A surprise attack on the Syrian city of Aleppo by opposition forces on Wednesday appears to have stunned the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and his supporters, as well as the rest of the world.
Right now, as the Syrian and Russian air forces attack opposition forces in northwest Syria, the brutal conflict that many had hoped had ended since the 2020 ceasefire agreement is showing every sign of coming to power.
Is the current fighting part of the ongoing war in Syria?
Yes.
The 2011 Syrian revolution failed to overthrow the country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad.
He relied on the support of his allies, Russia, Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, who joined his forces in an attempt to end the rebellion.
The war has drawn in both regional armed groups, such as ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda – which established links with groups in Syria – and established new groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the attack last week. Aleppo.
What are all these groups in Syria?
Many groups formed to join the war, fighting both the imperial forces and, at times, each other as their ideologies clashed.
However, as the conflict continues, and Russian and Iranian missiles begin to tilt the conflict in favor of the regime, a number of those groups were pushed into the northwestern region of Idlib, especially after being expelled from Aleppo in 2016 after almost four years. to fight.
While different rebel groups competed for power in Idlib, HTS emerged as the dominant group.
Established in 2017 by the merger of various groups, mainly Jabhat al-Nusra, this group works through the “Syrian Government of Salvation” (opposition government) to manage most of the governance of Idlib, including security, finance and judicial systems.
Jabhat al-Nusra, which has long been associated with al-Qaeda, officially split from the group before HTS was founded, renaming itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, then HTS.
How far has the war gone?
Near apocalyptic.
The UN estimates that, between March 2011 and March 2021, the war in Syria killed 306,887 civilians.
More than half of Syria’s pre-war population of 21 million has also been displaced by the fighting.
The fighting qualities were unmatched in their ferocity.
The regime used chemical weapons and barrel bombs against civilian areas while fighting, along with its allies, to suppress the rebellion, without succeeding in fully putting it down.
In the power vacuums that were created, armed groups flourished and ISIL gained a foothold, establishing a “caliphate” around the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2014, a presence that caused violence among minorities and ended in 2017 after Western support. The Syrian Democratic Forces drove out ISIL.
What started the war?
Although the lack of freedom and economic problems caused the anger of the Syrian government, it was the heavy repression of the protesters that finally pushed the protesters to take up arms.
In March 2011, fueled by successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, pro-democracy protests broke out in Syria.
Global warming is said to have contributed to the 2011 riots.
A severe drought hit Syria from 2007-2010, causing an estimated 1.5 million people to migrate from rural areas to cities, exacerbating poverty and social unrest.
In July 2011, rebels in the army announced the establishment of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group that aims to overthrow the government, marking the armed conflict.
Many countries did not join the war?
They did it.
Foreign support and open intervention played a major role in the Syrian war.
Russia officially entered the conflict in 2015 and has continued to support al-Assad ever since. Iran and Iraq, and Hezbollah in Lebanon also supported the regime.
The support that often divides the opposition parties has been different regions, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the US, among others.
Israel has also carried out airstrikes inside Syria, reportedly targeting Hezbollah and pro-government fighters and supplies.
Turkiye, which cut ties with al-Assad in 2011 and shares a long border with northern Syria, is the most active.
Most of those restrictions are in opposition-held areas and the Kurdish region of Syria, where Turkey has long said members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are outlawed.
Turkiye supports the FSA and tensions escalated after Syrian regime forces shot down a Turkish military plane in 2012 and border clashes broke out.
In 2016, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in Syria, announcing that its goals were to push back ISIL from its borders, as well as the leading Kurdish party, the PYD (Democratic Union Party).
What was the international response to the war in Syria?
Several countries cut ties with al-Assad as the nature of his war with his people became apparent.
Syria was expelled from the Arab League in 2011 and many countries cut ties, including Canada, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
When the presence of ISIL in Syria became known, the Global Coalition against Daesh (the Arabic word for ISIL), which includes about 87 countries, began to support the Syrian Democratic Forces to expel ISIL from Raqqa.
Hasn’t al-Assad been getting along with the neighbors lately? So what?
He was.
Aided by an apparent lull in the fighting, and an earthquake that wreaked havoc across the country and neighboring Turkey in February 2023, the situation in Syria appeared to be continuing.
Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began appointing ambassadors to Syria from 2021 while Jordan began to warm to its neighbor after the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey in February 2023.
The Arab League, which suspended Syria in 2011, reinstated its membership in May 2023. There were even decisions made to start negotiations between Syria and Turkey.
It is not clear what effect this escalation will have on al-Assad’s international relations, especially after several countries have called him out for refusing to negotiate with opposition groups to resolve the long-running conflict.
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