Syrian civil war
| Syrian civil war | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Syrian revolution, Arab Spring, Arab Winter, Islamic State conflict, War on terror, Kurdish–Turkish and Arab–Israeli conflicts, Iran–Israel and Iran–Saudi proxy wars | |||||||
Military situation as of 5 August 2025 at 21:00 AST Syrian transitional government: Syrian Armed Forces[a]
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]
(full list of factions, detailed map) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Full list of factions | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
Total deaths 656,493+[20][21] Civilian deaths 219,223–306,887+[h][24][25] Displaced people
| |||||||
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Personal
President of Syria
Governments
Elections
|
||
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Personal
Political offices
President of Syria Incumbent
Governments
Fall of the Assad regime
|
||
| Part of a series on |
| Islamism |
|---|
|
The Syrian civil war was an armed conflict that began with the Syrian revolution in March 2011, when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring. 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 during a major offensive by opposition forces. Many sources regard this as the end of the civil war.[17]
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 rebels. His prime minister transferred power to the new government, and Israel launched an 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Türkiye says all Syrian armed groups must join state army". Daily Sabah. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
- ^ "Forging a united front: The challenges of building Syria's new army". The New Arab. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Syrian Interim Government (SIG) Prime Minister Congratulates President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Puts SIG Resources At His Government's Disposal". MEMRI. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
- ^ "Mustafa Places Interim Government at the Disposal of the Syrian State". Syrian Observer. 5 February 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
SDFIntegrationwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kelly Campa; Andie Parry. "Iran Update, May 2, 2025". Institute for the Study of War.
- ^
- 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.
- 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Hundreds killed as Syria security forces battle al-Assad loyalists". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
10March2025was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ 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) - ^ "In Syria, Crackdown After Protests". The New York Times. 18 March 2011.
- ^ a b "The war in Syria, explained". Vox. 8 April 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "What's happening in Syria?". BBC. 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 7 January 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
end of warwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Twelve years on from the beginning of Syria's war". Al Jazeera English. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 3 July 2024.
- ^ Nawaz, Amna; Warsi, Zeba; Cebrián Aranda, Teresa (15 March 2023). "Syrians mark 12 years of civil war with no end in sight". PBS News. Archived from the original on 20 June 2024.
- ^ "14th anniversary of Syrian Revolution | Nearly 657,000 persons killed since the onset of the revolution in March 2011". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
- ^ "Syria". GCR2P. 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023.
- ^ "Syrian Revolution 13 years on | Nearly 618,000 persons killed since the onset of the revolution in March 2011". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Human Rights and Organizational Wrongs: Investigating the Malpractice of the Syrian Network for Human Rights". Fair Observer. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
- ^ "UN Human Rights Office estimates more than 306,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in Syria conflict". United Nations. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ "Civilian Deaths in the Syrian Arab Republic: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights". United Nations. 28 June 2022. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022.
Over the past ten years, civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, with an estimated 306,887 direct civilian deaths occurring.
- ^ "Syria emergency". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).