The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided conflict in Syria involving various state-sponsored and non-state actors.
In March 2011, popular discontent with the rule of Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. After months of crackdown by the government's security apparatus, various armed rebel groups such as the Free Syrian Army began forming across the country, marking the beginning of the Syrian insurgency. By mid-2012, the crisis had escalated into a full-blown civil war.
Improvised artillery found after the battle of Aleppo in 2016
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces announcing the Deir ez-Zor campaign in 2017
Syrian refugees in Lebanon living in cramped quarters (6 August 2012)
Wounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo, October 2012
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions). A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Circassians, Armenians, Albanians, Greeks, and Chechens. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city is Damascus, followed by Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, Hama, Deirezor, and Raqqa. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunni Muslims are the largest religious group. Syria is now the only country that is governed by Ba'athists, who advocate Arab socialism and Arab nationalism.
Female figurine, 5000 BC. Ancient Orient Museum.
Ishqi-Mari, king of the Second Kingdom of Mari, circa 2300 BC.
Amrit Phoenician Temple
Ancient city of Palmyra before the war