Syria’s civil war began in 2011 as a largely peaceful uprising against President Bashar Assad that was met with deadly force. Since then, multiple nations and militant groups have entered the fray, leaving the country deeply fractured. It is a conflict marked by competing objectives, in which alliances shift, territory changes hands and fighting erupts between groups that are nominal allies. Here’s a look at who is involved and the areas of the country they currently control, according to research from the Institute for the Study of War.
The Syrian government
Assad’s government controls the capital, Damascus, as well as other major cities. The U.S. missile strike on Shayrat, an air base in government-controlled territory, was the first time the United States has intentionally targeted pro-Assad forces. U.S. officials say Shayrat was used to launch a poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun.
Russia and Iran
Iran and its proxies, such as the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah, have sided with Assad and set up positions throughout the country. Russia too has established positions and provided critical air support to the Syrian government. Russian officials say their campaign is aimed at the militant group Islamic State, but according to the U.S., the strikes have focused on other opposition groups, some of them backed by Washington.
Kurdish militias
An alliance of ethnic Kurdish and Arab militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces controls much of northern Syria. The alliance is dominated by a Kurdish group called the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, and is receiving military support from the U.S. to fight Islamic State.
Opposition groups and Turkey
Sunni Arab-dominated opposition groups, including more moderate factions such as the Free Syrian Army and Islamist radicals once affiliated with Al Qaeda, hold territory in the western half of Syria. The U.S., Turkey and Sunni-led Persian Gulf nations have provided backing to some of these groups. Turkey has a presence in the north alongside opposition groups it supports. Although the country is an ally of the U.S., it opposes U.S. support for the YPG because of the Syrian group’s alleged ties to Kurdish militants in Turkey.
Islamic State
Islamic State, which carved out a sprawling territory in Syria and Iraq, has been losing ground in both countries. But it retains control of its self-declared capital, Raqqah, and the Euphrates River leading to Iraq.
Note: Territories as of April 3, military positions as of March 21.
Thomas Suh Lauder is an assistant editor with the audience angagement team. He has been with the Los Angeles Times since 2000, specializing in informational graphics, data journalism and digital mapping.
Alexandra Zavis is a former writer and editor on the Los Angeles Times’ Foreign Desk who has reported from more than 40 countries. She spent a decade with the Associated Press, covering Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other war-torn places. After joining The Times in 2006, she has served as a Baghdad correspondent and as a California reporter covering poverty and veterans issues. She is a recipient of the American Academy of Diplomacy’s Arthur Ross Award for distinguished reporting on foreign affairs and was part of teams of reporters awarded the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award for foreign correspondence and APME’s International Perspective Award. She is a graduate of Oxford University and City University in London.
