ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria since 2011
Factsheet
Belligerents Full list of factions
Belligerents Full list of factions
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Syrian_civil_war
Syrian civil war - Wikipedia
1 week ago - 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.
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › world history › wars, battles & armed conflicts
Syrian Civil War | Syrian history | Britannica
November 13, 2025 - The combined effects of the drought and preexisting economic disparities under the Assad regime contributed to the first nonviolent pro-reform protests, in 2011, riding the wave of Arab Spring uprisings. Divisions between the country’s Sunni majority and the ruling Alawite elite were also a factor. The Bashar al-Assad regime’s harsh military crackdown escalated tensions, and by September 2011 the peaceful protests had become an armed insurgency. There have been many parties involved in the Syrian Civil War.
Videos
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A timeline of events from Syria’s war - YouTube
11:20
What is happening in Syria? - YouTube
53:17
Syria After Assad (full documentary) | FRONTLINE - YouTube
05:46
Syria: Seven years of war explained - BBC News - YouTube
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The Syrian Civil War: A Downward Spiral to Madness - YouTube
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Why Syria's civil war restarted - YouTube
What is the Syrian Civil War?
The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 after pro-democracy protests swept through Syria during the Arab Spring, threatening the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. His violent suppression of protesters escalated into war between Assad’s forces and opposition militias. An offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham resulted in Assad being removed from power in December 2024. The Syrian Civil War has been a source of significant instability in the Middle East since 2011, and the resultant civilian displacement and refugee exodus constitute one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history.
britannica.com
britannica.com › world history › wars, battles & armed conflicts
Syrian Civil War | Syrian history | Britannica
How did the Syrian Civil War begin?
From 2006 to 2010 Syria suffered its worst drought in modern history. The combined effects of the drought and preexisting economic disparities under the Assad regime contributed to the first nonviolent pro-reform protests, in 2011, riding the wave of Arab Spring uprisings. Divisions between the country’s Sunni majority and the ruling Alawite elite were also a factor. The Bashar al-Assad regime’s harsh military crackdown escalated tensions, and by September 2011 the peaceful protests had become an armed insurgency.
britannica.com
britannica.com › world history › wars, battles & armed conflicts
Syrian Civil War | Syrian history | Britannica
Who are the major combatants in the Syrian Civil War?
There have been many parties involved in the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), which has fought alongside Hezbollah and numerous Shiʿi militias, was under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until his removal from power in December 2024. Assad also received foreign support from Russia and Iran. Opposition forces have included the Southern Front, the Kurdish-dominant Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and a coalition of SAA defectors. These groups have been supported by Western powers such as the United States and Germany. Regional support comes from Turkey, Jordan, Israel,
britannica.com
britannica.com › world history › wars, battles & armed conflicts
Syrian Civil War | Syrian history | Britannica
BBC
bbc.com › news › articles › ckgr71z0jp4o
Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained
October 14, 2025 - The war saw Israel fight Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Syria
Syria - Wikipedia
2 days ago - Following the Arab Spring in 2011, Syria became embroiled in a multi-sided civil war with the involvement of several countries, leading to a refugee crisis in which more than 6 million refugees were displaced from the country.
ShelterBox
shelterbox.org › home › syria conflict explained
Syria conflict explained - ShelterBox %
May 30, 2025 - The conflict began as a Syrian uprising against the Government of Syria and its then-leader, President Bashar al-Assad. Since then, many groups have joined the fighting, with many fighting each other.
Clingendael
clingendael.org › pub › 2021 › eu-relevance-in-the-syrian-and-iraqi-civil-wars › 2-tracing-the-evolution-of-the-syrian-civil-war-2011-2020
Tracing the evolution of the Syrian civil war (2011-2020) | Band-aids, not bullets
For the purpose of this report, the analysis sketches a benchmark for examining the relevance of the EU’s policies and interventions in relation to the different episodes of the Syrian civil war. These EU policies and interventions are discussed in the next Section. At the core of the Syrian civil war are the multiple transformations of the Syrian people’s initially peaceful uprising in early 2011 against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Terre des hommes
tdh.org › homepage
10 years of war in Syria - Between pain and hope | Terre des hommes
On 15 March 2011, one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history broke out. The Syrian conflict has since driven millions of families to flee in the hope of finding some security.
Unrefugees
unrefugees.org › home › news › syria refugee crisis explained
Syria Refugee Crisis Explained
December 1, 2025 - More than 14 years after the Syrian ... What started in March 2011 — when peaceful protests in the southern city of Daraa were met with violence — quickly escalated into a nationwide conflict that uprooted millions...
PBS
pbs.org › home › articles › world › syria › syria’s war began 14 years ago. explore frontline’s reporting on its origins and consequences
Syria’s War Began 14 Years Ago. Explore FRONTLINE’s Documentaries | FRONTLINE | PBS | Official Site | Documentary Series
May 13, 2025 - People wave independence-era flags in Aleppo, celebrating the fall of President Bashar al-Assad on December 21, 2024. ... In the 14 years since the war in Syria broke out, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions have been displaced from their homes or have lost their livelihoods.
Imperial War Museums
iwm.org.uk › history › why-is-syria-a-complex-conflict
Why is Syria a complex conflict? | Imperial War Museums
What began as a peaceful protest movement challenging an autocratic government has evolved into a complex multi-layered war. Domestically, despite capturing territory from the Government early on, opposition fighters have been divided, allowing Assad to slowly reclaim some lost ground. Over time new groups have emerged to complicate the Government-Opposition contest. Syria’s Kurds have formed militia and joined the fight as has the sinister Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
PubMed Central
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC5868561
Syria: Land of history, civilizations and war - PMC
By the end of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire came increasingly under British and French influence. During World War I a secret Sykes-Picot agreement was signed that divided the Ottoman Empire into two British and French zones of influence and Syria fell under the French mandate.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › History_of_Syria
History of Syria - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - A series of six wars, Syrian Wars, were fought between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE over the region then called Coele-Syria, one of the few avenues into Egypt.
Imperial War Museums
iwm.org.uk › history › syria-frequently-asked-questions
Syria: Frequently Asked Questions | Imperial War Museums
Christopher Phillips: “ISIS have their origins in the 2003 Iraq war, the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime created a vacuum in parts of Iraq that was filled by radical jihadists, many coming from abroad, keen to attack American troops. When Syria descended into civil war, the jihadists took advantage of the chaos there, moving over the border to set up ISIS.
Hoover Institution
hoover.org › research › syria-long-long-history-war
Syria: A Long, Long History Of War | Hoover Institution Syria: A Long, Long History Of War
The Ottomans conquered Damascus in 1516 and it remained in Ottoman hands until the First World War when the British under T.E. Lawrence, famous as Lawrence of Arabia, and their Arab allies took Damascus.
Fordham University
faculty.fordham.edu › davenport › Syria › Syria-History.html
History of Syrian Civil War, Russia, Putin, ISIS, Miliband, Obama
Obama's weakness on this issue will be compared by history to Clinton's weakness during the Rwandan genocide. 4. Putin that scored his coup by proposing to broker a Syrian handover of their chemical weapons, giving Obama a way out. That process of handing over the Syrian stockpile began in late 2013 but since then, the Assad regime has simply shifted to using chlorine and mustard gas attacks instead, and chemical warheads are still being launched by Assad's forces to this day.
The Century Foundation
tcf.org › home › publications › the politics of memory: ten years of war in syria
The Politics of Memory: Ten Years of War in Syria
June 30, 2021 - Competition over scarce resources, infighting, and eventually warlordism plagued the rebellion, weakening it and offering inroads to Islamist militants whose superior discipline and sense of purpose allowed them to dominate from 2012–2013 onward. Different strands of Syrias opposition have settled on different symbols, themes, and historical events as they narrate and debate the events of the past ten years.
World Food Program USA
wfpusa.org › home › what’s happening in syria? how the civil war is worsening hunger among civilians
What’s Happening in Syria? How the Civil War Is Worsening Hunger Among Civilians - World Food Program USA
December 15, 2024 - Syria has been engulfed in a civil war for over a decade, seemingly with no end in sight, but a recent escalation in conflict has changed the situation abruptly. So, how did Syria’s civil war affect civilians? Here’s a very simple explanation of a very complex problem.
International Socialist Review
isreview.org › issue › 96 › explaining-syrian-civil-war › index.html
Explaining the Syrian civil war | International Socialist Review
Out of the cauldron of sectarianism rose the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has conquered large sections of both countries, triggering the United States to launch yet another war to stabilize the region’s existing order. In his new book Inside Syria, veteran left-wing journalist Reese Erlich examines the history of Syria from its origins in the imperialist division of the Ottoman Empire to the rise of the Assad family dictatorship and the Syrian revolution and counterrevolution today.
Stanford
web.stanford.edu › group › sias › cgi-bin › smunc › wp-content › uploads › 2014 › 10 › Syria-Govt.pdf pdf
The Syrian Civil War
The Syrian Civil War · REGIME OF BASHAR AL-ASSAD · Arnav Mariwala | Class of 2017 | E-Mail: [email protected] ·
ShelterBox USA
shelterboxusa.org › home › syria › the syrian conflict explained
The Syrian Conflict Explained - ShelterBox USA
March 12, 2021 - Many people were unhappy about the high levels of unemployment, widespread corruption and lack of political freedom. Inspired by the ‘Arab spring’ uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, peaceful protests started in March. The peaceful demonstrations were met by swift government opposition. When the government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests erupted nationwide. The violence rapidly escalated, eventually giving way to a brutal war. ... There are many players in the Syrian conflict.