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Syrian conflict

The Syrian conflict is the deadliest conflict of the 21st century to date. In 2011, protests erupted in Syria after 15 boys were detained and tortured for having written graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. One of the boys, was killed after having been brutally tortured. The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded to the protests by killing hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoning many more. In July 2011, defectors from the military announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group aiming to overthrow the government, and civil war began.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Syrian conflict

US says it doubled number of its troops in Syria before Assad’s fall

Washington has for years said it has some 900 military personnel in Syria as part of international efforts against Isis.

CNN’s gripping Syria report unravels: freed prisoner was really an intelligence officer

China warns leaders in Syria not to threaten security elsewhere

Mass graves in Syria reveal horrifying state-run ‘machinery of death’

After Assad’s fall, the task of unearthing the dead from Syria’s mass graves is just beginning.

Israel plans an extended occupation of Syrian buffer zone

Benjamin Netanyahu entered the buffer zone on Tuesday, making him the first sitting Israeli leader to set foot this far into Syria.

Bashar al-Assad breaks silence on flight from Syria

Syria’s toppled authoritarian leader broke his silence for the first time since rebel forces took control of the country

Syria’s Golani says rebel factions will be ‘disbanded’, fighters to join army

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani says ‘Syria must remain united’ following Assad’s ouster.

At least 100,000 bodies in Syria mass grave, US advocacy group says

Victims were people tortured and killed by the now-overthrown Assad government.

No US government group in Syria to search for journalist Austin Tice

US not ruling out sending people to Damascus to find the missing journalist, who was captured in 2012.

Syria’s ousted leader Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russians evacuated him

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad issued his first statement since being toppled from power.

Nations work to build ties with Syria’s post-Assad rulers

Qatar and Turkey reopen embassies and Western powers engage with rebel group as Russia withdraws some diplomatic staff.

Life of Syria’s Assad revealed in private photos found in abandoned mansions

Candid photos reveal a stark contrast to the ousted Syrian leader’s public image.

Syria rebel leader meets with visiting UN envoy

Pair discussed need to focus on Syrian territorial unity, reconstruction and achieving economic development, rebel statement says.

UK says it will provide US$63 million in humanitarian aid for Syrians

Foreign Minister David Lammy said Britain will also work ‘diplomatically to help secure better governance in Syria’s future’.

Ukraine’s Zelensky announces humanitarian aid for Syria

Ukrainian president aims to supply food to Syria in the aftermath of the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Israel plans to double population on occupied Golan Heights, citing threats from Syria

Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981.

India loses a key Kashmir ally with fall of Syria’s Assad

Analysts say New Delhi also fears extremists exploiting the collapse of Assad’s regime to rally support for Islamic militancy.

Opinion | How Syria’s new chapter changes the game for the entire region

After Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, uncertainties remain about the agenda of Syria’s new government and the interests of foreign powers.

US, regional diplomats discuss Syria’s future, Arabs seek assurances from Turkey

Top diplomats from the US, EU, and Arab nations met in Jordan for talks on Syria as regional and global powers scramble for influence.

Syrians on a shopping spree in former rebel stronghold

Dana in Idlib province was cut off from the rest of the country until the fall of the Assad regime despite its proximity to Aleppo.

‘New history’: Assad’s fall brings joy, hope to Syrians in Hong Kong

‘We’ve been living in an actual hell for over 13 years … and what happened now has given [people] hope,’ Abdulwahab Tahhan says.

Torture, murders, rapes: inside Syria’s ‘human slaughterhouse’ Saydnaya jail

Rebels freed more than 4,000 inmates from the notorious prison dubbed ‘human abattoir’, revealing the horrors within its walls.

‘Now we know’: Malaysia’s Syrian refugees find Assad’s fall bittersweet

Malaysia offered sanctuary to thousands of Syrians who fled the Assad regime. Now Bashar is gone some want to return. Others aren’t so sure.

‘Friday of victory’: mass rallies across Syria celebrate fall of Assad

Fireworks and waving flags mark the first Friday prayers since a lightning rebel offensive ended over half a century of brutal rule.

China urges efforts to curb Syria’s further descent and refugee crisis

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says Palestinian issue must not be ignored and ‘Middle East should not remain a victim of great power rivalries’.

Russia aims to secure deal with new Syria leaders to keep vital military bases

Talks are taking place for Russia to maintain a military presence in Syria after the overthrow of Kremlin ally Assad.

Syrian rebels expose ousted Assad regime’s drug trade, fuelled by Captagon

Syria was the world’s leading trafficker of Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine, during the country’s long war.

American who says he walked into Syria freed after 7 months in detention

Travis Timmerman appears to have been among the thousands released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels overthrew Assad.