The war in Syria has a new map. Again.

In just over a week, Syrian rebel forces retook much of northwest Syria from the government in a swift attack, ending a once-stagnant civil war. After capturing most of the major city of Aleppo, its airport, military bases and many towns and villages, on Thursday they chased government troops from the western town of Hama, which had never fallen to the rebels. rebels before.

The offensive comes after a period of relative, albeit fragile, calm. Since 2020, the territorial map has remained largely frozen: President Bashar al-Assad's government dominated much of the country, while a collection of other factions held different fragments of the rest.

Here's who's fighting who in Syria's nearly 14-year-old civil war:

Opposition forces

War broke out in 2011 after Mr. al-Assad brutally suppressed anti-government protests. At first, the rebels – among whom were the two Islamist and moderate extremist factions – managed to capture most of the northwest of the country and expand to other territories. By 2014, they controlled not only their northwest stronghold, but also areas north of Hama, east of Damascus, and southeast near the Israeli border, as well as villages along the Euphrates and in the province of Al-Hasakah, on the far Syrian border. northeast.

Then came the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 and Russia's decision the following year to provide military support to Mr. al-Assad. Islamic State has expanded its so-called caliphate into northeastern Syria, while Russian airstrikes have forced rebel groups that have been fighting Mr. al-Assad since 2011 to retreat. That year, these opposition forces held only part of the northwest until the start of their latest offensive last week.

Government forces and allies

Despite the rebels' initial successes, pro-Assad forces – including not only the Syrian army but also fighters sent by Iran and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia – managed to retake more territory over the course of the last decade after a series of events shifted the conflict in its direction. service. Pro-government troops retook Aleppo with the help of Russian airstrikes after a four-year battle that ended in 2016. The following year, a government offensive against Islamic State returned Mr. al-Assad to power. controls many cities along the Euphrates. And its forces' advance toward northwest Syria in 2019 and 2020 cornered opposition forces in Idlib province, plunging the conflict into a stalemate that lasted until a year ago. week.

Islamic State

The civil war in Syria, along with growing instability in Iraq, allowed an ambitious offshoot of al-Qaeda, called the Islamic State, to expand rapidly in both countries in 2013 and 2014. Fueled by a bloody and ultra-extremist of Islam, it has conquered a vast expanse of territory. in Syria and Iraq it ruled as a so-called caliphate. At its peak in 2015, the group held a third of Syria and about 40 percent of Iraq, with the northern Syrian city of Raqqa as its capital.

But a U.S.-led Western coalition targeted the group with thousands of airstrikes, and U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces ultimately routed the Islamic State across much of the country. northeastern Syria. Pro-Assad forces also pushed the group back to other areas, while the Iraqi army fought it in Iraq. By 2018, it had lost almost all of its territory, except for tiny shreds.

Kurdish-led forces

Forces from Syria's Kurdish ethnic minority have become the United States' main local partner in the fight against the Islamic State. After the extremist group's defeat in much of the country, Kurdish-led forces consolidated their control over northeastern towns, expanding an autonomous region they had built there and along the Euphrates. But despite the defeat of the Islamic State, Kurdish fighters have still had to contend with their longtime enemy across the border, Turkey, which sees them as linked to a Kurdish separatist insurgency.

In 2019, President Donald J. Trump withdrew U.S. troops from northern Syria, abandoning Kurdish-led forces and opening the door for Turkish forces to drive them from areas along the northern border. Seeking protection from Turkey, Kurdish-led forces turned toward Damascus, allowing Mr. al-Assad's forces to return to parts of northern Syria, where they have coexisted ever since. The Kurds still control much of northeastern Syria.

Turkish military operations

Since the start of the civil war, the Turkish army has launched several military interventions across the Syrian border, mainly against Syrian Kurd-led forces, which Turkey considers linked to what it calls a terrorist separatist movement in Turkey, Kurdistan Workers' Movement. Party, or PKK Three Turkish operations – in 2016-2017, 2018 and 2019 – aimed to take control of towns and villages that Kurdish-led fighters previously held along the northern border. Turkey now effectively controls this area, where it provides public services and its currency is commonly used.