claims Tribunal
* Iranian Directorate
* Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group

Diplomacy|

* Persian Corridor
* Persian Gulf Command
* Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry
* 1953 Iranian coup d'état
* Abadan Crisis Timeline
* Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights
* Exercise Delawar
* Project Dark Gene
* Safari Club
* Island of Stability
* Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush
* Correspondence between Barack Obama and Ali Khamenei
* Phone conversation between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani
* Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
* Negotiations
* Joint Plan of Action
* Framework
* Reactions
* Criticism
* Aftermath
* U.S. withdrawal
* Donald Trump's letter to Ali Khamenei
* 2025 United States–Iran negotiations

Conflicts|

* Iran–Iraq War
* United States support for Iraq
* Bridgeton incident
* Iran Air Flight 655
* Iran Ajr
* Iran–Contra affair
* Operation Staunch
* Operation Eager Glacier
* Operation Earnest Will
* Operation Prime Chance
* Operation Nimble Archer
* Operation Praying Mantis
* Syrian civil war
* Yemeni Civil War
* Arab–Israeli alliance
* Abraham Accords
* February 2019 Warsaw Conference
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war
* Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition
* International Maritime Security Construct
* Assassination of Qasem Soleimani
* reactions
* Thirteen revenge scenarios
* Operation Martyr Soleimani
* 2020 Camp Taji attacks

Incidents after 1979|

* Assassination of Paul R. Shaffer and John H. Turner
* Iranian revolution
* Iran hostage crisis
* Timeline
* Guadeloupe Conference
* Operation Credible Sport
* Operation Eagle Claw
* Canadian Caper
* Jimmy Carter's engagement with Ruhollah Khomeini
* 1980 October Surprise theory
* Negotiations
* Algiers Accords
* America can't do a damn thing against us
* Beirut barracks bombings
* Khobar Towers bombing
* Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal
* Disappearance of Robert Levinson
* United States kill or capture strategy in Iraq
* United States raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil
* Kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi
* 2008 Naval dispute
* Filipino Monkey
* Project Cassandra
* Detention of American hikers
* United States diplomatic cables leak
* 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot
* Strait of Hormuz dispute
* RQ-170 incident
* MV Maersk Tigris
* 2016 Naval incident
* Nuclear program of Iran
* Timeline
* P5+1
* Operation Merlin
* Charming Kitten
* Stuxnet
* Kidnapping of Hossein Alikhani
* Arrest of Meng Wanzhou
* Deportation of Iranian students at US airports
* May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
* June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
* 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone
* 2019 K-1 Air Base attack
* December 2019 United States airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
* Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad
* 2020 Iran explosions
* 2021 Erbil rocket attacks
* 2021 Natanz incident
* February 2021 United States airstrike in Syria
* Leaked Mohammad Javad Zarif audiotape
* June 2021 United States airstrike in Syria
* July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
* August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
* 2021 U.S.–Iran naval incident
* 2022 Erbil missile attacks
* 2023 Northeastern Syria clashes
* Seizure of Suez Rajan and St Nikolas
* Attacks on US bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria during the Israel–Hamas war
* 2024 Erbil attack
* Tower 22 drone attack
* Iranian interference in the 2024 United States elections
* United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
* 2025 Iranian strikes on Al Udeid Air Base

Legislation|

* United States sanctions against Iran
* Maximum pressure campaign
* Executive Order 12170
* Executive Order 12172
* Executive Order 13769
* reactions
* Trump travel ban
* Executive Order 13780
* Executive Order 13876
* Iran and Libya Sanctions Act
* Iran Nonproliferation Act
* Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act
* Iran Freedom and Support Act
* Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act
* Kyl–Lieberman Amendment
* Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act
* Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act
* Public Law 113-100
* Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act
* Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
* Dames & Moore v. Regan
* United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran
* Oil Platforms case
* United States v. Banki
* Bank Markazi v. Peterson
* Certain Iranian Assets
* Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran
* Alleged violations of Treaty of Amity

Groups and individuals|

* Iran Action Group
* Iran–America Society
* Iranian Students Association in the United States
* National Iranian American Council
* Organization of Iranian American Communities
* United Against Nuclear Iran
* Farashgard
* Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
* Jundallah
* Kingdom Assembly of Iran
* National Council of Iran
* National Council of Resistance of Iran
* People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
* Elliott Abrams
* Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
* Howard Baskerville
* William J. Fallon
* Brian Hook
* Joseph Macmanus
* Robert Malley
* Stephen D. Mull
* Erwin David Rabhan
* Jason Rezaian
* Scott Ritter
* Craig Wadsworth
* Michael R. White
* Roxana Saberi
* Saeed Abedini
* Saeid Aboutaleb
* Shahram Amiri
* Sirous Asgari
* Mahmoud Reza Banki
* Haleh Esfandiari
* Amir Mirza Hekmati
* Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil
* Shahrzad Mirgholikhan
* Mohammad Hosseini
* Esha Momeni
* Mohammad Mosaddegh
* Baquer Namazi
* Siamak Namazi
* Sahar Nowrouzzadeh
* Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
* Noor Pahlavi
* Trita Parsi
* Maryam Rajavi
* Abdolreza Shahlaei
* Ali Shakeri
* Masoud Soleimani
* Morad Tahbaz
* Kian Tajbakhsh
* Karan Vafadari
* Xiyue Wang
* Nizar Zakka
* Iranian Guantanamo Bay detainees
* Abdul Majid Muhammed

Related|

* 1998 FIFA World Cup match
* Academic relations between Iran and the United States
* American Islam
* Anti-American sentiment in Iran
* Axis of evil
* CIA activities in Iran
* Copyright relations
* Death to America
* Dual containment
* Great Satan
* International Conference on Hollywoodism
* Iran and state-sponsored terrorism
* Iranian frozen assets
* Opposition to military action against Iran
* State Sponsor of Terrorism
* United States involvement in regime change
* United States and state-sponsored terrorism
* 650 Fifth Avenue
* Alavi Foundation
* Alborz High School
* American Institute of Iranian Studies
* American School of Isfahan
* Community School, Tehran
* Damavand College
* Iran Bethel School
* Iranzamin School
* Saint Peter Church, Tehran
* Tehran American School
* "Bomb Iran"
* Overthrow
* Not for the Faint of Heart

Category

* v
* t
* e

Iran–Israel proxy war

Background|

* Iranian Revolution
* Iran–Iraq war
* 1999 arrest of Iranian Jews

2024 Iran–Israel conflict|

* Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus
* reactions
* Iranian seizure of the MSC Aries
* Iranian strikes on Israel
* April 2024
* October 2024
* Israeli strikes on Iran
* April 2024
* October 2024

Iran–Israel war|

* Background
* Casualties
* Ceasefire
* Economic impact
* List of attacks
* United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
* 2025 Iranian strikes on Al Udeid Air Base
* Order of battle
* Reactions

Hezbollah–Israel conflict|

* Lebanese Civil War
* Israeli–Lebanese conflict
* South Lebanon conflict
* 1982 kidnapping of Iranian diplomats
* Assassination of Abbas al-Musawi
* 1992 Buenos Aires Israeli embassy bombing
* AMIA bombing
* 2000–2006 Shebaa Farms conflict
* 2000 Hezbollah cross-border raid
* 2005 Hezbollah cross-border raid
* 2006 Lebanon War
* Assassination of Imad Mughniyeh
* 2008 Israel–Hezbollah prisoner exchange
* 2009 Hezbollah plot in Egypt
* Francop Affair
* January 2015 Shebaa Farms incident
* Operation Northern Shield
* 2019 Beirut drone crash
* April 2023 Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
* Projectile attacks from Lebanon
* Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
* Killing of Fuad Shukr
* 2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks
* 20 September 2024 Beirut attack
* September 2024 Israeli attacks against Lebanon
* 2024 Hezbollah headquarters strike
* Assassination of Hashem Safieddine
* 2024 Tyre airstrikes
* 2024 Beqaa Valley airstrikes
* 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
* 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement
* Disarmament of Hezbollah

Israeli–Palestinian conflict|

* Karine A affair
* Victoria Affair
* Klos C cargo ship seizure

Gaza–Israel conflict|

* Blockade of the Gaza Strip
* Gaza–Israel conflict (2006)
* Gaza War (2008–2009)
* Gaza War (2012)
* Gaza War (2014)
* Israel–Palestine crisis (2021)
* Gaza war (since 2023)
* Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh

Syrian civil war|

* Syrian civil war
* January 2013 Rif Dimashq airstrike
* May 2013 Rif Dimashq airstrikes
* January 2015 Mazraat Amal incident
* Qalamoun offensive (May–June 2015)
* March 2017 Israel–Syria incident
* February 2018 Israel–Syria incident
* Operation House of Cards
* September 2018 Syria missile strikes
* August 2019 Syria missile strikes
* November 2019 Syria missile strikes
* January 2021 Syria airstrikes
* Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents
* Hezbollah involvement

Red Sea crisis|

* 20 July 2024 Israeli attack on Yemen
* 29 September 2024 Israeli attacks on Yemen
* December 2024 Israeli airstrikes in Yemen
* 26 December 2024 Israeli attack on Yemen
* 10 January 2025 Israeli attack on Yemen
* Israeli attacks on Yemen (May 2025–present)

International incidents|

* Operation Outside the Box
* 2009 Sudan airstrikes
* 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot
* 2012 attacks on Israeli diplomats
* 2012 Bangkok bombings
* 2012 Cyprus terrorist plot
* 2012 Burgas bus bombing
* Yarmouk munitions factory explosion
* 2019 Israeli airstrikes in Iraq
* 2022 Erbil missile attacks
* 2022 Istanbul terror plot
* 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Iraq and Syria

Nuclear program of Iran|

* Israel and the nuclear program of Iran
* Assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists
* Ardeshir Hosseinpour
* Massoud Ali-Mohammadi
* Majid Shahriari
* Fereydoon Abbasi
* Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan
* Mohsen Fakhrizadeh
* AMAD Project
* Israeli infiltration of an Iranian nuclear archive
* Bid Kaneh explosion
* Stuxnet
* 2020 Iran explosions
* 2021 Natanz incident
* 2023 Iran drone attacks

Related|

* Russia and the Iran–Israel proxy war
* Russia–Hamas relations
* Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war
* Ahmad Reza Djalali
* Axis of Resistance
* Funding of the Axis of Resistance
* Arab–Israeli alliance
* Abraham Accords
* Warsaw Middle East conference
* People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran
* Little Satan
* Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel
* Views on military action against Iran
* Iran and state-sponsored terrorism
* Iranian support for Hamas
* Iranian support for the Houthis
* Israel and state-sponsored terrorism
* Quds Day
* Prisoner X2
* Tehran
* Israeli war crimes
* Palestinian war crimes
* 2024 leak of U.S. intelligence on Israeli strike plans

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war

Background|

* Iranian revolution
* 1979 Khuzestan insurgency
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan
* Qatif conflict
* 1979 Qatif Uprising

Conflicts|

* Assadist–Saddamist conflict (until 1990)
* Iran–Iraq War
* Action of June 5, 1984
* Qatar–Saudi Arabia diplomatic conflict
* Qatar diplomatic crisis
* 2011 Egyptian revolution
* 2011 Bahraini uprising
* Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain
* insurgency in Bahrain
* First Libyan civil war
* Syrian civil war
* Hezbollah involvement
* Iranian involvement
* Saudi involvement
* Spillover in Lebanon
* Axis of Resistance
* Funding of the Axis of Resistance
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Iranian intervention in Iraq
* Yemeni crisis
* Houthi insurgency
* Operation Scorched Earth
* Operation Blow to the Head
* Yemeni revolution
* Yemeni civil war
* Saudi-led intervention in Yemen
* Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict
* Houthi takeover in Yemen
* Second Libyan civil war

Incidents|

* 1987 Mecca incident
* Khobar Towers bombing
* 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
* 2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution
* Execution of Nimr al-Nimr
* 2016 attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran
* 2019 Saudi Arabia mass execution
* 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot
* 2015 Mina stampede
* 2017 Lebanon–Saudi Arabia dispute
* 2017–2020 Qatif unrest
* 2018 Riyadh missile strike
* International Maritime Security Construct
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231
* May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
* 2019 Afif attack
* Abha International Airport attacks
* Abqaiq–Khurais attack

Iranian relations
with GCC member states|

* Bahrain
* Kuwait
* Oman
* Qatar
* United Arab Emirates

Related topics|

* Iran and state-sponsored terrorism
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
* Arab League–Iran relations
* Arab–Israeli alliance
* Warsaw Middle East conference
* Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition
* Opposition to military action against Iran
* Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
* Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition
* Gulf Cooperation Council
* Iran International
* Shia–Sunni relations
* Shia Islam in Saudi Arabia

Category:Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict

* v
* t
* e

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

1910s|

* World War I
* Italo-Turkish War
* Middle Eastern theatre
* Battle of Robat Karim
* Arab Revolt
* Armenian genocide
* Assyrian genocide
* Mount Lebanon starvation
* Unification of Saudi Arabia
* Simko Shikak revolt
* 1919 Egyptian revolution
* Turkish War of Independence
* Anglo-Turkish War
* Al-Jazeera Front
* Greco-Turkish War
* Turkish–Armenian War
* Franco-Turkish War
* Revolts
* United States
* Mahmud Barzanji revolts

1920s|

* Franco-Syrian War
* Iraqi Revolt (1920)
* Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine
* 1922 Dhabyani coup d'état
* Adwan Rebellion
* Arab separatism in Khuzestan
* Great Syrian Revolt
* 1926 Dhabyani coup d'état
* 1928 Dhabyani coup d'état
* Sheikh Said rebellion

1930s|

* Ararat rebellion
* Ahmed Barzani revolt
* Simele massacre
* Saudi–Yemeni war (1934)
* Goharshad Mosque rebellion
* 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts
* 1935 Yazidi revolt
* 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine
* Dersim rebellion

1940s|

* World War II
* Italian bombing of Palestine
* Allied invasion of Iraq
* Syria–Lebanon campaign
* Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
* 1943 Barzani revolt
* Al-Waziri coup
* Al-Wathbah uprising
* Kurdish separatism in Iran
* Iran crisis of 1946
* Arab–Israeli conflict
* 1948 Arab–Israeli War
* Suez Crisis
* 1967 Six-Day War
* 1973 Yom Kippur War
* 1982 Lebanon War

1950s|

* Buraimi dispute
* 1952 Egyptian revolution
* 1953 Iranian coup d'état
* Jebel Akhdar War
* Cyprus Emergency
* Suez Crisis
* Yemeni–Adenese clan violence
* 1958 Lebanon crisis
* 1958 Iraqi revolution
* 1959 Mosul uprising

1960s|

* Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964
* Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
* First Iraqi–Kurdish War
* Second Iraqi–Kurdish War
* Dhofar rebellion
* North Yemen civil war
* Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup
* Mar. 1963 Syrian coup
* Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup
* Aden Emergency
* 1964 Hama riot
* Israeli–Palestinian conflict
* 1948 Palestine war
* First Intifada
* Second Intifada
* 1965 Sharjawi coup d'état
* 1966 Syrian coup d'état
* 1966 Dhabyani coup d'état
* 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt

1970s|

* Black September in Jordan
* 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt
* Yemenite War of 1972
* Turkish invasion of Cyprus
* Shatt al-Arab clashes
* Lebanese Civil War
* Political violence in Turkey
* Islamist uprising in Syria
* 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq
* NDF Rebellion
* Yemenite War of 1979
* Iranian revolution
* Consolidation of the Iranian revolution
* 1979 Qatif Uprising
* Grand Mosque seizure
* 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq

1980s|

* Iran–Iraq War
* 1980 Turkish coup d'état
* Kurdish–Turkish conflict
* Turkey–PKK conflict
* South Yemen civil war
* 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot
* 1986 Damascus bombings
* 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt
* Mecca massacre
* Abu Nidal's executions

1990s|

* Gulf War (1990–1991)
* 1991 Iraqi uprisings
* Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s)
* Yemeni civil war (1994)
* Iraqi Kurdish Civil War
* 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 Qamishli riots
* Houthi insurgency in Yemen
* Iran–Israel proxy conflict
* 2006 Lebanon War
* Fatah–Hamas conflict
* South Yemen insurgency

2010s|

* 2011 Bahraini uprising
* Egyptian Crisis
* Sinai insurgency
* Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present)
* Syrian civil war
* Turkish involvement in Syria
* Syrian War spillover in Lebanon
* Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
* War in Iraq (2013–2017)
* Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present)
* Yemeni crisis
* Yemeni civil war (2014–present)

2020s|

* 2021 Beirut clashes
* Gaza war
* Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)
* Red Sea crisis
* 2024 Iran–Israel conflict
* Iran–Israel war

This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each
Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.

Authority control databases

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Israel

Other|

* Yale LUX

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