Timber Sycamore

CIA program that trained/supplied Syrian civil war rebels

Timber Sycamore

Seal of the CIA

Operational scope| Weapons sales, training of Syrian rebel forces
Location|

Eastern Europe, Jordan, Syria

Planned by| Central Intelligence Agency
Target|  Syrian Army
Date| 2012–2017
Executed by| Central Intelligence Agency
United States Department of Defense
Secret Intelligence Service (UK)
Jordanian Armed Forces
General Intelligence Directorate (Jordan)
Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah (Saudi Arabia)
Qatar State Security
Outcome|

* Delivery of thousands of tons of weaponry worth billions of US dollars.
* Arms diverted to the Middle East black market; many sold to ISIS.[1][2]
* Criticism of Obama administration for insufficient support to rebel groups.[3]
* US led- Syria Train and Equip program continues to arm, train, and support the SDF with airstrikes.

United States involvement in
regime change

19th century

* 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom

20th century

* 1901 dissolution of the First Philippine Republic
* 1903 separation of Panama from Colombia
* 1906–1909 occupation of Cuba
* 1912–1933 occupation of Nicaragua
* 1914 occupation of Veracruz
* 1915–1934 occupation of Haiti
* 1916–1924 occupation of the Dominican Republic
* 1945–1952 occupation of Japan
* 1945–1948 occupation of Korea
* 1953 Iranian coup d'état
* 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état
* 1956–57 regime change attempts in Syria
* 1958 failed coup attempt in Indonesia
* 1960–1965 involvement in the Congo Crisis
* 1960 Laotian counter-coup by Phoumi Nosavan
* 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion
* 1961 Operation Mongoose in Cuba
* 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état
* 1964 Brazilian coup d'état
* 1964 ousting of Cheddi Jagan in British Guiana
* 1965–1966 occupation of the Dominican Republic
* 1965–66 transition to the New Order in Indonesia
* 1971 Bolivian coup d'état
* 1973 Chilean coup d'état
* 1975–1992 support for UNITA in Angola
* 1979–1992 support for the Afghan mujahideen in Afghanistan
* 1981–1990 support for the Contras in Nicaragua
* 1983 invasion of Grenada
* 1989 invasion of Panama
* 1994–1995 occupation of Haiti
* 1990s Iraq, failed coup d'état

21st century

* 2001 invasion of Afghanistan
* 2003 invasion of Iraq

* v
* t
* e

Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by the United Kingdom and some Arab intelligence services, including Saudi intelligence. The aim of the program was to remove Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from power.[4] Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied money, weaponry and training to Syrian opposition groups fighting Syrian government forces in the Syrian Civil War. Many of these weapons ultimately ended up in the hands of extremist groups, including al-Qaeda, contributing to the rise and empowerment of ISIS in 2014.

According to US officials, the program was run by the CIA's Special Activities Division[5] and has trained thousands of rebels. U.S. President Barack Obama secretly authorized the CIA to begin arming Syria's embattled rebels in 2013. The program became public knowledge in mid-2016.

One consequence of the program has been a flood of US weapons including assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades into the Middle East's black market. Critics of the program within the Obama administration viewed it as ineffective and expensive, and raised concerns about seizure of weaponry by Islamist groups and about Timber Sycamore-backed rebels fighting alongside the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front and its allies.[3]

In July 2017, US officials stated that Timber Sycamore would be phased out, with funds possibly redirected to fighting the Islamic State (IS), or to offering rebel forces defensive capabilities.[6][7][8]

## Creation

[edit]

US Marines and Jordanian Army soldiers collaborate in Amman, Jordan.

CIA director David Petraeus first proposed a covert program of arming and training rebels in the summer of 2012. Initially President Obama rejected the proposal, but later agreed, partially due to lobbying by foreign leaders, including from King Abdullah II of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[3]

Timber Sycamore began in late 2012[9][10] or early 2013, and was similar to other Pentagon or CIA-run weapons routing and training programs that were established in previous decades to support foreign rebel forces.[11][7] Greg Miller and Adam Entous of The Washington Post stated that "The operation has served as the centerpiece of the U.S. strategy to press Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside."[12] The program's principal backers were the United States and Saudi Arabia, but it was also supported by some other regional Arab governments, and by the United Kingdom.[11][2] While Saudi Arabia provides more money and weaponry, the United States leads training in military equipment. The program was based in Jordan, due to that country's proximity to the battlefields in Syria.[11]

According to The New York Times, the program initially allowed US forces to train Syrian rebels in use of military equipment, but not to directly provide the equipment itself. A few months after its creation, it was amended to allow the CIA to both train and equip rebel forces. Saudi Arabia has provided military equipment, and covert financing of rebel forces has also been provided by Qatar, Turkey and Jordan.[13]

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey shipped thousands of rifles, hundreds of machine guns, and large amounts of ammunition to Syrian rebels in 2012 before the program's launch.[14] The CIA helped arrange some of the arms purchases for the Saudis, including a large deal in Croatia in 2012.[13] A classified US State Department cable signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reported that Saudi donors were a major support for Sunni militant forces globally, and some American officials worried that rebels being supported had ties to Al Qaeda.[15]

The existence of Timber Sycamore was revealed by The New York Times and Al Jazeera in June 2016, after Jane's Defence Weekly reported, in late 2015, that the US Federal Business Opportunities website was soliciting contracts to ship thousands of tons of weapons from Eastern Europe to Taşucu, Turkey and Aqaba, Jordan.[16]

## Scope

[edit]

FSA fighter of the Army of Glory group launch a US-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile at government forces during the 2017 Hama offensive.

Timber Sycamore was run by the Military Operations Command (MOC) in Amman[2] and provided Kalashnikov assault rifles, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, TOW anti-tank guided missiles, night vision goggles, pickup trucks, and other weapons to prospective Syrian rebel forces. Many of the weapons were purchased in the Balkans or other locations in Eastern Europe, and then routed to Syrian rebel forces and training camps by Jordanian security services. CIA paramilitary operatives trained Syrian rebels in use of the weaponry.[11][2] According to Charles Lister at The Daily Beast there were at least 50 vetted rebel groups fighting in Syria that received weapons or training through the program after late 2012;[9] the exact number is not known.[17]

According to American officials, the program was highly effective, training and equipping thousands of US-backed fighters to make substantial battlefield gains.[18] American officials stated that the program began to lose effectiveness after Russia intervened militarily in the Syrian Civil War.[18] David Ignatius, writing in The Washington Post, remarked that while the CIA program ultimately failed in its objective of removing Assad from power, it was hardly "bootless": "The program pumped many hundreds of millions of dollars to many dozens of militia groups. One knowledgeable official estimates that the CIA-backed fighters may have killed or wounded 100,000 Syrian soldiers and their allies over the past four years."[7]

Timber Sycamore is distinct from the Syrian Train and Equip Program, another Pentagon program established to train Syrian rebel forces to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)[11][19] The Pentagon made it clear their goal in Syria and Iraq was 'to fight ISIS and fight ISIS only [and] we've asked [our partner forces] to be committed to that same mission' and that they would not fight Assad's military.[20]

US-backed rebels often fought alongside al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front against Ba'athist forces, and some of the US-supplied weapons were seized by the al-Nusra Front. This had been a major concern within the Obama administration when the program was first proposed in 2012. There were also allegations of U.S.-backed militias carrying out summary killings of detainees. Following the Russian military intervention in Syria, pro-American militias began losing ground in late 2016, after a year of intensive aerial bombing campaigns of the Russian Air Force.[3]

An FSA combatant of the Jesus Christ Brigade prepares to launch an American-made anti-Tank BGM-71 TOW missile

The program remains classified,[13][11][3] and many details about the program remain unknown, including the total amount of support, the range of weapons transferred, the depth of training provided, the types of US trainers involved, and the exact rebel groups being supported.[17] However, an opinion piece in The Canberra Times said that two thousand tons of Eastern European-manufactured weapons had been delivered to Aqaba by April 2016.[21]

The US delivered weapons via Ramstein Air Base in Germany – possibly in breach of German laws.[22]

## Black market

[edit]

The port in Aqaba, Jordan was an important route for Timber Sycamore weaponry that entered Syria.

### Jordanian intelligence arms sales

[edit]

According to American and Jordanian officials, weapons shipped into Jordan by the CIA and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence officials in the General Intelligence Directorate and sold on the black market.[23][3]

The magnitude of the theft amounted to millions of dollars, and FBI officials state that some of the stolen weapons were later used to kill two American contractors, two Jordanians and one South African at a police training station in Jordan in the 2015 Amman shooting attack.[11][23][24]

Arms received via Timber Sycamore have flooded Middle Eastern black markets with heavy weaponry.[11] Jordanian officials state that Jordanian intelligence officers who stole the program's weapons used the profits to purchase luxury items, with knowledge of superior officers. The thefts were halted after months of complaints by the American and Saudi governments, the program's main backers.[11] According to Jordanian officials, several intelligence officers were fired, but their profits were not confiscated. (In Jordan, the General Intelligence Directorate is second only to the monarchy in power and prestige.)[25] Jordan's minister for state and media affairs Mohammad Al-Momani stated that the allegations were incorrect.[25]

### Regional weapons trafficking

[edit]

Prior to the Syrian Civil War, southern Syria and northern Jordan were a conduit for other smuggling operations.[2] The advent of the war transformed the region into a center for smuggling weapons, and the more formal support provided by Timber Sycamore only intensified the scale of smuggling operations on the border.[2] Major smuggling centers include bazaars established at Ma'an in southern Jordan, Sahab in Amman, and in the Jordan River Valley.[25]

An investigation by journalists Phil Sands and Suha Maayeh revealed that rebels supplied with weapons from the Amman MOC sold a portion of them to local arms dealers, often to raise cash to pay additional fighters. Some MOC-supplied weapons were sold to Bedouin traders referred to locally as "The Birds" in Lajat, a volcanic plateau northeast of Daraa, Syria. According to rebel forces, the Bedouins would then trade the weapons to the Islamic State (IS) group, who would place orders using the encrypted WhatsApp messaging service. Two rebel commanders and a United Kingdom weapons monitoring organization maintain that MOC–supplied weapons have made their way to IS forces.[2]

A 2017 study conducted by Conflict Armament Research at the behest of the European Union and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit does not mention Timber Sycamore but found that external support for anti-Assad Syrian rebels "significantly augmented the quantity and quality of weapons available to [ISIL] forces,"[1] including, in the most rapid case diversion they documented,[1] "anti-tank weapons purchased by the United States that ended up in possession of the Islamic State within two months of leaving the factory."[26] The study traced the provenance of some weapons in detail but found no instance in which US arms supplied to the YPG–led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to fight IS ended up in the arsenal of IS.[26]

## Phasing out

[edit]

In July 2017, anonymous officials stated that President Donald Trump, in consultation with National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, had decided to phase out support for anti-Assad Syrian rebel forces, possibly redirecting resources to fighting ISIL, to offering rebel forces defensive capabilities, or to other operations in the region.[6]

The officials said that the decision was made prior to Trump's participation in the G-20 summit and 7 July meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Several officials characterized the decision as a "major concession" to Russia, with one remarking: "Putin won in Syria."[6] However, another official stated that ending the program was not a major concession due to Assad's recent victories in the Syrian Civil War, but rather "a signal to Putin that the administration wants to improve ties to Russia."[27] Some members of the Obama administration reportedly had wished to scrap the program because some rebels armed and trained by the program had joined ISIL and related groups.[27]

A related US military program to arm, train, and support the SDF fighting ISIL with airstrikes continued in 2017[6] through the years 2018–2021 and into the present.[28]

## Commentary

[edit]

### Press

[edit]

In Il Giornale, Fausto Biloslavo wrote that, despite the program's secrecy, US Vice President Joe Biden was photographed at the center of Zarqa in March 2015.[25]

In April 2014, Seymour Hersh wrote an essay published in the London Review of Books which does not mention Timber Sycamore but which describes an anonymous former senior US intelligence official's claims that the U.S. diplomatic post in Libya's Benghazi "had no real political role" and existed solely to provide cover for a secret arms pipeline supporting Syrian rebels fighting in the Syrian Civil War in early 2012.[29] According to Hersh's source, the "rat line" was a means for channeling military weapons from Gaddafi's arsenals into Syria and into the hands of Syrian rebels. According to Hersh, an agreement in early 2012 between Obama and Erdoğan proposed an operation funded by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and conducted by the CIA in collaboration with MI6, although a spokesperson for then CIA director David Petraeus said the operation never happened.[29][30]

### Politicians

[edit]

In 2016, US Senator Ron Wyden's office questioned the program, releasing a statement that "the US is trying to build up the battlefield capabilities of the anti-Assad opposition, but they haven't provided the public with details about how this is being done, which US agencies are involved, or which foreign partners those agencies are working with."[13]

### Analysts

[edit]

Thomas Joscelyn of The Weekly Standard supported the Trump administration's decision to cancel the program, stating "there is no evidence that any truly moderate force is effectively fighting Assad."[31] In December 2017, Max Abrahms of the Council on Foreign Relations and John Glaser of the Cato Institute observed in the Los Angeles Times that "[ISIL] imploded right after external support for the 'moderate' rebels dried up," which is consistent with studies demonstrating that "external support for the opposition tends to exacerbate and extend civil wars, which usually peter out not through power-sharing agreements among fighting equals, but when one side—typically, the incumbent—achieves dominance."[32] Political scientist Federico Manfredi Firmian called Timber Sycamore “one of the United States’ most ill-conceived and deadly covert-action programs,” noting that it failed to unseat Assad, fueled the war, and inflicted untold misery on the Syrian people. [33] Jeffrey Sachs and Bob Dreyfuss said that the Obama administration's aim in the Timber Sycamore program was to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad.[34][35]

Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, criticized the Obama administration for not providing adequate funding and "necessary resources" to FSA units. He said that this indecision resulted in the program's failure to decisively shift the strategic dynamics of the war in favor of the Free Syrian Army. According to Lister, the Timber Sycamore program was "drip-feeding opposition groups just enough to survive but never enough to become dominant actors".[36]

### Columnists

[edit]

In 2016, Canadian right-wing political commentator Rachel Marsden, in a column in The Baltimore Sun, provided her interpretation of the New York Times reporting on Timber Sycamore. She suggested that the Timber Sycamore program involved the arming and funding of independent military contractors by the Saudi intelligence, along with the CIA's training of pro-American militias in Syria, and that these operations aimed at overthrowing the Assad government, installing a new Syrian government friendly to U.S., Saudi and Qatari interests, and weaken Russia's influence in the Middle East.[37] In 2016, Australian columnist Paul Malone wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald that weapons delivered to various Free Syrian militias might have been captured by the Al-Nusra Front, outlining a parallel with the seizure of American weaponry by the Islamic State organization after its capture of Mosul in 2014.[21]

## See also

[edit]

* American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
* Operation Cyclone, 1979–1992 CIA program to arm and finance Afghan insurgents fighting the Soviet-backed government and Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
* Iran–Contra affair, US arms sales to Iran to support Contras.
* Safari Club,[13] anti-communist Middle East clandestine operations group during the Cold War.
* Foreign interventions by the United States
* United States involvement in regime change
* 2015 Amman shooting attack
* King Faisal Air Base shooting
* Stop Arming Terrorists Act
* Collaboration with ISIL

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Conflict Armament Research (2017). Weapons of the Islamic State - A three-year investigation in Iraq and Syria. London: Conflict Armament Research. pp. 1–202. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
2. ^ a b c d e f g Sands, Phil; Maayeh, Suha (7 August 2016). "Death of a Syrian arms salesman". The National. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
3. ^ a b c d e f Mazzetti, Mark; Goldman, Adam; Schmidt, Michael (2 August 2017). "Behind the Sudden Death of a $1 Billion Secret C.I.A. War in Syria". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
4. ^ "Syria war: Trump 'ends CIA arms programme for rebels'". BBC. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
5. ^ Sanchez, Raf (3 September 2013). "First Syria rebels armed and trained by CIA 'on way to battlefield". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
6. ^ a b c d Jaffe, Greg; Entous, Adam (19 July 2017). "Trump ends covert CIA program to arm anti-Assad rebels in Syria, a move sought by Moscow". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
7. ^ a b c Ignatius, David (20 July 2017). "What the demise of the CIA's anti-Assad program means". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
8. ^ Ali Watkins (21 July 2017). "Top general confirms end to secret U.S. program in Syria". Politico. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
9. ^ a b Lister, Charles (7 June 2016). "Al Qaeda Reaps Rewards of U.S. Policy Failures on Syria". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
10. ^ Jones, Gareth (10 March 2013). Webb, Jason (ed.). "Americans are training Syria rebels in Jordan: Spiegel". Reuters. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mazzetti, Mark; Younes, Ali (26 June 2016). "C.I.A. Arms for Syrian Rebels Supplied Black Market, Officials Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
12. ^ Miller, Greg; Entous, Adam (23 October 2016). "Plans to send heavier weapons to CIA-backed rebels in Syria stall amid White House skepticism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
13. ^ a b c d e Mazzetti, Mark; Apuzzo, Matt (23 January 2016). "U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
14. ^ Chivers, C. J.; Schmitt, Eric (25 February 2013). "Saudis Step Up Help for Rebels in Syria With Croatian Arms". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
15. ^ Norton, Ben (28 June 2016). "CIA and Saudi weapons for Syrian rebels fueled black market arms trafficking, report says". Salon. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
16. ^ Binnie, Jeremy; Gibson, Neil (8 April 2016). "US arms shipment to Syrian rebels detailed". Jane's Defence Weekly. IHS. Archived from the original on 5 December 2016.
17. ^ a b Cordesman, Anthony (1 February 2016). "Creeping Incrementalism: U.S. Forces and Strategy in Iraq and Syria from 2011 to 2016: An Update". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
18. ^ a b "Jordanian officials sold CIA-supplied weapons to arms dealers: report". Pakistan Today. 27 June 2016.
19. ^ Shear, Michael; Cooper, Helene; Schmitt, Eric (9 October 2015). "Obama Administration Ends Effort to Train Syrians to Combat ISIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
20. ^ "Syria war: US says coalition partners must only fight IS". BBC News. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
21. ^ a b Malone, Paul (10 July 2016). "Save us from the Dr Strangeloves". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
22. ^ Obermaier, Frederik; Krüger, Paul-Anton (12 September 2017). "Heikle Fracht aus Ramstein" – via Süddeutsche.de.
23. ^ a b "Report: CIA weapons for Syrian rebels sold to arms dealers". Arutz Sheva. 28 June 2016.
24. ^ "Jordanian spies stole CIA weapons intended for Syrian rebels". Vice Media Group. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
25. ^ a b c d Biloslavo, Fausto (28 March 2016). "Finite sul mercato nero le armi che la Cia ha dato ai ribelli siriani". Il Giornale. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
26. ^ a b Michaels, Jim (14 December 2017). "The U.S. bought weapons for Syrian rebels – and some wound up in the hands of ISIS terrorists". USA Today. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
27. ^ a b Walcott, John (19 July 2017). "Trump ends CIA arms support for anti-Assad Syria rebels: U.S. officials". Reuters. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
28. ^ "Counter-Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) - Train and equip fund (CTEF)" (PDF). comptroller.defense.gov.
29. ^ a b Hersh, Seymour M. (17 April 2014). "The Red Line and the Rat Line: Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels". London Review of Books. 36 (8). Retrieved 31 July 2019.
30. ^ Higgins, Eliot; Kaszeta, Dan (22 April 2014). "It's clear that Turkey was not involved in the chemical attack on Syria". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
31. ^ Joscelyn, Thomas (7 August 2017). "Trump Got This One Right". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
32. ^ Abrahms, Max; Glaser, John (10 December 2017). "The pundits were wrong about Assad and the Islamic State. As usual, they're not willing to admit it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
33. ^ Manfredi Firmian, Federico (26 November 2021). "Strengthening the US Partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces". Survival. 63 (6): 159–182\. doi:10.1080/00396338.2021.2006456. S2CID 244661666. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
34. ^ Dreyfuss, Bob (13 August 2012). "Obama's Regime-Change Policy in Syria". The Nation. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
35. ^ "Should the US be part of solution in Syria or leave?". MSNBC. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
36. ^ "Under Trump, a Hollowed-Out Force in Syria Quickly Lost C.I.A. Backing". The New York Times. 2 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017.
37. ^ Marsden, Rachel (18 April 2016). "Russia and America should unite against Saudi-China alliance". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 20 September 2016.

* 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

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