Who all are involved in the Syrian civil war and rebellion?

Syria’s long civil war has regained international attention after rebels seized control of Damascus at the weekend and toppled Assad’s 50-year-old regime.

On Tuesday, Syria’s new interim leader announced that he would run the country as prime minister backed by rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.

In a brief speech on state television, Mohammed al-Bashir, a relative unknown across Syria who once ruled a small pocket of rebel-held northwest, said he would lead the interim government until March 1.

The surprise advance by rebel forces in the past two weeks has come as several key players in the conflict have been disrupted or weakened, sparking the worst conflict since the 2020 ceasefire brought relative calm to the north of the country.

Here’s a look at the key players.

5 foreign powers in Syria

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 after the Assad regime rebelled. Five foreign countries have militaries in the country: the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Israel. Anti-Assad forces, along with US-backed fighters, had taken control of more than a third of the country.

Turkey has deployed troops in northwestern Syria – an area held by Syrian rebel groups that rebelled against Assad in 2011. Turkey, which was a strong supporter of the 2011 uprising, supports some of these groups.

Iran sent its Revolutionary Guards to Syria in early 2012 to help Assad. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, supported by Iran, has played a major role. In Iran, Assad is an important ally, part of the “Axis of Resistance” to Israel and US influence in the Middle East.

US military intervention in Syria began in 2014 with airstrikes against the Islamic State jihadist group that had declared its rule over a third of Syria and Iraq. US troops remain in Syria and continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Russia intervened militarily on Assad’s side in 2015, in its biggest offensive in the Middle East since the fall of the Soviet Union. Operating from an airbase in Latakia province, Russia’s air power has tipped Assad’s way into the conflict.

Israel owns the Golan Heights, which it took in its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors. On Monday, the Israeli army seized a protected area in the Golan Heights established by the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria. Israel has denied reports that its forces have advanced beyond the buffer zone into the countryside south-west of Damascus.

The presence of Iran-backed and Iranian-backed forces in Syria has been a major concern for Israel, which has led to frequent airstrikes in Syria.

The army supports the Syrian government. Supported by Russia, Iran

Syrian government forces have long controlled much of the country, thanks to the combined forces sent by Russia and Iran.

Until this weekend, Assad’s forces controlled many population centers, including the capital Damascus and cities in central Syria, south and east. The Syrian government’s capture of Aleppo in late 2016 was a major turning point in the conflict – and their loss of the city in recent days is a major setback.

Iranian military advisers and proxy fighters played a key role in strengthening Assad’s forces throughout the war. But the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, has been weakened in its latest war with Israel and Iran is distracted by the conflict. Last week, Iranian-backed Iraqi forces were sent to Syria to support the government’s offensive.

The Russian military has supported Assad on the Mediterranean coast, where it maintains its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union, and at the Hmeimim air base in Latakia province, which is home to hundreds of Russian troops. But most of its attention and resources are focused on its war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia had granted Assad political asylum.

Rebel groups. It is mainly supported by Turkey

The anti-government militia is led by the terrorist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has long operated as a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria and is considered a terrorist group by the United Nations and countries including the US and Canada.

Public Safety Canada noted that Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), which in 2017 was merged under HTS, has been responsible for hundreds of attacks, including ambushes, kidnappings, assassinations, bombings and improvised explosive devices.

HTS had controlled much of northwest Syria and in 2017 established a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to rebrand the group, cut ties with al-Qaeda, ditched hardline officials and vowed to embrace diversity and religious tolerance.

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Other rebel groups include Noureddine el-Zinki, which was once supported by the US, before joining the HTS-led coalition.

A coalition of Turkish-backed groups known as the Syrian National Army has attacked areas including the northern city of Tel Rifaat, which is controlled by the US-backed Kurdish Democratic Forces.

Chinese fighters from the Turkistan Islamic Party and Chechen fighters from the former Soviet Union have taken part in the fighting in the north-west of the country, according to Syrian opposition activists.

Turkey, which controls parts of northern Syria, would not say how many troops it has in the country.

Syrian Democratic Forces. Supported by the US

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of US-backed groups, controls large parts of eastern Syria.

The SDF has fought the Islamic State group, capturing the last part of the land held by the extremists in eastern Syria. About 900 US troops are stationed in eastern Syria to monitor the resurgence of the extremist group.

On Sunday, the US launched one of its largest, most widespread attacks against IS camps and operatives in the desert, taking advantage of the fall of the Assad government. So far, U.S. officials say they are not planning an increase in U.S. troops in Syria but are focused on making sure those already there are safe.

Turkey considers the main Kurdish group the SDF to be linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which it and its allies consider a terrorist group.