Misplaced Pages

Syrian civil war: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 04:03, 14 May 2014 view sourceCoinmanj (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users6,040 edits →Uprising and civil war: deleted non-territorial change addition← Previous edit Revision as of 23:10, 14 May 2014 view source Aboud diwan (talk | contribs)1 editNo edit summaryTag: blankingNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
{{very long|date=November 2013}} {{very long|date=November 2013}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}{{pp-semi|small=yes}} {{pp-move|small=yes}}{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{Syploying ]s against rebel forces.<ref name="Air War"/>
{{Syrian Civil War infobox}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Campaignbox Syrian civil war}}
{{Ba'athism sidebar}}
<!-- End of infobox. Beginning of article... -->
The '''Syrian Civil War''', also known as the '''Syrian Uprising''',<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/298142/bomber-targets-damascus-shrine-as-35-killed| title= bomber targets Damascus shrine as 35 killed | date=15 June 2012}}</ref> is an armed conflict in ] between forces loyal to the ] government, which took power in 1963, and those seeking to oust it.<ref> Reuters, 5 May 2014 </ref> The unrest began with protests in March 2011 in ], but a violent response from the government and subsequent clashes left dozens of opposition protesters and at least seven policemen dead.<ref name="INatNews" /><ref>http://teachunicef.org/sites/default/files/documents/syria_magazine_3-5_final.pdf</ref> The protests had spread nationwide by April.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/04/29/135846442/protesters-take-to-the-streets-in-syria |title=Protesters Take To The Streets In Syria |publisher=NPR |date=2011-04-29 |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref> These protests were part of the wider North African and Middle Eastern protest movements known as the ]. Syrian protesters at first demanded democratic and economic reform within the framework of the existing government.


On 12 April, both sides, the Syrian Government and rebels of the FSA entered a UN mediated ceasefire period. It was a failure, with infractions of the ceasefire by both sides resulting in several dozen casualties. Acknowledging its failure, Annan called for Iran to be "part of the solution", though the country has been excluded from the Friends of Syria initiative.<ref>{{cite web |title= Iran reaffirms full support f
In April 2011, the ] was deployed to quell the uprising and soldiers fired on demonstrators across the country.<ref name=horror>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/node/99345/section/5 |title=We've Never Seen Such Horror|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=1 June 2011 }}</ref> After ],<ref name="thejakartapost.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/22/bombardment-syria-s-homs-kills-21-people.html|title=Bombardment of Syria's Homs kills 21 people|authors=Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Erika Solomon|agency=Reuters|date=22 February 2012|accessdate=21 October 2013}}</ref> the protests developed into an armed rebellion. The conflict is presently ], with clashes taking place in many towns and cities across the country.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.smh.com.au/world/syria-what-you-need-to-know-20130903-2t20m.html|title= Syria what you need to know|accessdate= 10 September 2013|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>

In 2013, ] entered the war in support of the Syrian army.<ref name="AlNusraDaraa">{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/11/al_nusrah_front_claims_3_more.php|title=Al Nusrah Front claims 3 more suicide attacks in Daraa|date=27 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yalibnan.com/2013/04/22/hezbollahs-elite-leading-the-battle-in-qusayr-region-of-syria/ |title=Hezbollah's elite leading the battle in Qusayr region of Syria|publisher=Ya Libnan |date=22 April 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref> The Syrian government is further upheld by military support from ], which it stepped up in the winter of 2013-14,<ref></ref> and ], while ], ], ], and the ]<ref>{{cite news|last=Hosenball |first=Mark |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/27/us-usa-syria-rebels-idUSBREA0Q1S320140127 |title=Congress secretly approves U.S. weapons flow to 'moderate' Syrian rebels |publisher=Reuters |date=2014-01-27 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/documents-show-turkey-sent-guns-to-syrian-rebels.aspx?pageID=238&nID=59615&NewsCatID=352|title=Documents show Turkey sent guns to Syrian rebels|date=December 16, 2013|publisher=Hurriyet Daily News}}</ref> transfer weapons to the rebels.<ref name="LibyanWeapons">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/world/africa/in-a-turnabout-syria-rebels-get-libyan-weapons.html|title=In Turnabout, Syria Rebels Get Libyan Weapons|date=21 June 2013 | work=The New York Times|first1=C. J.|last1=Chivers|first2=Eric|last2=Schmitt|first3=Mark|last3=Mazzetti}}</ref> The international response to the conflict has been described as a ] due to the nature of ].{{#tag:ref|See <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/09/06/these_6_players_made_syria_a_proxy_war_partner/|title=6 major players who turned Syria into a proxy war nightmare|date=September 6, 2013|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/12/opinion/la-oe-mcmanus-column-proxy-war-syria-20140112|title=Syria and the perils of proxy war|date=January 12, 2014|publisher=Los Angeles Times|first=Doyle|last=McManus}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/opinion/international/putting-out-the-syrian-fire.html?_r=0|title=Putting Out the Syrian Fire|date=October 23, 2013|publisher=The New York Times|first=Rami G.|last=Khouri}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers_and_reports/war_syria_proxy_element|title=War in Syria: The Proxy Element|date=July 11, 2013|publisher=Oxford Research Group}}</ref>}} By July 2013, the Syrian government was in control of approximately 30-40% of the country's territory and 60% of the Syrian population.<ref>{{cite news | author=Hubbard, Ben|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/18/world/middleeast/momentum-shifts-in-syria-bolstering-assads-position.html| title=Momentum Shifts in Syria, Bolstering Assad's Position | work=The New York Times | date=17 July 2013|accessdate=10 August 2013}}</ref> A late 2012 UN report described the conflict as being "overtly ]", between mostly ] government forces, militias and other ] groups<ref></ref> fighting largely against ]-dominated rebel groups,<ref>. Retrieved 14 September 2013</ref><ref name="UNSectarian">{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/2012122015525051365.html|title=UN says Syria conflict is 'overtly sectarian'|date=20 December 2012}}</ref> though both opposition and government forces denied that.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/nasrallah-says-hezbollah-will-not-bow-to-sectarian-threats|title=Nasrallah says Hezbollah will not bow to sectarian threats|publisher=NOW News|date=14 June 2013|accessdate=21 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/65685|title=Syria Opposition Contradicts U.N., Says Conflict not Sectarian|publisher=]|date=22 December 2012|accessdate=21 October 2013}}</ref>

According to the United Nations, the death toll surpassed 100,000 in June 2013, and reached 120,000 by September 2013.<ref name=UN>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofoman.com/News/Article-20325.aspx |title=More than 2,000 killed in Syria since Ramadan began |publisher=Timesofoman.com |date=2013-07-25 |accessdate=2013-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lse.co.uk/AllNews.asp?code=loegkpgo&headline=France_urges_action_on_Syria_says_120000_dead|title=France urges action on Syria, says 120,000 dead|publisher=Alliance News|date=25 September 2013|accessdate=21 October 2013}}</ref> In addition, tens of thousands of protesters, students, liberal activists and human rights advocates have been imprisoned and there are reports of widespread ] and terror in state prisons.<ref name=Spiegel,10Oct13></ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ansa.it/ansamed/en/news/nations/syria/2012/07/03/Syria-Torture-archipelago-27-detention-centres-HRW-says_7136931.html|title= Syria torture archipelago}}</ref> International organizations have accused both government and opposition forces of severe human rights violations,<ref name="UN-20120524">{{Cite news |title=UN human rights probe panel reports continuing 'gross' violations in Syria |url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42079 |date=24 May 2012 |publisher=United Nations |accessdate=12 September 2013}}</ref> including the use of chemical weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23999066 |title=Obama: US cannot ignore Syria chemical weapons |publisher=BBC |date=7 September 2013}}</ref> The UN and Amnesty International's inspections and probes in Syria determined both in 2012 and 2013 that the vast majority of abuses, as well as the largest in scale, are committed by the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130313/un-must-refer-syria-war-crimes-icc-amnesty|title=UN must refer Syria war crimes to ICC: Amnesty|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=13 March 2013|accessdate=21 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian troops committed war crimes, says UN report|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-troops-committed-war-crimes-says-un-report-8050282.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=15 August 2012|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.trust.org/item/?map=syrian-govt-forces-and-rebels-committing-war-crimes-un-report|title=Syrian govt forces and rebels committing war crimes-U.N. report|agency=Reuters|date=15 August 2013|accessdate=21 October 201}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/CIonSyriaciviliansunrelentingspiralofviolence.aspx|title=Commission of Inquiry on Syria: civilians bearing the brunt of the "unrelenting spiral of violence"|publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|date=18 September 2012|accessdate=21 October 201}}</ref> The severity of the humanitarian disaster in Syria has been outlined by UN and many international organizations. More than four million Syrians have been displaced, more than three million Syrians fled the country and became ], and millions more were left in poor living conditions with shortage of food and drinking water. The situation is especially bad in the Palestinian ], where 20,000 residents are facing death by starvation.<ref name="UNHCRfeb2014" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria conflict: dozens die of starvation in besieged Damascus refugee camp|url=http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/14/syria-dozens-die-starvation-damascus-camp|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="MMHYarmouk" /><ref name="thenewage.co.za">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenewage.co.za/120337-1020-53-UN_decries_use_of_sieges_starvation_in_Syrian_military_strategy |title=UN decries use of sieges, starvation in Syrian military strategy &#124; The New Age Online |publisher=Thenewage.co.za |date=2014-03-05 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

==Background==

===Assad government===
{{main|Modern history of Syria|Al-Assad family}}

Syria became an independent republic in 1946, though Democratic rule was ended by a CIA-supported coup in March 1949, followed by two more coups that year.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Douglas Little|year=1990 |title=Cold War and Covert Action: The United States and Syria, 1945–1958. |journal= Middle East Journal |volume= 44 |issue= 1
|url=http://www.jstor.org/pss/4328056
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/issue51/articles/51_12-13.pdf |title=1949–1958, Syria: Early Experiments in Cover Action, Douglas Little, Professor, Department of History, Clark University |format=PDF }}</ref> A popular ] against military rule in 1954 saw the army transfer power to civilians; from 1958 to 1961 a ] replaced Syria's parliamentary system with a highly centralized presidential regime.<ref name=bbcsyriaprofile>{{cite news|title=Syria Profile|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14703995|accessdate=13 September 2013|publisher=BBC|date=13 September 2013}}</ref> The ] government came to power in 1964 after ]. In 1966, ] overthrew the traditional leaders of the party, ] and ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Scott |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014875394_syria26.html |title=Syria escalates attacks against demonstrators |work=The Seattle Times |date=25 April 2011}}</ref> General ], the ], seized power in a "]" in November 1970, becoming ]. In March 1971, Assad declared himself ], a position he would hold until his death in 2000. Since then, the secular Syrian Regional Branch has remained the dominant political authority in a virtual ] in Syria, and Syrian citizens may only approve the President by ] and – until the government-controlled multi-party ] – could not vote in multi-party elections for the legislature.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite news |url=http://www.npr.org/2011/04/13/135383023/protests-in-syria-pose-challenges-for-the-u-s |title=Protests in Syria Pose Challenges for the U.S |publisher=NPR }}</ref>

Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria and ], his wife – who is a British-born and British-educated Sunni Muslim,<ref name=rose>{{cite news|last=Golovnina |first=Maria |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/19/us-syria-asma-idUSBRE82I0MB20120319 |title=Asma al Assad, a "desert rose" crushed by Syria's strife|agency=Reuters |date=19 March 2012 |accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref> initially inspired hopes for democratic and state reforms; a "]" of intense social and political debate took place from July 2000 to August 2001.<ref>{{cite journal |title=No Room to Breathe: State Repression of Human Rights Activism in Syria |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=October 2007 |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=8–13 |url=http://www.hrw.org/en/node/10646/section/4 }}</ref> The period was characterized by the emergence of numerous political forums or ], where groups of like-minded people met in private houses to debate political and social issues. Political activists such as ], ], ], ] and ] were important in mobilizing the movement.<ref>{{cite web |title=Syria Smothering Freedom of Expression: the detention of peaceful critics |url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE24/007/2002/en/ee9fa6f2-d870-11dd-9df8-936c90684588/mde240072002en.html |publisher=Amnesty International |accessdate=5 July 2011}}</ref> The most famous of the forums were the ] and the ] Forum. The Damascus Spring ended in August 2001 with the arrest and imprisonment of ten leading activists who had called for democratic elections and for a campaign of civil disobedience.<ref name=alan>{{cite book |last=George |first=Alan |title=Syria:Neither Bread nor Freedom |year=2003 |publisher=Zed Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=1-84277-213-9 |pages=56–58 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=dFdbVVcKsSIC }}</ref> However, since 2001 also reformists in Parliament had begun to criticize a legacy of stagnation from the rule of former President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar al-Assad has talked about reform but carried out very little, and he has failed to deliver on promised reforms since 2000, analysts say.<ref name=nyt1Apr11>{{Cite news|title=Syrian Protesters Clash With Security Forces| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/world/middleeast/02syria.html|date=1 April 2011|accessdate=19 December 2013|newspaper=New York Times|author=Liam Stack|author2=J. David Goodman}}</ref>

===Demographics===
{{Main|Demographics of Syria}}
{{Pie chart
|caption = Ethno-religious composition of Syria<ref name="ISW 2011">{{cite journal | url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Struggle_For_Syria.pdf | title=The Struggle for Syria in 2011 | author=Holliday, Joseph | journal=Institute for the Study of War |date=December 2011}}</ref>
|thumb = right
|label1 = Arab-]
|value1 = 60
|color1 = #4572A7
|label2 = Arab-]
|value2 = 12
|color2 = #AA4643
|label3 = ]-]
|value3 = 9
|color3 = #89A54E
|label4 = ]
|value4 = 9
|color4 = #71588F
|label5 = ]
|value5 = 4
|color5 = #4198AF
|label6 = Arab-]
|value6 = 3
|color6 = #DB843D
|label7 = Arab-]
|value7 = 2
|color7 = #93A9CF
|label8 = ]-Sunni, ]-Sunni, ] and others
|value8 = 1
|color8 = #D19392
}}
The ] comes from the minority ]te religious group, an offshoot of ] that comprises an estimated 12 percent of the total ] population.<ref>{{cite news |last= Heneghan |first= Tom |date= 23 December 2011 |title= Syria's Alawites are secretive, unorthodox sect |url= http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/23/us-syria-religion-alawites-idUSTRE7BM1J220111223 |agency= Reuters |accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref> It has maintained tight control on Syria's security services,<ref></ref> generating resentment among some ]s,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/world/middleeast/25assad.html |title=Syrian Crisis Tests the Mettle of Its Autocratic Ruler |date=24 April 2011 |work=The New York Times |first=Robert F. |last=Worth |accessdate=10 August 2013 }}</ref> a religious group that makes up about three-quarters of Syria's population. Ethnic minority ] have also protested and complained over ethnic discrimination and denial of their cultural and language rights.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/syra-kurds-leader-idUSLDE73613X20110407 |title=Syria Kurd leader vows to keep up democracy struggle | agency=Reuters| date=7 April 2011 |accessdate=10 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/27/report-12-killed-syrian-port-city |title=US will not intervene in Syria as it has in Libya, says Hillary Clinton |work=The Guardian |date=27 March 2011 |location=London}}</ref> Assad's younger brother ] commands the ]'s elite ], and his brother-in-law, ], was the deputy minister of defense until the latter's assassination in the ].

===Socioeconomics===
Discontent against the government was strongest in Syria's poorer areas, predominantly among conservative Sunnis.<ref name="Poor rural rebels">{{cite news|title=Rebels in Syria's largest city of Aleppo mostly poor, pious and from rural backgrounds|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/16/rebels-in-syria-largest-city-aleppo-mostly-poor-pious-and-from-rural/|accessdate=28 January 2013|publisher=Fox News Channel|agency=Associated Press|date=16 October 2012}}</ref> These included cities with high poverty rates, such as ] and ], rural areas hit hard by a drought in early 2011, and the poorer districts of large cities. Socioeconomic inequality increased significantly after free market policies were initiated by Hafez al-Assad in his later years, and accelerated after Bashar al-Assad came to power. With an emphasis on the ], these policies benefited a minority of the nation's population, mostly people who had connections with the government, and members of the Sunni merchant class of Damascus and Aleppo.<ref name="Poor rural rebels" /> By 2011, Syria was facing a deterioration in the national standard of living and steep rises in the prices of commodities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Saleeby|first=Suzanne|title=Sowing the Seeds of Dissent: Economic Grievances and the Syrian Social Contract's Unraveling|url=http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/4383/sowing-the-seeds-of-dissent_economic-grievances-an|newspaper=Jadaliyya|date=16 February 2012}}</ref> The country also faced particularly high youth unemployment rates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/international/youth-exclusion-in-syria-economic/ |title=Youth Exclusion in Syria: Social, Economic, and Institutional Dimensions |publisher=Journalist's Resource |accessdate=11 August 2012 }}</ref>

===Human rights===
{{Main|Human rights in Syria}}

The state of human rights in Syria has long been the subject of harsh criticism from global organizations.<ref>, p. 555.</ref> The country was under ] from 1963 until 2011, banning public gatherings of more than five people,<ref name="Reuters16Apr11">{{cite news |title=Syria's Assad vows to lift emergency law by next week|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/16/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110416 |date=16 April 2011 |accessdate=1 January 2014 |agency=Reuters}}</ref> and effectively granting security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention.<ref name="AmInt2009"/> Bashar al-Assad is widely regarded to have been unsuccessful in implementing democratic change, with a 2010 report from ] stating that he had failed to substantially improve the state of human rights since taking power, although some minor aspects had seen improvement.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/16/syrian-human-rights-unchanged-assad |work=The Guardian |first=Ian |last=Black |title=Syrian human rights record unchanged under Assad, report says |date=16 July 2010 |location=London}}</ref> All political parties other than the Ba'ath Syrian Regional Branch have remained banned, thereby leaving Syria a one-party state without free elections.<ref name="AmInt2009">{{cite web |url=http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/syria |publisher=Amnesty International |year=2009 |title=Syria |accessdate=1 February 2012 }}</ref>

Rights of ], ] and ] were strictly controlled in Syria even before the uprising.<ref name=HRW/> The authorities harass and imprison ] and other critics of the government, who are oftentimes indefinitely detained and ]d in poor prison conditions.<ref name=HRW>, ] 2005. ISBN 1-56432-331-5.</ref>

Women and ] have faced discrimination in the public sector.<ref name=HRW/> Thousands of ] were denied citizenship in 1962 and their descendants continued to be labeled as "foreigners".<ref name=cnnkurds>{{cite news |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-07/world/syria.kurdish.citizenship_1_kurdish-region-kurdish-identity-stateless-kurds|title=Stateless Kurds in Syria granted citizenship |publisher=CNN |date=7 April 2011 |accessdate=13 November 2011 }}</ref> Several riots prompted increased tension in Syria's Kurdish areas since 2004.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Brandon |first=James |title=The PKK and Syria's Kurds |url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1014&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=182&no_cache=1 |journal=Terrorism Monitor |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation|location=Washington, DC |volume=5 |issue=3 |date=21 February 2007 |accessdate=1 February 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mideastweb.org/log/archives/00000231.htm |title=Kurdish agony – the forgotten massacre of Qamishlo |last=Isseroff |first=Ami |work=MideastWeb |date=24 March 2004 |accessdate=16 February 2012 }}</ref> Occasional clashes between Kurdish protesters and security forces have since continued.

===Arab Spring===
{{Main|Arab Spring}}

In December 2010, mass anti-government protests began in Tunisia and later spread across the Arab world, including Syria. By February 2011, revolutions occurred in Tunisia and Egypt, while Libya began to experience ]. Numerous other Arab countries also faced protests, with some attempting to calm the masses by making concessions and governmental changes.

==Uprising and civil war==
{{Prose|section|date=March 2014}}
{{see also|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War|Cities and towns during the Syrian Civil War}}
]

===Protests, civil uprising, and defections (March–July 2011)===
{{main|Civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War}}

The original conflict initially began as a ], evolved from initially minor protests, beginning as early as January 2011, as a response to the regional ], government corruption, and human rights abuses. Large-scale unrest began on 15 March in the southern city of Daraa, sometimes called the "Cradle of the Revolution", and later spread nation-wide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12749674|title=Mid-East unrest: Syrian protests in Damascus and Aleppo|publisher=BBC|date=15 March 2011|accessdate=15 March 2013}}</ref> The government responded to the protests with large arrests, torture of prisoners, police brutality, censorship of events, and some concessions. Protests and clashes continued and on March 20, seven policemen and at least four protesters were killed. During the violence, the local courthouse, Baath party headquarters and two telecommunication buildings were torched by fire.<ref name="INatNews">http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143026#.Uzvi_PmSyXp</ref> By the 25th of March, at least 36 protesters had been killed.<ref>http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/03/24/syria-security-forces-kill-dozens-protesters</ref> March - May 2011, Assad released hundreds of political prisoners from prison including Islamists, some of whom went on to play leading roles in the armed opposition, such as ] — a group whose formation had started before the first protests.<ref name=Blanford>{{cite news|last=Blanford|first=Nicholas|title=Jihadis may want to kill Assad. But is he lucky to have them?|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2013/1010/Jihadis-may-want-to-kill-Assad.-But-is-he-lucky-to-have-them|accessdate=7 January 2014|newspaper=csmonitor.com|date=10 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://world.time.com/2012/07/26/time-exclusive-meet-the-islamist-militants-fighting-alongside-syrias-rebels/|title=TIME Exclusive: Meet the Islamist Militants Fighting Alongside Syria’s Rebels|date=2012-07-26|accessdate=2014-01-19|work=Time}}</ref> At the same time tens of thousands of Syrian students, liberal activists and human rights advocates began being arrested.<ref> Spiegel October 2013 </ref>

However, the protests continued to grow. In April 2011, the ] was deployed to quell the uprising and soldiers fired on demonstrators across the country.<ref name=horror/> In late-April, Assad began launching large-scale military operations against restive towns and cities. The operations involved the use of tanks, infantry carriers, and artillery, leading to a large number of civilian deaths.<ref name="Air War">{{cite web | url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/opeds/Boxx20130301-AirSpace.pdf | title=Observations on the Air War in Syria | work=Air & Space Power Journal | date=March–April 2013}}</ref>

Following military crackdowns, many soldiers defected to protect protesters. Many protesters also began to take up arms. On June 4, 2011 in ], a city near the Turkish border in ], angry protesters set fire to a building where security forces had fired on a funeral. Eight security officers died in the fire as demonstrators took control of a police station, seizing weapons. Clashes between protesters and security forces continued in the following days. Some security officers defected after secret police and intelligence agents executed soldiers who refused to shoot civilians.<ref name="ISW 2011" />

After months of military sieges,<ref name="thejakartapost.com"/> the protests evolved into an armed rebellion.

===Protests and armed insurgency (July–October 2011)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (May–August 2011)|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (September–December 2011)}}

{{see also|List of Syrian defectors}}

] fighter engaged in a firefight in Aleppo]]

On 29 July, a group of defected officers announced the formation of the ] (FSA), an umbrella group which would later represent the main opposition army. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and civilian volunteers, the rebel army seeks to remove Bashar al-Assad and his government from power. The establishment of the group formally marked the beginning of armed resistance to the Assad government.<ref name="Air War">{{cite web | url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/opeds/Boxx20130301-AirSpace.pdf | title=Observations on the Air War in Syria | work=Air & Space Power Journal | date=March–April 2013}}</ref> The FSA would grow in size, to about 20,000 by December, and to an estimated 40,000 by June 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why Syrian Army Can't Crush Opposition|url=http://edition.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2012/06/22/exp-syrian-opposition-forces.cnn|accessdate=28 July 2012|publisher=CNN|date=25 June 2012}}</ref> Nevertheless, the group remained without centralized leadership until December 2012. The FSA, along with other insurgent groups, rely mostly on light weapons, including assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

On 31 July, a nationwide crackdown nicknamed the "Ramadan Massacre" resulted in the death of at least 142 people and hundreds of injuries.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=31 July 2011|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/31/syrian-army-kills-at-least-95-in-hama-activist.html |title=Syrian army kills at least 95 in Hama: activist|work=Dawn |accessdate=3 August 2011}}</ref> Some besieged cities and towns were described as having ]-like conditions.<ref>{{cite news |last=Clanet |first=Christian |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2076778,00.html |title=A French Journalist in Dara'a, Syria's 'Ghetto of Death' |work=Time |date=10 June 2011 |accessdate=21 June 2011 }}</ref>
]

On 23 August, a coalition of anti-government groups was formed, the ]. The group, based in Turkey, attempted to organize the opposition. However, the opposition, including the FSA, remained a fractious collection of political groups, longtime exiles, grass-roots organizers and armed militants, divided along ideological, ethnic or sectarian lines.<ref name="NYT Topic: Syria">{{cite news | url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html | title=Syria News | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2 August 2012 | first1=Anne | last1=Barnard | first2=Ben | last2=Hubbard}}</ref>

Throughout August, Syrian forces stormed major urban centers and outlying regions, and continued to attack protests. On 14 August, the ] continued as the ] became involved in the military crackdown for the first time. ]s fired ]s at waterfront districts in Latakia, as ground troops and security agents backed by armor stormed several neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/14/us-syria-idUSTRE77D0LP20110814 |agency=Reuters |date=14 August 2011 |accessdate=14 August 2011 |title=Tank, navy attack on Syria's Latakia kills 26-witnesses |last=Oweis |first=Khaled Yacoub |location=Amman }}</ref> The ] celebrations, started in near the end of August, were muted after security forces fired on protesters gathered in Homs, Daraa, and the suburbs of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/30/164705.html |title=Syrian forces kill seven protesters as Muslims celebrate first day of Eid |publisher=Al Arabiya |date=30 August 2011 |accessdate=1 February 2012 }}</ref>

By September 2011, organized units of Syrian rebels were engaged in an active insurgency campaign in multiple areas of Syria. A major confrontation between the FSA and the Syrian armed forces ]. From 27 September to 1 October, Syrian government forces, backed by tanks and helicopters, led a major offensive on the town of ] in ], in order to drive out army defectors.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/27/syria-town-idUSL5E7KR02A20110927 | agency=Reuters | title=Syria forces storm main town, fight defectors-residents | date=27 September 2011}}</ref> The 2011 battle of Rastan between the government forces and the FSA was the longest and most intense action up until that time. After a week of fighting, the FSA was forced to retreat from Rastan.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13988701 |title=Syria: 'Hundreds of thousands' join anti-Assad protests |publisher=BBC |date=1 July 2011 |accessdate=3 August 2011}}</ref> To avoid government forces, the leader of the FSA, Col. Riad Asaad, retreated to the Turkish side of Syrian-Turkish border.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/04/us-syria-opposition-idUSL5E7L41CT20111004|agency=Reuters|title=Dissident Syrian colonel flees to Turkey|date=4 October 2011|accessdate=18 August 2012|first=Khaled Yacoub|last=Oweis}}</ref> Many of the rebels fled to the nearby city of Homs.<ref name="ISW 2011">{{cite journal | url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Struggle_For_Syria.pdf | title=The Struggle for Syria in 2011 | author=Holliday, Joseph | journal=Institute for the Study of War |date=December 2011}}</ref>

By October, the FSA started to receive support from Turkey, who allowed the rebel army to operate its ] from the country's southern ] close to the Syrian border, and its ] from inside Syria.<ref name="Rebel groups">{{cite news|last=Yezdani|first=İpek|title=Syrian rebels: Too fragmented, unruly|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-rebels-too-fragmented-unruly.aspx?pageID=238&nID=29158&NewsCatID=352|accessdate=21 September 2012|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=1 September 2012}}</ref> The FSA would often launch attacks into Syria's northern towns and cities, while using the Turkish side of the border as a safe zone and supply route. A year after its formation, the FSA would gain control over many towns close to the Turkish border.

In October 2011, clashes between government and defected army units were being reported fairly regularly. During the first week of the month, sustained ] in the mountainous regions of Idlib Governorate. Syrian rebels captured most of Idlib city as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/55206/World/Region/Syria-sends-extra-troops-after-rebels-seize-Idlib-.aspx |title=Syria sends extra troops after rebels seize Idlib: NGO|publisher=Ahram}}</ref> In mid-October, other clashes in Idlib Governorate include the city of ] and the town of ] in the governorate near the mountain range of ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=241610|title=Activist group: Fourteen killed in Syrian violence|date=13 October 2011|work=The Jerusalem Post|agency=Reuters|accessdate=8 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2546086.ece|title=Activists: Syrian forces fight defectors; 5 killed|date=17 October 2011|accessdate=23 May 2012|work=The Hindu|agency=Associated Press|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> In late October, other clashes occurred in the northwestern town of ] in the governorate between government forces and defected soldiers at a roadblock on the edge of the town, and near the Turkish border, where 10 security agents and a deserter were killed in a bus ambush.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/25/idINIndia-60114220111025|agency=Reuters|title=Assad forces fight deserters at northwestern town|agency=Reuters|date=25 October 2011|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref> It was not clear if the defectors linked to these incidents were connected to the FSA.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/11-troops-killed-as-un-chief-urges-end-to-syria-violence-142004 |title=11 troops killed as UN chief urges end to Syria violence |publisher=NDTV |date=18 October 2011 |accessdate=22 July 2013|agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref>

===Escalation (November 2011 – March 2012)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (September–December 2011)|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (January–April 2012)}}

{{See also|Siege of Homs|2012 Homs offensive|Battle of Idlib (2012)}}

]

In early November, clashes between the FSA and security forces in Homs escalated as the ] continued. After six days of bombardment, the Syrian Army stormed the city on 8 November, leading to heavy street fighting in several neighborhoods. Resistance in Homs was significantly greater than that seen in other towns and cities, and some in opposition have referred to the city as the "Capital of the Revolution". Unlike events in Deraa and Hama, operations in Homs have thus far failed to quell the unrest.<ref name="ISW 2011" />

November and December 2011 saw increasing rebel attacks, as opposition forces grew in number. In the two months, the FSA launched deadly attacks on an ] in the Damascus suburb of ], the Ba'ath Syrian Regional Branch youth headquarters in ], Syrian Regional Branch offices in Damascus, ], and an intelligence building in Idlib.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bakri|first=Nada|title=New Phase for Syria in Attacks on Capital|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/world/middleeast/insurgents-attack-baath-party-offices-in-damascus.html|work=The New York Times|date=20 November 2011|accessdate=10 August 2013}}</ref> On 15 December, opposition fighters ambushed checkpoints and military bases around Daraa, killing 27 soldiers, in one of the largest attacks yet on security forces.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bakri|first=Nada|title=Syrian Army Defectors Reportedly Kill 27 Soldiers|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/world/middleeast/syria-army-defectors-said-to-kill-soldiers-in-coordinated-assault.html|work=The New York Times|date=15 December 2011}}</ref> The opposition suffered a major setback on 19 December, when a failed defection in Idlib governorate lead to 72 defectors killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16258387|title=Syria unrest: Dozens of army deserters 'gunned down'|publisher=BBC|date=20 December 2011}}</ref>

] in central ], 16 January 2012]]

In January 2012, Assad began using large-scale artillery operations against the insurgency, which led to the destruction of many civilian homes due to indiscriminate shelling.<ref name="Air War"/><ref name="ISW Air">{{cite web | url=http://www.understandingwar.org/press-media/graphsandstat/syrian-air-force-air-defense-overview | title=Syrian Air Force & Air Defense Overview | publisher=Institute for the Study of War | date=25 October 2012}}</ref> By this time, daily protests had dwindled, eclipsed by the spread of armed conflict.<ref>{{cite news|author=Neil MacFarquhar |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/world/middleeast/syria.html|title=Syrian Protesters Emerge Amid Clashes and Bombing During a Holiday Cease-Fire|work=The New York Times|date=26 October 2012|accessdate=16 January 2014}}</ref> January saw intensified ], with the Syrian Army use of tanks and artillery becoming common. ] began on 7 January when the Syrian Army stormed the town in an attempt to rout out FSA presence. After the first phase of the battle ended with a ceasefire on 18 January, leaving the FSA in control of the town,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrias-zabadani-liberated-but-for-how-long/2012/01/21/gIQAMhDYGQ_story.html|title=Syria's Zabadani is 'liberated,' but for how long?|date=21 January 2012|work=The Washington Post|first=Liz|last=Sly}}</ref> the FSA launched an offensive into nearby Douma. ] lasted from 21 to 30 January, before the rebels were forced to retreat as result of a government counteroffensive. Although, the Syrian Army managed to retake most of the suburbs, sporadic fighting continued.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yacoub|first=Khaled|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/us-syria-idUSTRE80S08620120130|title=Assad troops fight back against Syria rebels|agency=Reuters|date=30 January 2012|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref> ] again on 29 January, when dozens of soldiers manning the town's checkpoints defected and began opening fire on troops loyal to the government. Opposition forces gained complete control of the town and surrounding suburbs on 5 February.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/syria/syria-mar-4-2012-1148 | title=Syria – Mar 4, 2012 – 11:48 | publisher=Al Jazeera | date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

On 3 February, the Syrian army launched ] to retake rebel-held neighborhoods. In early March, after weeks of artillery bombardments and heavy street fighting, the Syrian army eventually captured the district of Baba Amr, a major rebel stronghold. The Syrian Army also captured the district of Karm al-Zeitoun by 9 March, where activists said that government forces killed 47 women and children. By the end of March, the Syrian army retook control of half a dozen districts, leaving them in control of 70 percent of the city.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hV12mi9lkDgV9J4-R-k5C4TkWgzw?docId=CNG.b3a51da26e7e858e1c7f73c604cd63e3.6d1 |title=More than 11,100 killed in Syria in 13 months: NGO |publisher=Google News|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=16 April 2012}}</ref>

By 14 March, Syrian troops successfully ] from the city of Idlib, after days of fighting.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/2012313193810910894.html | title=Syrian troops retake opposition stronghold | publisher=Al Jazeera | date=14 March 2012}}</ref> By early April, the estimated death toll of the conflict, according to activists, reached 10,000.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://metro.co.uk/2012/04/02/syria-agrees-to-kofi-annans-april-10-peace-deadline-un-security-council-told-374870/ | title=Syria agrees to Kofi Annan's April 10 peace deadline, UN Security Council told | work=Metro | date=2 April 2012}}</ref>

===Ceasefire attempt (April–May 2012)===
{{main|Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (January–April 2012)|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (May–August 2012)}}

]

] was acting as UN–] ] Syria. His peace plan provided for a ceasefire, but even as the negotiations for it were being conducted, Syrian armed forces attacked a number of towns and villages, and summarily executed scores of people.<ref name="deadly reprisals">{{Cite journal |separator= . |title= Deadly Reprisals: deliberate killings and other abuses by Syria's armed forces |url= http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE24/041/2012/en/30416985-883b-4e67-b386-0df14a79f694/mde240412012en.pdf |publisher= Amnesty International |date=June 2012 |accessdate=25 June 2012}}</ref>{{rp|11|date=December 2012}} Incommunicado detention, including of children, also continued.<ref>{{cite web |title= Syria: Repression continues despite Annan plan hopes |url= http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/syria-repression-continues-despite-annan-plan-hopes-2012-04-03 |publisher= Amnesty International |date= 3 April 2012 |accessdate=30 June 2012 }}</ref> In April, Assad began employing ]s against rebel forces.<ref name="Air War"/>

On 12 April, both sides, the Syrian Government and rebels of the FSA entered a UN mediated ceasefire period. It was a failure, with infractions of the ceasefire by both sides resulting in several dozen casualties. Acknowledging its failure, Annan called for Iran to be "part of the solution", though the country has been excluded from the Friends of Syria initiative.<ref>{{cite web |title= Iran reaffirms full support for Annan's Syria peace plan |url= http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/10/225485.html |publisher= Al Arabiya|date= 10 July 2012 |accessdate=10 July 2012 }}</ref> The peace plan practically collapsed by early June and the UN mission was withdrawn from Syria. Annan officially resigned in frustration on 2 August 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Kofi-Annan-resigns-as-UN-Syria-envoy/articleshow/15329904.cms|title=Kofi Annan resigns as UN Syria envoy |accessdate=2 August 2012 | work=The Times Of India}}</ref>

===Renewed fighting (June–July 2012)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (May–August 2012)}}
Following the ] of 25 May 2012 and the consequent FSA ultimatum to the Syrian government, the ceasefire practically collapsed, as the FSA began nationwide offensives against government troops. On 1 June, President Assad vowed to crush the anti-government uprising, after the FSA announced that it was resuming "defensive operations".<ref name=aa0406>{{cite news|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/04/218430.html |title=Deadly violence flares in Syria as EU-Russia seek solutions |publisher=Al Arabiya |date=4 June 2012 |accessdate=6 July 2012}}</ref>

On 5 June, ] and nearby villages in the coastal governorate of ]. Rebels fought with government forces backed by ]s in the heaviest clashes in the governorate since the revolt began. Syrian forces seized the territory from rebels following eight days of fighting and shelling.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/assad-names-new-syrian-pm-army-battles-rebels/ |title=Assad names new Syrian PM, army battles rebels |publisher=Trust |date=6 June 2012 |accessdate=6 July 2012}}</ref> On 6 June 78 civilians were killed in the ]. According to activist sources, government forces started by shelling the village before the ] militia moved in.<ref>{{cite news|title=New 'massacre' reported in Syria's Hama province|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18348201|publisher=BBC News | date=7 June 2012}}</ref> The UN observers headed to Al-Qubeir in the hope of investigating the alleged massacre, but they were met with a roadblock and small arms fire before reaching the village and were forced to retreat.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria UN team 'shot at' near Qubair 'massacre site'|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18352281|publisher=BBC News | date=7 June 2012}}</ref>
] in Aleppo governorate]]
On 12 June 2012, the UN for the first time officially proclaimed Syria to be in a state of civil war.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria in civil war, says UN official Herve Ladsous|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18417952|work=]|publisher=]|date=12 June 2012|accessdate=7 January 2014}}</ref>

The conflict began moving into the two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, which the government said were dominated by a pro-Assad silent majority. In both cities, peaceful protests – including a general strike by Damascus shopkeepers a small strike in Aleppo were interpreted by some as indicating that the historical alliance between the government and the business establishment in the large cities had become weak.<ref>Ivan Watson (12 June 2012). . CNN. Retrieved 7 February 2013.</ref>

On 22 June, a Turkish ] was ], killing both pilots. Tensions between Syria and Turkey dramatically escalated following this incident, as both sides disputed whether the jet had been flying in Syrian or international airspace when it was shot down. Despite Turkish Prime Minister ]'s vows to retaliate harshly against Assad's government, no such intervention materialised. Bashar al-Assad publicly apologised for the incident, and relations between the two countries cooled.

By 10 July, rebel forces had captured most of the city of ], in ], after weeks of fighting.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/733230/syrias-qusayr-prepares-for-ramadan-under-siege| title=Syria's Qusayr prepares for Ramadan under siege | date=10 July 2012 | accessdate=20 July 2013}}</ref> And by mid-July, rebels had captured the town of ], in Idlib Governorate.<ref>{{cite news|author=Abouzeid, Rania|title=In Rebel Syria: Celebrating Assad’s Departure–Even Though He’s Still Staying|url=http://world.time.com/2012/07/20/in-rebel-syria-celebrating-assads-departure-even-though-hes-still-staying/|newspaper=Time|date=20 July 2012|accessdate=10 August 2013}}</ref>

===Battles of Damascus and Aleppo (July–October 2012)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (May–August 2012)|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (September–December 2012)|Battle of Damascus (2012)|Battle of Aleppo (2012–present)|Rif Dimashq offensive (August–October 2012)}}
]
By mid-July 2012, fighting had spread across the country. Acknowledging this, the ] declared the conflict a civil war.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18849362|title=Syria in civil war, Red Cross says|date=15 July 2012|accessdate=15 July 2012}}</ref> Fighting in Damascus intensified, with a ] to take the city.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9407153/Syrian-rebels-launch-campaign-to-liberate-Damascus.html|title=Syrian rebels launch campaign to 'liberate' Damascus|author= Ruth Sherlock; Adrian Blomfield|date=17 July 2012|accessdate=18 July 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> On 18 July, ] ], former defense minister ], and the president's brother-in-law General ] were killed by a ] in Damascus.<ref name=telegraph9408321>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9408321/Assads-brother-in-law-and-top-Syrian-officials-killed-in-Damascus-suicide-bomb.html |title=Assad's brother-in-law and top Syrian officials killed in Damascus suicide bomb|author=Damien McElroy|date=18 July 2012|accessdate=18 July 2012|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> The Syrian intelligence chief ], who was injured in the same explosion, later succumbed to his wounds.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18920733|title=Syria blast: Security chief Ikhtiar dies from wounds|publisher=BBC News|date=20 July 2012|accessdate=20 July 2012}}</ref> Both the FSA and Liwa al-Islam claimed responsibility for the assassination.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/18/uk-syria-crisis-bombing-claim-idUKBRE86H0FO20120718|title=Two Syrian rebel groups claim Damascus attack|date=18 July 2012|accessdate=18 July 2012|agency=Reuters|first=Erika|last=Solomon}}</ref>

In late July, government forces managed to break the rebel offensive on Damascus by pushing out most of the opposition fighters, although ]. After this, the focus shifted to the ].<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3693349.ece|title= A decisive battle being waged over Aleppo| date= 28 July 2012 | location=Chennai, India| work=The Hindu| first=Atul| last=Aneja}}</ref> On 25 July, multiple sources reported that the Assad government was using fighter jets to attack rebel positions in Aleppo and Damascus,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jul/25/syria-assad-strikes-back-aleppo-live|title=Syria crisis: Assad strikes back with jets in Aleppo and Damascus – live updates|work=The Guardian|date=25 July 2012|accessdate=25 July 2012|location=London|first1=Matthew|last1=Weaver|first2=Brian|last2=Whitaker}}</ref> and on 1 August, UN observers in Syria witnessed government fighter jets firing on rebels in Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3711815.ece|title= Syria using fighter jets against rebels: UN|agency=Associated Press| date= 1 August 2012 | location=Chennai, India| work=The Hindu}}</ref> In early August, the FSA offensive to capture Aleppo was repelled, and the Syrian Army recaptured Salaheddin district, an important rebel stronghold in Aleppo. In August, the government began using fixed-wing warplanes against the rebels.<ref name="Air War"/><ref name="ISW Air"/>

On 19 July, On the same day, Iraqi officials reported that the FSA had gained control of all four border checkpoints between Syria and Iraq, increasing concerns for the safety of Iraqis trying to escape the violence in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|last=Arango|first=Tim|title=Iraq Says Rebels in Syria Control Border Posts|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/20/world/middleeast/syria-border-with-iraq.html|accessdate=19 July 2012|work=The New York Times|date=19 July 2012}}</ref> On 19 September, rebel forces seized a border crossing between Syria and Turkey in ]. It was speculated that this crossing, along with several other border crossings into Turkey and one into Iraq, could provide opposition forces with strategic and logistical advantages, allowing them greater ease in transporting supplies into the country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Syrian rebels seize control of border crossing on frontier with Turkey |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57515876/syrian-rebels-seize-control-of-border-crossing-on-frontier-with-turkey/ |publisher=CBS News |date=19 September 2012 |accessdate=5 October 2012}}</ref>

In late September, the FSA moved its command headquarters from southern Turkey into rebel-controlled areas of northern Syria.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rebel Group Says It Is Now Based in Syria, a Major Step|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/world/middleeast/rebels-move-command-from-turkey-to-syria.html|accessdate=23 September 2012|work=The New York Times|date=23 September 2012|first1=Anne|last1=Barnard|first2=Hania|last2=Mourtada}}</ref> On 9 October, rebel forces ], a strategic town in Idlib governorate on the highway linking Damascus with Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news|last=Naeem|first=Asad|title=Syria rebels cut highway to northern battlefields|url=http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/85378-syria-rebels-cut-highway-to-northern-battlefields-.html|newspaper=Business Recorder|date=11 October 2012}}</ref> By 18 October, the FSA had captured ], the biggest suburb of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news|last=Di Giovanni|first=Janine|title=Denial Is Slipping Away as War Arrives in Damascus|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/world/middleeast/syrian-war-reaches-damascus.html|accessdate=20 October 2012|work=The New York Times|date=18 October 2012}}</ref> Lakhdar Brahimi arranged for a ceasefire during Eid al-Adha in late October, but it quickly collapsed as both rebels and the Syrian Army resumed large-scale operations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weaver|first=Matthew|title=Syria conflict: what next after failed ceasefire?|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/oct/30/syria-conflict-after-failed-ceasefire-live|work=The Guardian|date=30 October 2012|location=London}}</ref>

===Rebel offensives (November 2012 – April 2013)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (September–December 2012)|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (January–April 2013)}}
{{further|Battle of Aleppo (2012–13)|Rif Dimashq offensive (November 2012–February 2013)|2012 Hama offensive|Damascus offensive (2013)|Battle of Shadadeh|Battle of Raqqa}}
], Aleppo Governorate.]]
After Brahimi's ceasefire agreement officially ended on 30 October, the Syrian military expanded its aerial bombing campaign in Damascus. A bombing of the Damascus district of Jobar was the first instance of a ] being used in Damascus airspace to attack targets in the city. The following day, Gen. Abdullah Mahmud al-Khalidi, a Syrian Air Force commander who was described by the state media as one of the country's top aviation experts, was assassinated by opposition gunmen in the Damascus district of Rukn al-Din.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gladstone|first=Rick|title=Syrian Air Force Commander Is Reported Killed|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/world/middleeast/syrian-air-force-commander-is-reported-killed.html|accessdate=31 October 2012|work=The New York Times|date=31 October 2012}}</ref>

In early November 2012, rebels made significant gains in northern Syria. The rebel capture of ] in Idlib governorate, which lies on the strategic M5 highway, further isolated Aleppo from government-controlled areas of the country.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria army quits base on strategic Aleppo road|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/02/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE88J0X720121102|accessdate=6 November 2012|agency=Reuters|date=2 November 2012}}</ref> Due to insufficient anti-aircraft weapons, rebel units attempted to nullify the government's air power by destroying landed helicopters and aircraft on air bases.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels struggle to keep regime Air Force on the ground (+video)|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/1126/Syrian-rebels-struggle-to-keep-regime-Air-Force-on-the-ground-video|accessdate=26 November 2012|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=26 November 2012}}</ref> On 3 November, rebels launched an attack on the ], a core base for the Syrian military's helicopter and bombing operations.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/03/world/meast/syria-civil-war/| title=Rebels target air base in battle against aerial bombardment in Syria | publisher=CNN | date=4 November 2012 | accessdate=6 November 2012}}</ref>

On 18 November, rebels ] Base 46 in the ], one of the Syrian Army's largest bases in northern Syria, after weeks of intense fighting with government forces. Defected General Mohammed Ahmed al-Faj, who commanded the assault, hailed the capture of Base 46 as "one of our biggest victories since the start of the revolution", stating that nearly 300 Syrian troops had been killed and 60 had been captured, with rebels seizing large amounts of heavy weapons, including tanks.<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-exclusive-syrian-rebels-seize-base-arms-trove
|title=Base Seizure Sharp Blow to Syria's Efforts to Roll Back Rebel Gains
|agency=]
|first=Ben
|last=Hubbard
|date=20 November 2012
|accessdate=19 March 2013
}}</ref>

On 22 November, rebels captured the ] military base in the country's eastern ]. Activists said this gave the rebels control of a large amount of territory east of the base, stretching to the Iraqi border.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yeranian|first=Edward|title=Analysts Weigh in on Longevity of Syria's Assad|url=http://www.voanews.com/content/analysts_weight_in_on_longevity_of_syrias_assad/1551388.html|accessdate=24 November 2012|publisher=Voice of America|date=22 November 2012}}</ref> On 29 November, at approximately 10:26 ], the Syrian Internet and phone service was shut off for a two-day period.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/28/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html|title=Virtually all Internet service in Syria shut down, group says|publisher=CNN|date=29 November 2012|accessdate=6 December 2012}}</ref> There was much speculation that the Syrian government was responsible for the outage; however, state sources denied responsibility and blamed the blackout on ] lines near Damascus becoming exposed and damaged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/world/syria-s-internet-restored-after-two-day-blackout-320866.html|title=Syria's Internet Restored After Two Day Blackout|work=The Epoch Times|date=2 December 2012|accessdate=17 February 2013}}</ref>

In mid-December 2012, American officials said that the Syrian military had resorted to firing ] ballistic missiles at rebel fighters inside Syria. Reportedly, six Scud missiles were fired at the Sheikh Suleiman base north of Aleppo, which rebel forces had occupied. It is unclear whether the Scuds hit the intended target.<ref name="Scud Missiles2" /> The government denied this claim.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-12/13/c_132039471.htm |title=Syria denies using Scud missiles in fighting armed militia |agency=Xinhua News Agency |date=13 December 2012 |accessdate=17 December 2012}}</ref> Later that month, a further Scud attack took place near Marea, a town in a rebel-held area north of Aleppo near the Turkish border. The missile appeared to have missed its target.<ref name="Scud Missiles2">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/world/middleeast/syrian-forces-lobbing-more-scud-missiles-at-rebels-us-says.html |title=Syria Fires More Scud Missiles at Rebels, U.S. Says |work=The New York Times|date=20 December 2012 |accessdate=27 December 2012 |first1=Michael R. |last1=Gordon |first2=Eric |last2=Schmitt}}</ref> That same month, the British '']'' reported that the FSA had now penetrated into Latakia Governorate's Mediterranean coast through Turkey, and that the Syrian government's forces were unable to repel the FSA invasion thus far.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels cut off Bashar al-Assad's escape route|author=Ruth Sherlock|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9751531/Syrian-rebels-cut-off-Bashar-al-Assads-escape-route.html |work=The Daily Telegraph|date=17 December 2012|accessdate=17 December 2012|location=London}}</ref>

In late December, rebel forces pushed further into Damascus, taking control of the adjoining ] and Palestine refugee camps, pushing out fighters from the pro-government ] with the help of other factions.<ref>. BBC. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.</ref> Rebel forces launched ] against army positions in Hama governorate, later claiming to have forced army regulars to evacuate several towns and bases,<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels launch major assault on army across Hama|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-148994-Syrian-rebels-launch-major-assault-on-army-across-Hama|accessdate=18 December 2012|newspaper=The News International|date=18 December 2012}}</ref> and stating that "three-quarters of western rural Hama is under our control."<ref>{{cite news|title=Rebels seize towns in central Syria |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE8AJ1FK20121219 |accessdate=20 December 2012 |agency=Reuters |date=19 December 2012}}</ref> Rebels also captured the northern town of Harem near the Turkish border in Idlib governorate, after weeks of heavy fighting.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels fully capture town near Turkish border after weeks of siege|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/25/syrian-rebels-fully-capture-town-near-turkish-border-after-weeks-siege/ |accessdate=22 July 2013|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=24 December 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

On 11 January 2013, Islamist groups, including al-Nusra Front, took full control of the strategic ] air base in the northern Idlib governorate, after weeks of fighting. The air base, one of the largest in northern Syria, was often used by the military to carry out helicopter raids and deliver supplies. The rebels claimed to have seized helicopters, tanks and multiple rocket launchers, and other military equipment, before being forced to withdraw by a government counter-attack. The leader of the al-Nusra Front said the amount of weapons they took was a "game changer".<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels seize key air base, activists say|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/01/11/syrian-rebels-seize-key-air-base-activists-say/1826117/|accessdate=11 January 2013|agency=Associated Press|work=USA Today|date=11 January 2013}}</ref>

On 11 February, Islamist rebels captured the town of ] in ] and the nearby ], Syria's largest dam and a key source of ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/middleeast/syrian-insurgents-claim-to-control-large-hydropower-dam.html|title=Syrian Insurgents Claim to Control Large Hydropower Dam|work=The New York Times|date=11 February 2013|accessdate=12 February 2013|first1=Hwaida|last1=Saad|first2=Rick|last2=Gladstone}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/rebels-take-control-of-military-airport-in-north-syria-ngo-says | title=Rebels take control of military airport in North Syria, NGO says | publisher=NOW News | date=12 February 2013|accessdate=12 February 2013}}</ref> The next day, rebel forces took control of Jarrah air base, located {{convert|60|km|mi}} east of Aleppo. The base had been used to launch bombing raids in Aleppo governorate, and had served as an important supply line for the Assad government.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/12/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE91A0MU20130212 | title=Syrian air base falls, Assad forces under pressure | agency=Reuters | date=12 February 2013|accessdate=12 February 2013}}</ref> On 14 February, fighters from al-Nusra Front took control of Shadadeh, a town located in ] near the Iraqi border.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/jihadists-seize-syria-town-on-iraq-border | title=Jihadists seize Syria town on Iraq border | publisher=NOW News | date=14 February 2013|accessdate=16 February 2013}}</ref>

On 20 February, a ] exploded in the Mazraa neighborhood of Damascus near the Ba'ath Syrian Regional Branch headquarters, killing at least 53 people and injuring more than 235.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21529634|title=Syria conflict: Many dead in huge Damascus bombing|publisher=BBC|date=21 February 2013|accessdate=21 February 2013}}</ref> None of the organized groups on either side in the conflict claimed responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|last=Barnard|first=Anne|title=Car Bomb in Damascus Kills Dozens, Opposition Says|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/world/middleeast/car-bomb-in-damascus-kills-dozens-opposition-says.html|work=]|accessdate=21 February 2013|coauthors=Hwaida Saad and Hania Mourtada|date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

On 21 February, the FSA in Quasar began shelling Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Prior to this, Hezbollah militants had been shelling villages near Quasar from within Lebanon. A 48-hour ultimatum was issued by a FSA commander on 20 February, warning the militant group to stop the attacks or face retaliation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-rebels-attack-hezbollahs-positions-in-lebanon-fsa-commander.aspx?pageID=238&nID=41647&NewsCatID=352 | title=Syrian rebels attack Hezbollah's positions in Lebanon: FSA commander | work=Hürriyet Daily News | date=22 February 2013}}</ref>

On 2 March, intense clashes between rebels and the Syrian Army erupted in the north-central city of Raqqa, with many reportedly killed on both sides.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21641113|title=Syria: Fierce clashes in provincial capital Raqqa|publisher=BBC|date=2 March 2013|accessdate=6 March 2013}}</ref> On the same day, Syrian troops regained several villages along the highway near Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.yahoo.com/syria-iran-us-aid-rebels-extend-war-155957995.html | title=Syria, Iran say US aid to rebels will extend war | work=Yahoo News|agency=Associated Press | date=3 March 2013|accessdate=22 July 2013}}</ref> By 3 March, rebels had overrun Raqqa's central prison, allowing them to free hundreds of prisoners, according to the SOHR.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/liveblog/topic/syria-153|title=Syria Live Blog|publisher=Al Jazeera|accessdate=6 March 2013}}</ref> The SOHR also stated that rebel fighters were now in control of most of an ] in ], and that over 200 rebels and government troops had been killed fighting for control of it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21647196|title=Rebels 'seize most of Syria police academy'|publisher=BBC|date=3 March 2013|accessdate=6 March 2013}}</ref>

On 4 March, rebel forces launched an offensive to capture Raqqa outright. By 6 March, the rebels had captured the entire city, effectively making Raqqa the first provincial capital to be lost by the Assad government. Residents of Raqqa celebrated by reportedly tearing down a huge poster of Assad, and toppling a bronze statue of his late father ] in the centre of the city. The rebels also seized two top government officials.<ref name=abc>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syrian-rebels-capture-northern-city-18647439|title=Syrian Rebels Battle Regime Holdouts in Raqqa|publisher=ABC News|date=5 March 2013|accessdate=6 March 2013}}</ref>

On 18 March, the Syrian Air Force attacked rebel positions in Lebanon for the first time. The attack occurred at the Wadi al-Khayl Valley area, near the border town of Arsal.<ref>{{cite news | author=Barnard, Anne| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/world/middleeast/syria-warplanes-hit-lebanon-for-first-time.html | title=Syria Warplanes Hit Lebanon for First Time | work=The New York Times | date=18 March 2013|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref>

On 21 March, a suspected suicide bombing in the Iman Mosque in Mazraa district killed as many as 41 people, including the high profile Pro Assad Sunni cleric, Sheikh ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Jim Muir |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21887877 |title=Syria mosque blast: Pro-Assad cleric among dozens dead |publisher=BBC |date=21 March 2013}}</ref>

On 23 March, several rebel groups seized the 38th division air defense base in southern Daraa governorate near a strategic highway linking Damascus to Jordan.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/23/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE92M03K20130323 | title=Syria rebels seize southern base, border area | agency=Reuters | date=23 March 2013}}</ref> On the next day, rebels captured a 25&nbsp;km strip of land near the Jordanian border, which included the towns of ], Abdin, and the al-Rai military checkpoint.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Mar-24/211277-activists-clashes-in-syria-near-jordan-border.ashx#axzz2OSgwmleH | title=Rebels seize Jordan-Syria border area: activists | work=The Daily Star | date=24 March 2013}}</ref>

On 25 March, rebels launched one of their heaviest bombardments of Central Damascus since the revolt began, with mortars reportedly hitting Umayyad Square, where Ba'ath Party headquarters, Air Force Intelligence and state television are also located. The attack was launched when rebel forces advanced into the ] district of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/us-syria-crisis-damascus-idUSBRE92O07320130325 |title=Syrian rebels bombard central Damascus, army artillery hits back |agency=Reuters |date=25 March 2013 |first=Oliver |last=Holmes}}</ref>

On 26 March, near the Syrian town of al-Qusayr, rebel commander Khaled al Hamad, who commands the Al Farooq al-Mustakilla Brigade and is also known by his nom de guerre Abu Sakkar, ate the heart and liver of a dead soldier and said "I swear to God, you soldiers of Bashar, you dogs, we will eat from your hearts and livers! O heroes of Bab Amr, you slaughter the Alawites and take out their hearts to eat them!" in an apparent attempt to increase sectarianism.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baker |first=Aryn |url=http://world.time.com/2013/05/12/atrocities-will-be-televised-they-syrian-war-takes-a-turn-for-the-worse/ |title=Savage Online Videos Fuel Syria's Descent into Madness |work=Time |date=12 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="eating a human heart">{{cite web | url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/05/13/most_disgusting_atrocity_syrian_civil_war_rebel_eat_heart | title=Is This the Most Disgusting Atrocity Filmed in the Syrian Civil War? | work=Foreign Policy | date=13 May 2013 | accessdate=14 May 2013 | last=Bouckaert|first=Peter}}</ref> Video of the event emerged two months later and resulted in considerable outrage, especially from Human Rights Watch which classified the incident as a war crime. According to the BBC, it was one of the most gruesome videos to emerge from the conflict to-date.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22519770 |title=Outrage at Syrian rebel shown 'eating soldier's heart' |publisher=BBC |date=14 May 2013}}</ref>

On 29 March, rebels captured the strategic town of ] after days of fierce fighting. The town is located in ], along the strategic highway connecting Damascus to Jordan.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/rebels-claim-to-take-key-city-in-southern-syria/2013/03/29/e53b75e8-987c-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html | title=Rebels claim to take key city in southern Syria | work=The Washington Post | date=29 March 2013 | first=Babak | last=Dehghanpisheh}}</ref>

On 3 April, rebels captured a military base near the city of ].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/world/middleeast/Syria-rebels.html | title=New Rebel Gains Reported in Southern Syria With Seizure of Military Base | work=The New York Times | date=3 April 2013 | first1=Rick | last1=Gladstone | first2=Hala | last2=Droubi}}</ref>

===Government and Hezbollah offensives (April–June 2013)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (January–April 2013)|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (from May 2013)}}
{{further|Al-Qusayr offensive|Battle of al-Qusayr (2013)}}
On 17 April, government forces breached a six-month rebel blockade in Wadi al-Deif, near Idlib. Heavy fighting has been reported around the town of Babuleen after government troops outflanked weakened rebel positions with troops now attempting to secure control of a main highway leading to Aleppo. The break in the siege also allowed government forces to resupply two major military bases in the region which had been relying on sporadic airdrops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jafrianews.com/2013/04/17/syrian-forces-loyal-to-asaad-break-rebel-blockade-in-north-syria/ |title=Syrian forces Loyal to Asaad break Rebel Blockade in North Syria|publisher=Jafria News|date=17 April 2013}}</ref>

On 18 April, the FSA took control of Al-Dab'a Air Base near the city of al-Qusayr.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/syria-rebels-claim-strategic-airbase/story-e6frfkui-1226623878591 |title=Syria rebels claim strategic airbase |publisher=News.com.au |date=18 April 2013}}</ref> The base had no aircraft and was being used primarily to garrison ground troops. Meanwhile, the Syrian Army took control over the town of Abel. The SOHR director described the Army takeover of the town by saying that it will hamper rebel movements between al-Qusayr and Homs city. According to him, the capture of the airport would have relieved the pressure on the rebels in the area, but their loss of ] made the situation more complicated.<ref name="seize">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130418/syria-troops-seize-strategic-homs-village |title=Syria troops seize strategic Homs village |work=Global Post|date=18 April 2013}}</ref> The same day, rebels also reportedly assassinated Ali Ballan, who was head of public relations at the Ministry of Social Affairs and a member of Syria's relief agency, in a restaurant at Mazzeh district in Damascus.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lebovic |first=Matt |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/fierce-battles-in-syria-us-to-raise-aid-to-rebels/ |title=Fierce Battles in Syria; US To Raise Aid To Rebels |work=The Times of Israel |date=19 April 2013}}</ref> On 21 April, government forces ], near Damascus.<ref>{{cite news|author=Sebastian Usher|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22240540 |title=Syria army seizes Jdaidet al-Fadl 'killing dozens' |publisher=BBC|date=22 April 2013}}</ref>

In April, government and ] forces launched ] to capture rebel-held areas near al-Qusayr. On 21 April, pro-Assad forces captured the towns of Burhaniya, Saqraja and al-Radwaniya near the Lebanese border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130421-syria-army-closes-qusayr-near-lebanon |title=Syria army closes in on Qusayr near Lebanon |publisher=France 24|date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Yacoub |first=Khaled |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-syria-crisis-lebanon-idUSBRE93K0DN20130421 |title=Syria fighting flares both sides of Lebanese border |agency=Reuters |date=21 April 2013}}</ref> By this point, eight villages had fallen to the government offensive in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/130421/lebanon-border-area-mired-syrian-conflict |title=Lebanon border area mired in Syrian conflict |work=Global Post|date=21 April 2013}}</ref>

On 24 April, after five weeks of fighting, government troops seized control of the town of Otaiba, east of Damascus. The town had been under rebel control for the previous eight months, serving as the main arms supply route from Jordan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/assad-might-be-winning-the-syrian-war-2013-4|title=Assad Thinks He's Winning The Syrian War – And He May Be Right|date=25 April 2013}}</ref> Meanwhile in the north of the country, rebels took control of a key position on the edge of the strategic Mennagh Military airbase, on the outskirts of Aleppo. This allowed them to enter the airbase after months of besieging it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22283746 |title=Syria clashes destroy ancient Aleppo minaret |publisher=BBC |date=24 April 2013}}</ref>

On 2 May, government forces captured the town of Qaysa, which lies to the east of Damascus in a steady push north from the city's airport. Troops also retook the Wadi al-Sayeh central district of Homs, driving a wedge between two rebel strongholds.<ref>{{cite news|author=Solomon, Erika|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE9410VP20130502 |title=Dozens dead as Assad's forces storm coastal village|agency=Reuters |date=2 May 2013 |accessdate=10 August 2013}}</ref> SOHR reported ] of over 100 people in the coastal town of Al Bayda, Baniyas, when the Syrian army stormed the town. However, this could not be independently verified due to movement restrictions on the ground.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-02/215831-up-to-100-feared-dead-in-syrian-massacre-monitoring-group.ashx#axzz2SAjabaj0 |title=Dozens killed in Syria's Banias: watchdog|work=The Daily Star |date=2 May 2013}}</ref> Yet the multiple video images that residents said they had recorded in Bayda and Ras al-Nabeh – particularly of small children, were so shocking that even some government supporters rejected Syrian television's official version of events, that the army had simply "crushed a number of terrorists."<ref></ref>

On 3 May, the Syrian army backed by the ] reportedly committed a massacre of civilians near the city of Baniyas. The ] said that at least 50 people – and possibly as many as 100 – were killed. Witnesses said the dead were killed with knives or blunt objects and that dozens of villagers were still missing.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2318993/U-S-says-arming-Syrian-rebels-option-Assad-accused-killing-50-men-women-children-large-scale-massacre.html |title=Syrian dictator Assad 'massacres up to 100 men, women and children' with knives and guns as U.S says arming rebels is now an option |work=Daily Mail|date=5 April 2013|location=London}}</ref>

On 8 May, government forces captured the strategic town of Khirbet Ghazaleh, situated along the highway to the Jordanian border. Over 1,000 rebel fighters withdrew from the town due to the lack of reinforcements and ammunition. The loss of the town also resulted in the reopening of the government supply-route to the contested city of Daraa. The rebels continued to withdraw from other towns and decided not to face the Army's advance along the highway.<ref>{{cite news|last=Al |first=Suleiman |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/08/us-syria-crisis-town-idUSBRE94703H20130508 |title=Assad's forces capture strategic town in southern Syria |agency=Reuters |date=8 May 2013}}</ref> On 11 May, the rebels managed to cut a newly build desert road used as an Army supply route between central Syria and Aleppo's airport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/world/206906801.html |title=Syrian rebels cut major desert road linking the country's 2 largest cities |work=Star Tribune|date=11 May 2013}}</ref> On 12 May, government forces took complete control of Khirbet Ghazaleh and secured the highway near the town.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-troops-retake-strategic-town-8613515.html |title=Syrian troops retake strategic town |publisher=Independent|date=13 May 2013 |location=London}}</ref>

By mid-May, due to the recent Army gains in retaking modest, but strategically important, locations, military analysts pointed out that the government will have a major advantage in any future peace talks with the opposition and the West. Pro-government, rebel, and independent analysts credited the government advances to the major restructuring of their forces, which they filled with thousands of militia irregulars trained at least in part by Hezbollah and Iranian advisers in counter-insurgency operations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/assad-forces-appear-to-gain-ground-in-syria-687251/ |title=Assad forces appear to gain ground in Syria |work=Post-Gazette|date=12 May 2013|first=Liz|last=Sly}}</ref> The government's success was also credited to the shift by the Army from conducting counter-insurgency operations to holding on to strategic areas and not trying to recapture the whole country and crush the rebellion.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gopnik |first=Blake |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/17/syria-s-bashar-al-assad-is-winning.html |title=Syria's Bashar Al-Assad is Winning |work=The Daily Beast|date=17 May 2013}}</ref>

On 13 May, government forces captured the towns of Western Dumayna, Haidariyeh, and Esh al-Warwar allowing them to block supplies to the rebels in al-Qusayr.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jT0RGZgiJxBSeHl1Ldoqv8uU8ITw?docId=CNG.b736c800fa345dd0ed4b84ca0517bc60.2a1 |title=Abandoned arms as Syria rebels pull back near Qusayr |publisher=Google News|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=13 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=58725 |title=Screws tighten on rebels as Assad forces advance on Qusayr |publisher=Middle-east-online.com |date=13 May 2013}}</ref>

On 16 May, rebels also stated that they recaptured the town of Qaysa, Rif Damascus, after launching a unified counter-offensive.<ref name="chicagotribune">{{cite news|author=Suleiman Al-Khalidi | agency=Reuters |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-syria-crisis-offensivebre94f0t4-20130516,0,5881018.story |title=Syrian rebels launch offensive in south to reverse losses |work=Chicago Tribune |date=16 May 2013}}</ref> On 17 May, rebels captured four villages in Eastern Hama, including the Alawite town of Tulaysiah. The villages were abandoned by its residents days before the rebels arrived.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/syria-rebels-seize-alawite-villages-in-hama |title=Syria rebels seize Alawite villages in Hama |publisher=Now.mmedia.me }}</ref>

On 19 May, government forces captured the rebel-held town of Halfaya in Hama governorate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=58839 |title=Strategic city of Qusayr falls into hands of Assad forces: |publisher=Middle East Online |date=19 May 2013}}</ref> The Syrian army also launched its offensive against the rebel-held town of Qusayr after taking control of surrounding villages and countryside. A military source reported the Army entered Qusayr, capturing the city center and the municipality building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/168127 |title=Senior Hizbullah Official Killed in Syria Fighting |publisher=Arutz Sheva |date=20 May 2013}}</ref> One opposition activist denied this,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Syrian-troops-attack-rebel-town-30-dead/tabid/417/articleID/298362/Default.aspx |title=Syrian troops attack rebel town, 30 dead |publisher=3news.co.nz }}</ref> but another confirmed it and stated the Army was in control of 60 percent of the city.<ref name="Hezbollah in Q 2013"/> During the day's fighting, Hezbollah commander Fadi al-Jazar was killed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterman |first=Adiv |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/?p=512540 |title=Hezbollah commander killed in assault on Syria border town |work=The Times of Israel }}</ref>

An anonymous opposition source told the Associated Press that the attack was launched from the east and the south and that Hezbollah fighters took control of the town hall in a few hours and that by the end of the day, rebels units were pushed out of most of Qusayr. He added that the fighting was now concentred in the northern part of the city.<ref>{{cite web|last=Surkzeina |first=Barbara |url=http://news.findlaw.com/apnews-lp/ad272d2fe3114eda8d5d165d80266d67 |title=Report: 23 Hezbollah members killed in Syria |publisher=News.findlaw.com |date=20 May 2013}}</ref> The attack appeared to surprise the rebels, who expected the army to push by the north on several rebels controlled villages before attacking the city. The turning point of the offensive was reached when Hezbollah fighters took control of the Al Tal area overlooking Qusayr. Several rebels fighters accused some commanders from fleeing the Al tal area at the last minute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syria-turning-point-battle-qusayr |title=Syria: Turning Point in the Battle of Qusayr |publisher=Al Akhbar English |date=20 May 2013}}</ref> Meanwhile SOHR reported that the Syrian army was at the area by the western neighborhood of al-Quseir in order to lay siege on the city itself.<ref name="homsprovince">{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe/posts/371102882998056 |title=Homs province 6 |publisher=Facebook.com }}</ref>

On 23 May, rebels captured a military base near the town of Nairab.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/syria-opposition-welcomes-support-assad-ouster|title=Clashes in Lebanon feed fear of Syria spillover|author=Zeina Karam|work=Associated Press|date=23 May 2013|accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref>

By 29 May, government forces captured the al-Dabaa air base, north of al-Qusayr.<ref name=setback>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/29/us-syria-crisis-dabaa-idUSBRE94S0ZO20130529 |title=Syrian army seizes strategic air base near Qusair: media |agency=Reuters | first=Mariam |last=Karouny |date=29 May 2013}}</ref>

On 1 and 2 June, after heavy fighting, the Syrian Army recaptured three of the Alawite villages that had been previously captured by the rebels in Eastern Hama governorate, after rebel forces retreated from the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/817254/syrie-larmee-reprend-le-controle-de-2-localites-a-majorite-alouite-a-hama.html |title=Syrie: l'armée reprend le contrôle de 2 localités à majorité alouite à Hama |publisher=Lorientlejour.com }}</ref>

On 5 June, rebel forces withdrew from al-Qusayr, and the Syrian military and its allies took full control of the town.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22781667 | title=Qusair capture changes Syria conflict dynamics | publisher=BBC | date=5 June 2013}}</ref> The following day, government forces captured the nearby village of Dabaa.

]

On 6 June, rebels attacked and temporarily captured the ] border crossing which links the Israeli-occupied ] with the rest of Syria. However, the same day, government forces counter-attacked with tanks and armoured personnel carriers, recapturing the crossing.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22795655 |title=Syria conflict: Army 'retakes Golan Heights crossing' |publisher=BBC |date=7 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/06/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html | title=Israeli tanks move to Golan Heights' border | publisher=CNN | date=6 June 2013 | deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=April 2014|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref>

On 7 June, Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah captured two villages north of al-Qusayr: Salhiyeh and Masoudiyeh.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-06-07/rebels-attack-air-base-in-northern-syria | title=Syrian troops capture central villages from rebels | publisher=Bloomberg | date=7 June 2013}}</ref> The next day, they captured the village of Buwaydah, the last rebel-held village in the al-Qusayr region.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/government-troops-clash-with-rebels-as-they-push-on-with-offensive-in-syrian-heartland/2013/06/08/7e721d96-d015-11e2-8573-3baeea6a2647_story.html | title=Car bomb explodes in central Syrian city as government troops press offensive | work=The Washington Post | date=8 June 2013 | deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=April 2014|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref>

Between 7 and 14 June, Army troops, government militiamen, and reportedly Hezbollah fighters, launched operations in ]. Over a one-week period, government forces had advanced both in Aleppo city and the countryside around the city, pushing back the rebels. However, on 14 June, according to an opposition activist, the tide had started reversing, after rebels managed to halt an armoured reinforcement column from Aleppo city for two government-held Shiite villages northwest of the city. As of 16 June, the rebels had been holding back the column for two days. Rebels claimed of being able to destroy one tank and kill 20 government soldiers northwest of the town of Maaret al-Arteek. Before the column was stopped, government forces had captured the high ground at Maaret al-Arteek, threatening rebel positions. Government forces did also manage to make some advances in the southern part of Aleppo governorate, capturing the village of Ain-Assan village.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/16/us-syria-crisis-aleppo-idUSBRE95F0BA20130616|title=Rebel brigades check loyalist advances in Aleppo: opposition|date=16 June 2013|agency=Reuters|accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref name=Putin_Obama_Saudi>{{Cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/17/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE95G0MR20130617|title=Putin, Obama face off over Syria; rebels get Saudi missiles|agency=Reuters|date=17 June 2013|accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref> During the fighting in Aleppo city itself, on 13 June, government forces managed to temporarily advance into the rebel-held Sakhour district from two directions, but were soon repelled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Jun-14/220378-russia-says-us-claims-of-syria-chemical-arms-use-unconvincing.ashx#axzz2WBwwgFSb |title=US aid would boost rebels: Syrian rebel chief |work=The Daily Star|location=Lebanon |date=14 June 2013}}</ref> Some described it as just simply another skirmish or possibly a probing attack and not a full assault.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/world/1848703/report-rebels-await-storm-and-dream-of-us-arms |title=Rebels await storm and dream of US arms |work=Daily News and Analysis }}</ref>

On 10 June, Shia pro-government fighters from the village of Hatla, east of Deir al-Zour, attacked a nearby rebel position, killing four rebels.<ref name=Hatla></ref> The next day, in retaliation for the attack, thousands of rebels attacked and captured the village, killing 60 residents, fighters and civilians, according to SOHR. 10 rebel fighters were killed during the attack.<ref name=Hatla/>

At dawn on 13 June, rebels seized an Army position on the northern edge of the town of Morek, which is located on the strategic north-south highway,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrian-rebels-gain-control-of-a-key-military-base-in-hama-8656872.html |title=Syrian rebels 'gain control' of a key military base in Hama |work=The Independent |date=13 June 2013 |location=London}}</ref> in fighting that killed six soldiers and two rebels. Later in the day, the Army shelled the base and sent reinforcements in an attempt to recapture the post.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/2013/06/13/07/17/syria-helicopter-raid-gets-lebanon-warning |title=Syria rebels seize key army position |publisher=News.ninemsn.com.au |date=13 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Ian Black, Middle East editor |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/13/death-toll-syrian-conflict-93000 |title=Confirmed death toll in Syrian conflict nearly 93,000, says UN |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=13 June 2013}}</ref>

On 14 June, the Al Nusra front captured a military barracks near Idlib city, after three days of fighting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nownews/syrian-rebels-seize-idlibs-military-barracks |title=Syrian rebels seize Idlib's military barracks |publisher=Now.mmedia.me }}</ref>

On 15 June, the Syrian Army captured the Damascus suburb of Ahmadiyeh near the city's airport. Rebels said fighting began after rebels entered the town to use it as a position to launch mortars on the Damascus airport. They added that fighting was ongoing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian troops capture Damascus suburb near airport|url=http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-troops-capture-damascus-suburb-near-airport-135233418.html|date=15 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian troops push forward with offensive against rebels, seizing Damascus suburb near airport |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-troops-capture-damascus-suburb-near-airport-days-after-attack-on-the-facility/2013/06/15/37f93486-d5c3-11e2-ab72-3f0d51ec1628_story.html|date=17 June 2013 | deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=April 2014|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref>

On 22 June, the Syrian Army captured the rebel stronghold town of ].<ref>{{cite news|title=
Tal Kalakh: The Syrian town that lost the will to fight – The once rebel stronghold is back in the hands of the Syrian army |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tal-kalakh-the-syrian-town-that-lost-the-will-to-fight-8673695.html|date=25 June 2013 | location=London|work=The Independent|first=Patrick|last=Cockburn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/Syria-rebels-lose-border-town-20130626 |title=Syria rebels lose border town |publisher=News24.com |date=26 June 2013}}</ref> Four days later, the Army captured the town of Al-Qariatayn, also in Homs governorate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iSy1L79ZOOJTwChdCsPmgEHZY1dg?docId=CNG.b468d09f9171bdc7fe53dd43d5828442.191 |title=Syria army 'launches new Homs offensive' |publisher=Google }}</ref>

===Continued fighting (July – October 2013)===
{{main|Timeline of the Syrian Civil War (from May 2013)}}
{{further|2013 Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict|2013 Ghouta attacks}}
]
On 28 June, rebel forces captured a major military checkpoint in the city of Daraa.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian army, backed by jets, launches assault on Homs|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syrian-army-backed-by-jets-launches-assault-on-homs-1.532668|newspaper=Haaretz|date=29 June 2013}}</ref>

On 12 July FSA reported that one of its commanders, Kamal Hamami, had been killed at the hands of Islamists a day before. The rebels declared that the assassination, perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, was tantamount to a declaration of war.<ref>{{cite news|author=Karouny, Mariam; Holmes, Oliver|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE96B08A20130712|title=New front opens in Syria as rebels say al Qaeda attack means war|agency=Reuters|date=12 July 2013|accessdate=12 July 2013}}</ref>

On 17 July, FSA forces had reportedly taken control of most of the southern city of ] after seizing up to 40 army posts stationed in the city.<ref>. Al Jazeera (17 July 2013).</ref>

On 18 July, Kurdish YPG forces secured control of the northern town of ], after days of fighting with the al-Nusra Front.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/18/us-syria-crisis-turkey-idUSBRE96H0EQ20130718 | title=Kurds seize town on Syria-Turkey border, Ankara concerned | agency=Reuters | date=18 July 2013}}</ref> In the following three months, continues fighting between Kurdish and mainly jihadist rebel forces, led to the capture of two dozen towns and villages in ] by Kurdish fighters,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/833671/syrie-les-kurdes-chassent-des-jihadistes-dun-village-du-nord-est.html |title=Syrie: les Kurdes chassent des jihadistes d'un village du nord-est |publisher=Lorientlejour.com |date=18 September 2013}}</ref> while the Jihadists made limited gains against the Kurds in Aleppo and Raqqah governorates after they turned on the Kurdish rebel group ] over its relationship with the YPG. In Aleppo, Islamists were reportedly ethnically cleansing Kurds from towns in the countryside and massacring them; leading to a mass migration of civilians to the town of Afrin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/08/28/the_civil_war_within_syria_s_civil_war_kurdish_fighters |title=The Civil War Within Syria's Civil War |publisher=Foreignpolicy.com |date=28 August 2013}}</ref>

On 22 July, FSA fighters had seized control of the western Aleppo suburb of ]. The town was the last government stronghold in the western portion of Aleppo governorate, and it was also located on a route linking Aleppo with the rest of the governorate.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/77092/World/Region/Syria-rebels-seize-key-northern-town-NGO.aspx | title=Syria rebels seize key northern town: NGO | work=Ahram Online | date=22 July 2013}}</ref>

On 25 July, the Syrian army secured the town of ], after expelling the al-Nusra Front fighters.<ref>. Facebook.</ref> On 27 July, after weeks of fighting and bombardment in Homs, the Syrian Army captured the historic ],<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian troops capture historic mosque in Homs|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/27/syrian-troops-capture-historic-mosque-in-homs/2592611/|newspaper=USA Today|date=27 July 2013}}</ref> and two days later, captured the district of Khaldiyeh.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: Government forces take control of strategic Homs neighbourhood|url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/07/29/syria_government_forces_take_control_of_strategic_homs_neighbourhood.html|newspaper=Toronto Star|date=30 July 2013}}</ref>

On 4 August, around 10 rebel brigades, backed by heavy weaponry, launched ] on the government stronghold of ]. Initial attacks by some 2,000 opposition members reportedly seized as many as 12 villages in the mountainous area, taking advantage of the rugged terrain. Between 4 and 5 August, 20 rebels and 32 government soldiers and militiamen had been killed in the clashes. Hundreds of Alawite villagers fled rebel held-villages to Latakia. By 5 August, rebel fighters advanced to 20 kilometers from the town of Qardaha, the home town of the Assad family.<ref name="RegimeRegainsGround">{{cite news|author=Isabel Nassief|title=Regime Regains Ground on the Coast |url=http://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/regime-regains-ground|date=22 August 2013|agency=Reuters|accessdate=5 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Mroue, Bassam |title=hrw-syrian-missiles-kill-hundreds-civilians |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/hrw-syrian-missiles-kill-hundreds-civilians |date=5 August 2013 |work=Associated Press |accessdate=12 September 2013}}</ref> However, in mid-August, the military counter-attacked and recaptured all of the territory previously lost to the rebels in the coastal region during the offensive.<ref name="serious">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/11/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html|title=Syrian rebel fighters guilty of serious abuses, says Human Rights Watch |publisher=CNN | date=11 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="pushback">{{cite news|last=Evans |first=Dominic |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/19/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE97I0HW20130819 |title=Assad's forces push back rebels in Syria's Alawite mountains |agency=Reuters |date=19 August 2013}}</ref> A Syrian security force source "told AFP the army still had to recapture the Salma region, a strategic area along the border with Turkey that has been in rebel hands since the end of last year."<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria army 'retakes all rebel positions in Latakia'|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130819-syria-army-retakes-all-rebel-positions-latakia|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=19 August 2013}}</ref> According to a ] report 190 civilians were killed by rebel forces during the offensive, including at least 67 being executed. Another 200 civilians, primarily women and children, were taken hostage.<ref name="HRW">HRW: </ref><ref></ref>

On 6 August, rebels captured all of ] in northern Syria after a 10-month siege. The strategic airbase is located on the road between Aleppo city and the Turkish border.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels capture military airport near Turkey|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/us-syria-crisis-airport-idUSBRE97411J20130805|agency=Reuters|date=5 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/08/06/FSA-takes-control-of-Menagh-air-base-near-Aleppo.html|title=FSA takes control of Menagh air base near Aleppo|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=6 August 2013|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref>

On 21 August ] took place in the Ghouta region, Damascus countryside, leading to thousands of casualties and several hundred dead in the opposition held stronghold. The attack was followed by a military offensive by government forces into the area, which have been hotbeds of opposition since the start of the uprising.<ref name="SyriaOffensive">{{cite news| work=The Wall Street Journal| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324619504579028621159392790.html| author=Sam Dagher, Farnaz Fassihi |title=Syria Presses Offensive, Shrugs Off Gas Attack Claims| date=22 August 2013| accessdate=5 September 2013}}</ref>

On 24 August, rebels captured the town of ]. However, after 10 days of bombardment, government forces recaptured Ariha on 3 September.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/96651-army-retakes-strategic-town-in-northwest-syria |title=Army Retakes Strategic Town in Northwest Syria |publisher=Naharnet.com |date=3 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.news24.com/World/News/Assad-forces-capture-strategic-Syria-northern-town-20130903 |title=Assad forces capture strategic Syria northern town |publisher=News24.com |date=3 September 2013}}</ref>

On 26 August, rebel forces took over the strategic town of ] in Aleppo governorate which was the government's last supply route for the contested city of Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/2013826124946176888.html | title=Syria rebels take control of strategic town | publisher=Al Jazeera | date=26 August 2013}}</ref>

On 8 September, rebels led by the al-Nusra Front ], 43&nbsp;km north of Damascus,<ref>{{cite news|title=Activists: Syrian rebels take Christian village|url=http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/world/article/Syria-Al-Qaida-rebels-control-Christian-village-4796452.php|newspaper=greenwichtime|date=8 September 2013}}</ref> The Syrian Army launched a counterattack a few days later, recapturing the town.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10309239/Maaloulas-cathedral-and-churches-empty-of-Christians-as-Syrias-latest-front-line-fight-takes-its-toll.html|title=Maaloula's cathedral and churches empty of Christians as Syria's latest front-line fight takes its toll|author=Bill Neely|work=The Telegraph|date=14 September 2013|accessdate=23 October 2013|location=London}}</ref>

On 18 September, members of the ] (ISIS) overran the FSA-held town of Azaz in the north of the country. The fighting was the most severe since tensions rose between militant factions in Syria earlier in the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/18/324729/infighting-erupts-between-syria-militants/ |title=Takfiri militants clash with forces of Free Syrian Army |publisher=Press TV |date=18 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Morris |first=Loveday |url=http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-18/world/42179489_1_rebel-group-islamic-state-rebel-supply-lines |title=Al-Qaeda-linked fighters seize Syrian town of Azaz from more moderate rebels |work=The Washington Post |date=18 September 2013}}</ref> Soon after ISIS captured Azaz, a ceasefire was announced between the rival rebel groups. However, in early October, more fighting between rebels erupted in the town.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dziadosz |first=Alexander |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/us-syria-crisis-azaz-idUSBRE9920FV20131003 |title=Syria rebels try to end infighting near Turkish border |agency=Reuters |date=3 October 2013}}</ref>

On 20 September, Alawite militias including the NDF reportedly killed 15 civilians in the Sunni village of Sheik Hadid in Hama Governorate. The massacre reportedly occurred in retaliation to a rebel capture of the village of Jalma, in Hama, which killed five soldiers, along with the seizure of a military checkpoint which killed 16 soldiers and 10 NDF militiamen.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/21/activists-syrian-troops-and-pro-government-militiamen-storm-sunni-village|title=Activists: Syrian troops and pro-government militiamen storm Sunni village, killing 15|agency=Associated Press|date=21 September 2013|accessdate=23 October 2013|work=Fox News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/21/us-syria-crisis-idUSBRE98K08H20130921|title=Syria meets deadline for chemical weapons disclosure|author=Thomas Escritt|agency=Reuters|date=21 September 2013|accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref>

In mid-September, the military captured the towns of Deir Salman and Shebaa on the outskirts of Damascus. The Army also captured six villages from opposition forces in eastern Homs.<ref>{{cite news|title=http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-army-makes-headway-damascus-and-homs|title=Syrian Army Makes Headway in Damascus and Homs|author=Marah Mashi|newspaper=Al-Akhbar|date=19 September 2013}}</ref> This would prove to be only temporary as fighting broke out in those towns again in October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://supportkurds.org/news/thursday-3-october-2013/|title=Events: Thursday 3 October 2013|publisher=Support Kurds in Syria|date=3 October 2013|accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref>

On 28 September, rebels seized the Ramtha border post in ] on the Syria Jordan crossing after days of fighting which left 26 soldiers dead along with 7 foreign rebel fighters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/student-deaths-reported-syria-air-raids-201392914391313718.html|title=Students reported killed in Syria air attack|publisher=Al Jazeera |date=29 September 2013|accessdate=23 October 2013}}</ref>

On 3 October, AFP reported that Syria's army re-took the strategic town of ], which is located on a key supply route linking central Syria to the city of Aleppo. Opposition forces had cut off the army's supply route to Aleppo when they seized the town and nearby villages in August.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria army retakes northern strategic town|url=http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/syria/syria-army-retakes-northern-strategic-town-1.1238911|newspaper=Gulf News|date=3 October 2013}}</ref> On 7 October, the Syrian Army managed to reopen the supply route between Aleppo and Khanasir, days after recapturing Khanasir itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://live.aljazeera.com/Event/Syria_Live_Blog/92310948 |title=Syria Live Blog – Live Blogs – Al Jazeera English |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=5 February 2011}}</ref>

On 9 October, rebels seized the Hajanar guard post on the Jordanian border near Daraa after a month of fierce fighting. Its fall meant rebels were now in control of a swath of territory along the border from outside of Daraa to the edge of Golan Heights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/131009/syria-rebels-seize-guard-post-jordan-border-0 |title=Syria rebels seize guard post on Jordan border |publisher=Globalpost.com |date=9 October 2013}}</ref> The same day, Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite fighters, backed up by artillery, air-strikes and tanks, attacked and captured the town of Sheikh Omar, on the southern outskirts of Damascus. Two days later, the Lebanese and Iraqis also captured the towns of al-Thiabiya and Husseiniya on the southern approaches to Damascus. The capture of the three towns, located between the two main highways leading to Jordan, strengthened the government hold on major supply lines and put more pressure on rebels under siege in the Eastern Ghouta area.<ref>{{cite web|author=Khaled Yacoub Oweis |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2013/10/11/Syrian-army-retakes-two-Damascus-suburbs-from-rebels.aspx |title=Syrian army retakes two Damascus suburbs from rebels – activists |work=The Star|location=Malaysia |date=11 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Syrian-opposition-Hezbollah-Iraqi-militia-capture-Damascus-suburb-328304 |title=Syrian opposition: Hezbollah, Iraqi militia capture Damascus suburb |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=21 November 2013}}</ref>

On 14 October, SOHR reported that rebels captured the Resefa and Sinaa districts of ] city, as well as Deir ez-Zor's military hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe/posts/433712646737079 |title=Deir Ezzour province: A fighter from... – Syrian Observatory for Human Rights |publisher=Facebook }}</ref>

===<!-- Second (there have been several government offensives) !--> Government and Hezbollah offensives (October 2013 – December 2013)===
{{further|2013 Aleppo offensive|Battle of Qalamoun}}

The Syrian Army along with its allies, Hezbollah and the ], launched an offensive on two key fronts, Damascus and Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news|agency=Reuters |url=http://www.voanews.com/content/boosted-by-foreign-shiite-militia-assads-forces-advance-on-aleppo/1788908.html |title=Boosted by Foreign Shi'ite Militia, Assad's Forces Advance on Aleppo |publisher=Voice of America }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24927097 |title=Syria rebels urge Aleppo mobilisation to halt assault |publisher=BBC |date=13 November 2013}}</ref>

On 16 October, AFP reported that Syrian troops recaptured the strategic town of Bweida, south of Damascus. According to SOHR, government troops had been supported by Hezbollah and al-Abbas brigade fighters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-16/234822-syria-army-hails-recapture-of-rebel-town-near-damascus.ashx#ixzz2hvoijv1r |title=Syria army hails recapture of rebel town near Damascus |work=The Daily Star|location=Lebanon }}</ref>

On 17 October, the Syrian government's head of Military Intelligence in ], Major General Jameh Jameh, was assassinated by rebels in Deir ez-Zor city. SOHR reported that he had been shot by a rebel sniper in the Rashdiya district of the city during a battle with rebel brigades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/10/top-syrian-army-general-killed-battle-20131017182611866437.html |title=Syrian military spy chief killed in battle – Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera }}</ref>

On 24 October, the Syrian army retook control of the town of Hatetat al-Turkman, located southeast of Damascus, along the Damascus International Airport road.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dziadosz |first=Alexander |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/24/us-syria-crisis-suburb-idUSBRE99N0NU20131024 |title=Syrian army seizes Damascus suburb from rebels: state TV |agency=Reuters |date=24 October 2013}}</ref>

On 26 October, Kurdish rebel fighters seized control of the strategic Yarubiya border crossing between Syria and Iraq from Al Nusra after three days of clashes in Al Hasakah Governorate.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24689025 |title=Syria Kurdish fighters seize border post from Islamists |publisher=BBC |date=26 October 2013}}</ref> Elsewhere, in Daraa Governorate, rebel fighters captured the town of ] from government forces after weeks of clashes which reportedly left scores dead.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=20686002&sid=76 |title=Syrian Kurds Capture Border Crossing With Iraq|author=Bassem Mroue |agency=Associated Press |date=25 October 2013}}</ref>

On 1 November, the Syrian army retook control of the key city of ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-01/236495-syrian-forces-capture-town-near-chemical-weapons-site-activists.ashx#axzz2hs2ziHUm |title=Syrian forces capture town near chemical weapons site: Activists|work=The Daily Star |date=1 November 2013}}</ref> and the next day, the Syrian Army and its allies recaptured the village of Aziziyeh on the northern outskirts of Al-Safira.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEyztI8NQHagOrUBEQdrKXTc1rag?docId=fe3e3476-346a-4d68-bbf8-6dd59c8fb67b&hl=en |title=AFP: Air raids on rebel areas near Damascus, Kurds advance: NGO |publisher=Google }}</ref> From early to mid-November, Syrian Army forces captured several towns south of Damascus, including Hejeira and Sbeineh. Government forces have also recaptured the town of Tel Aran, southeast of Aleppo, and a military base near Aleppo's international airport.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian government gaining ground in war, strengthening hand ahead of proposed peace talks|url=http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/103cccc08de641eb90c69d1890aac1cb/ML-Syria-Tides-Of-War|newspaper=The Republic|date=16 November 2013}}</ref>

On 10 November, the Syrian army had taken full control of "Base 80", which is near Aleppo's airport.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/10/syria-activists-say-rebels-reach-deal-with-government-to-ease-blockade-rebel/ |title=Syria activists say rebels reach deal with government to ease blockade of rebel-held town |publisher=Fox News |date=10 November 2013|accessdate=16 January 2014}}</ref> According to the SOHR, 63 rebels,<ref name="retakes"/> including at least 11 foreign fighters, and 32 soldiers were killed during the battle.<ref name="retakes"/> One other report put the number of rebels killed between 60 and 80.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cphpost.dk/international/two-danes-allegedly-die-fighting-syria |title=Two Danes allegedly die fighting in Syria |work=The Copenhagen Post }}</ref> Army units were backed-up by Hezbollah fighters and pro-government militias during the assault.<ref name="retakes">{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gz6wr66r6Oa38fRV4RQH7uwZd2pA?docId=7ab4cb0a-40ef-49b8-b757-5b337a3ee3a0&hl=en |title=Syria army retakes key base near Aleppo: state TV |agency=Agence France-Presse|publisher=Google News }}</ref> The following day, government forces recaptured several nearby positions, securing most of the area around the airport.<ref>{{cite web|author=Diaa Hadid|url=http://www.nwherald.com/2013/11/11/syria-based-groups-say-talks-may-be-last-chance/a8ppwjk/ |title=Syria-based groups say talks may be 'last chance' |publisher=Nwherald.com |date=11 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="reopen">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Nov-11/237517-syria-army-seeks-to-reopen-aleppo-airport-military.ashx#axzz2kLOt6xon |title=Syria army seeks to reopen Aleppo airport: military |work=The Daily Star|location=Lebanon }}</ref>

On 13 November, government forces captured most of Hejeira, with some pockets of resistance still remaining.<ref>{{cite web|author=N Lucas|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/13/syrian-media-troops-capture-south-damascus-suburb/ |title=Syrian media: Troops capture south Damascus suburb |work=U-T San Diego |date=13 November 2013}}</ref> Rebels retreated from Hejeira to ]. However, their defenses in besieged districts closer to the heart of Damascus were still reportedly solid.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yacoub |first=Khaled |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-syria-crisis-damascus-idUSBRE9AC0IC20131113 |title=Assad's forces make further gains around Damascus |agency=Reuters |date=13 November 2013}}</ref>

On 15 November, the Syrian Army retook control of the city of Tell Hassel near Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evans |first=Dominic |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/15/us-syria-crisis-aleppo-idUSBRE9AE11X20131115 |title=Assad's forces advance in northern Syria towards Aleppo |agency=Reuters |date=15 November 2013}}</ref>
On 18 November, the Syrian troops stormed the town of Babbila.<ref>{{cite news|title=
Syrian troops besiege strategic town amid fierce fights
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/18/c_125716083.htm|agency= Xinhua News Agency |date=18 November 2013 |accessdate= 18 November 2013}}</ref>

On 19 November, government forces took full control of Qara.<ref name="seize">{{cite news|title=Syria troops seize Qara village near Lebanon border|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/nowsyrialatestnews/521429-syria-troops-seize-qara-village-near-lebanon-border|work=NOW |date=19 November 2013 |accessdate= 19 November 2013}}</ref> The same day, the Syrian army captured al-Duwayrinah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trust.org/item/20131119145959-vur9p|title=Forces loyal to Syria's President Capture Raqqa|publisher=Reuters|date=19 November 2013|accessdate=4 December 2013}}</ref>

On 23 November, al-Nusra Front and other Islamist rebels captured the al-Omar oil field, Syria's largest oil field, in Deir al-Zor governorate causing the government to rely almost entirely on imported oil.<ref>{{cite news|title=Islamist rebels capture Syria's largest oilfield: activists|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/23/us-syria-crisis-oil-idUSBRE9AM03K20131123|newspaper=Reuters|date=23 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Conal |last=Urquhart |url =http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/23/syrian-islamist-rebels-oilfield-assad |title =Syrian Islamist rebels claim capture of key oilfield |publisher =The Guardian |date =23 November 2013 |accessdate=23 November 2013 }}</ref>
On 24 November, rebels captured the towns of Bahariya, Qasimiya, Abbadah, and Deir Salman in Damascus's countryside.<ref>{{cite news|last=Solomon |first=Erika |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/24/uk-syria-crisis-damascus-siege-idUKBRE9AN09320131124 |title=Scores killed as rebels battle to break siege of Damascus suburbs &#124; Reuters |publisher=Uk.reuters.com |date=2013-11-24 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

On 28 November, the Syrian army recaptured Deir Attiyeh.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.adn.com/2013/11/28/3201911/syrian-troops-capture-western.html|title=Syrian troops capture town near Lebanon border|author=Albert Aji, Bassem Mroue|agency=Associated Press|date=28 November 2013|accessdate=4 December 2013}}</ref>

On 2 December, rebels led by the Free Syrian army recaptured the historic Christian town of ] after 3 days of fighting. After the fighting, reports emerged that 12 nuns had been abducted by the rebels. However, the FSA disputes this and said that the nuns had been evacuated due to Syrian Army shelling and had moved them to the nearby rebel held town of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Dec-03/239723-rebels-retake-christian-town-of-maaloula.ashx#axzz2mSZNeOZP|title=Rebels retake Christian town of Maaloula|publisher=The Daily Star|date=3 December 2013|accessdate=4 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/108284-suicide-bomber-kills-four-in-central-damascus|title=Suicide Bomber Kills Four in Central Damascus, Abducted Nuns Taken to Yabrud|publisher=Naharnet|date=3 December 2013|accessdate=4 December 2013}}</ref>

In early December, the Islamic Front seized control of Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, which had been in hands of FSA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Dec-10/240625-syria-islamists-seize-turkey-border-crossing-monitor.ashx|title=Syria Islamists seize Turkey border crossing|publisher=The Daily Star|date=10-12-2013|accessdate=6-1-2014}}</ref> The groups also captured warehouses containing equipment delivered by the U.S. In response, the U.S. and Britain said they halted all non-lethal aid to the FSA, fearing that further supplies could fall in hands of al-Qaeda militants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/11/us-britain-to-halt-non-lethal-aid-to-syria/|title=U.S., Britain to halt non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition|author=Dave Boyer|publisher=Washington Times|date=11-12-2013|accessdate=6-1-2014}}</ref>

On 10 December, the Army took full control of An-Nabk,<ref name="alabama"></ref> with fighting continuing in its outskirts.<ref name="abc"/>

===Fighting between ISIS and other rebel groups (January – March 2014)===
{{main|Syrian opposition–Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant conflict}}

Tension between moderate rebel forces and ISIS had been high since ISIS attacked and captured the border town of ] from FSA forces on 18 September 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/jihadis-capture-northern-syrian-town-near-turkey|title=Al-Qaida militants captured town in northern Syria|work=Associated Press|date=19 September 2013|accessdate=4 January 2014}}</ref> Conflict was renewed over ] in early October<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20131003-syrian-rebels-tell-qaeda-groups-withdraw-homs-isil-azaz/|title=Syrian rebel factions tell al Qaeda groups to withdraw|date=3 October 2013|accessdate=4 January 2014}}</ref> and in late November ISIS captured the border town of ] from an FSA brigade.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=123441|title=ISIL captures Syrian town on border with Turkey|publisher=World Bulletin|date=22 November 2013|accessdate=4 January 2014}}</ref>

On 3 January 2014, the Army of the Mujahideen, the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic Front launched an offensive against ]-held territory in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. A spokesman for the rebels said that rebels attacked ISIS in up to 80% of all ISIS held villages in Idlib and 65% of those in Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news|title=Al Qaeda-linked group routed in Syrian rebel infighting|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syrian-rebel-infighting-20140105,0,2285747.story#axzz2pX5mNcca|accessdate=5 January 2014 | work=Los Angeles Times|first=Nabih|last=Bulos|date=5 January 2014}}</ref>

By 6 January, opposition rebels managed to expel ISIS forces from the city of Raqqa, ISIS's largest stronghold and capital of the Raqqa province.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chulov|first=Martin|title=Syrian rebels oust al-Qaida-affiliated jihadists from northern city of Raqqa|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/06/syrian-rebeal-oust-a-qaidi-jihadists-raqqa?CMP=twt_fd|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 January 2014}}</ref>

On 8 January, opposition rebels expelled most ISIS forces from the city of Aleppo, however ISIS reinforcements from the Deir Ezzor province managed to retake several neighborhoods of the city of Raqqa.<ref>http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/08/Syria-jihadist-HQ-in-Aleppo-falls-to-rebels.html#.Us2d6frZNpI.twitter</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Moukalled |first=Diana |url=http://www.aawsat.net/2014/01/article55326743 |title=Syria: ISIS besieged by opposition fighters in Raqqa « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT |publisher=Aawsat.net |date=2014-01-07 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref> By mid January ISIS fighters retook the entire city of Raqqa, while rebels expelled ISIS fighters fully from Aleppo city and the villages west of it.

On 29 January, Turkish aircraft near the border fired on an ISIS convoy inside the Aleppo Provence of Syria, killing 11 ISIS fighters and 1 ISIS emir.<ref>http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/01/30/Turkish-army-strikes-ISIS-convoy-in-Syria.html</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eaworldview.com/2014/01/syria-turkey-hits-islamic-state-iraq-convoy-near-border/ |title=Syria: Turkey Hits Islamic State of Iraq Convoy Near Border |publisher=EA WorldView |date=2014-01-29 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

In late January it was confirmed that rebels had assassinated ISIS's second in command, Haji Bakr, who was al-Qaeda's military council head and a former military officer in Saddam Hussein's army.<ref>{{cite web|last=Moukalled |first=Diana |url=http://www.aawsat.net/2014/01/article55328126 |title=Key Al-Qaeda militant reportedly killed in Syria « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT |publisher=Aawsat.net |date=2014-01-27 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

By mid February, the Al-Nusra Front joined the battle in support of rebel forces, and expelled ISIS forces from the Deir Ezzor province.<ref>http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/02/10/Islamist-rebels-oust-ISIS-from-Syria-s-Deir-Ezzor.html</ref>

By March, the ISIS forces fully retreated from the Idlib province.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_articles&id=2c7cb6075195b7856adc10c4c07d2859 |title=إدلب خالية من " داعش " بشكل كامل .. و الثوار يعلنون بدء معركة تحرير " خان شيخون " ( فيديو ) &#124; عكس السير دوت كوم |publisher=Aksalser.com |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Syria Comment - Joshua Landis |url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/21022014-saudis-cia-agree-arm-syrian-moderates-advanced-weapons-oped/ |title=Saudis And CIA Agree To Arm Syrian 'Moderates' With Advanced Weapons - OpEd Eurasia Review |publisher=Eurasiareview.com |date=2014-02-21 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

On 4 March, ISIS retreated from the Aleppo-Turkey border town of Azaz and other nearby villages, choosing instead to consolidate around Raqqa in an anticipation of an escalation of fighting with Al Nusra.<ref>{{cite web|author=Liz Sly for the Washington Post |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/04/isis-al-qaida-rebels-syria-azaz |title=Renegade al-Qaida faction withdraws from Syrian border town of Azaz &#124; World news &#124; Guardian Weekly |publisher=Theguardian.com |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

===Continued Government and Hezbollah offensive (March 2014)===
On 4 March, ] took control of Sahel in the mountainous Qalamoun region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/541695-syria-army-advancing-on-key-rebel-town-supply-route/ |title=Syria Army Advancing on Key Rebel Town, Supply Route |publisher=Theepochtimes.com |date=2014-03-04 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

On 8 March, government forces took over Zara, a strategic town in Homs province, further blocking rebel supply routes from Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria government forces seize strategic town near Lebanon border http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-fighting-20140309,0,6277729.story#ixzz2vQPGFooq|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-fighting-20140309,0,6277729.story#axzz2vQOZESnL|newspaper=LA Times|date=8 March 2014|first1=Nabih|last1=Bulos|first2=Patrick J.|last2=McDonnell}}</ref>

On 11 March, Government forces and ] took control of the Rima Farms region, positioning themselves directly facing Yabrud.<ref>http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/164197/syrian-army-advances-amid-new-wave-of-explosions.html</ref>

On 16 March, Hezbollah and government forces captured ], after Free Syrian Army fighters made an unexpected withdrawal leaving the Al Nusra Front to fight in the city on its own.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria conflict: Assad's forces fully control rebel stronghold of Yabroud, near Lebanon|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-16/syrian-forces-fully-control-rebel-stronghold-near-lebanon/5324608|date=16 March 2014}}</ref>

On 18 March, Israel used artillery against Syrian Army base, after four of its soldiers had been wounded by a roadside bomb while patrolling occupied Golan Heights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/israel-deploys-artillery-after-golan-blast-2014318173434341989.html |title=Israel bombs Syria's Golan after blast - Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera English |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

On 19 March, the Syrian army captured Ras al-Ain near ], after two days of fighting and al-Husn in Homs province, while rebels in the Daraa Province captured Daraa prison, and freed hundreds of detainees.<ref>{{cite web|last=Associated |first=The |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=291319677 |title=Syrian Troops Capture Village Near Lebanon Border |publisher=NPR |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/542961 |title=Syria rebels seize prison near Jordan, free inmates &#124; Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more |publisher=Arabnews.com |date=2014-03-14 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref><ref name="lorientlejour.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/859708/wadi-khaled-et-ersal-de-nouveau-touches-par-les-debordements-du-conflit-syrien.html |title=Le régime syrien reprend le Krak des Chevaliers et coupe la "route libanaise" des rebelles - L'Orient-Le Jour |publisher=Lorientlejour.com |date=2014-03-20 |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref>

On 20 March, ] took control of the ] in al-Husn.<ref name="lorientlejour.com"/>

On 29 March, Syrian army took control of the villages of Flita and Ras Maara near the border with Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Mar-29/251659-syrian-army-retake-qalamoun-towns-of-flita-ras-al-maarra-al-manar.ashx#axzz2xRnMNQAw|title=Syrian army takes two villages near Lebanon|author=Albert Aji|publisher=The Daily Star|date=2014-03-29|accessdate=2014-03-30}}</ref>

===Continued fighting (March 2014 – present)===
]}}{{legend|#e2d974|Controlled by the '''Kurdish Self-Administration'''}}{{legend|#b4b2ae|Controlled by the ]}}{{legend|#cdecc9|Controlled by other rebels}}<br />(For a more detailed map, see ])]]
''For a more detailed map, see ]''.

On 22 March, rebels took control of the Kesab border post in the Latakia Province.<ref>{{cite web|author=March 23, 2014 4:42 PM |url=http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-downs-syria-warplane-border-ngo-004739363.html |title=Syria condemns Turkey 'aggression' after jet downed - Yahoo News |publisher=News.yahoo.com |date=2014-03-23 |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref>

By 23 March, rebels had taken most of Khan Sheikhoun, Hama.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/video/2014/03/23/rebels-battle-for-northern-syria-town?videoId=281312082 |title=Rebels battle for northern Syria town &#124; Video &#124; Reuters.com |publisher=Uk.reuters.com |date=2014-03-17 |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref> During clashes near the rebel controlled Kesab border post in Latakia, Hilal Al Assad, NDF leader in Latakia (who also founded the NDF) and one of Bashar Al Assad's cousins was killed by rebel fighters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Assads-cousin-killed-in-fighting-with-Syrian-rebels-near-Turkish-border-346267 |title=Assad's cousin killed in fighting with Syrian rebels near Turkish border &#124; JPost &#124; Israel News |publisher=JPost |date=2014-03-23 |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/03/assad-cousin-killed-syria-latakia-201432320159865701.html |title=Assad cousin killed in Syria's Latakia - Middle East |publisher=Al Jazeera English |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref>
On 4 April, rebels captured the town of Babulin, Idlib, located on the main highway.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/04/us-syria-crisis-rebels-idUSBREA3319020140404 | work=Reuters | title=Rebels take northern Syrian town on main highway: activists | date=4 April 2014}}</ref>

On 9 April, Syrian army took control of ] in the Qalamoun region.<ref>http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Apr-09/252798-syrian-army-regains-full-control-over-rankus-in-qalamoun-al-manar.ashx#axzz2yWVWRiBK</ref>

On 12 April, rebels in Aleppo stormed the government held Ramouseh industrial district, in an attempt to cut the Army supply route between the airport and a large Army base next to district. The rebels also took the Rashidin neighbourhood and parts of the Jamiat al-Zahra district,<ref></ref>

On 26 April, Syrian Army took control of ].<ref></ref> According to SOHR, rebels took control of Tell Ahrmar, Quneitra.<ref></ref> Rebels in Daraa also took over Brigade 61 Base and the 74th battalion.<ref>http://eaworldview.com/2014/04/syria-daily-insurgents-take-major-regime-base-southwest/</ref>

On 26 April, the FSA announced they had begun an offensive against ISIS in the Raqqa province, and have seized five towns west of Raqqa city.<Ref>http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/article4073352.ece</ref>

On 29 April, activists said that the Syrian Army captured Tal Buraq near the town of Mashara in Quneitra without any clashes.<ref></ref>

On 7 May a truce went into effect in the city of Homs, SOHR reported. The terms of agreement include safe evacuation of Islamist fighters from the city, which would then fall under government control, in exchange for release of prisoners and granting safe passage of humanitarian aid for Nubul and Zahraa, two Shiite enclaves besieged by the rebels.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/07/world/meast/syria-homs-truce/|title=Evacuation truce in key Syrian city of Homs goes into effect|date=2014-05-07|accessdate=2014-05-08}}</ref>

==Advanced weaponry and tactics==
{{see also|Equipment of the Syrian Army|List of military equipment used by Syrian opposition forces}}

===Chemical weapons===
{{see also|Syria chemical weapons program|Syrian opposition chemical weapons capability}}
]

] was requested by member states to investigate 16 alleged chemical weapons attacks. Seven of them have been investigated (nine were dropped for lack of "sufficient or credible information") and in four cases the UN inspectors confirmed use of ] gas. The reports, however, did not blame any party of using chemical weapons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2013/december/sarin-in-syria.htm |title=Sarin in Syria: UN inspectors struggle to verify competing claims |publisher=Al-bab.com |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

Many countries, including the United States and the European Union have accused the Syrian government of conducting several chemical attacks, the most serious of them being the ], though these attacks have also been attributed to rebel forces by the Syrian regime, Russia, and Iran.

The Syrian regime and its Russian ally have accused rebels of conducting several chemical attacks, the most serious of which was the ]. The Khan al-Assal attack took place on 19 March 2013, and was reported on Syrian state news agency, SANA. That missiles containing "chemical materials" may have been fired into the ] in Aleppo and the ] suburbs of Damascus, resulting in 25 dead. Both sides immediately accused each other of carrying out the attack, but neither side presented clear documentation.<ref name=nytbarnard>{{cite news|last=Barnard|first=Anne|title=Syria and Activists Trade Charges on Chemical Weapons|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/world/middleeast/syria-developments.html|accessdate=19 March 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Chulov|first=Martin|title=Syria attacks involved chemical weapons, rebels and regime claim|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/19/syria-rocket-attacks-chemical-weapons|work=The Guardian|accessdate=13 April 2013|date=19 March 2013|location=London}}</ref>

On 29 April, another chemical attack was reported, this time in ], in which 2 died and 13 were injured. On 5 May, Turkish doctors said initial test show no traces of sarin had been found in the blood samples of victims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/130505/syria-chemical-weapons-obama-red-line-turkey-idlib-aleppo-sarin-israel |title=Turkish doctors say no nerve gas in Syrian victims' blood |publisher=GlobalPost |date=5 May 2013}}</ref> French intelligence acquired blood, urine, earth and munitions samples from victims or sites of attacks on Saraqib, on 29 April 2013, and ], in mid April 2013. The analysis carried out confirms the use of sarin.<ref name=frenchInt13>{{cite news|last=Willsher|first=Kim|title=Syria crisis: French intelligence dossier blames Assad for chemical attack|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/syria-crisis-french-intelligence-assad|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 September 2013}}</ref>

On 13 June, the United States claimed that there is definitive proof that the Assad government has used limited amounts of chemical weapons on multiple occasions on rebel forces, killing 100 to 150 people, but no proof was presented.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/world/middleeast/white-house-pushes-back-on-bill-clintons-syria-remarks.html | title=Syria Has Used Chemical Arms on Rebels, U.S. and Allies Find | work=The New York Times | date=13 June 2013 | first1=Mark | last1=Mazzetti | first2=Michael R. | last2=Gordon}}</ref> The journalist ] has attributed the August attacks to a Turkish plot.<ref></ref> Hersh claims internal US intelligence assessments by the CIA and DIA concluded that rebel forces also possessed chemical weapons capability, and that US forces would risk rebel sarin attack if deployed to Syria.<ref name=hershlrb>{{cite news|last=Hersh|first=Seymour|title=Whose Sarin?|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/2013/12/08/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin|accessdate=10 December 2013|newspaper=London Review of Books|date=8 December 2013}}</ref>

On 5 August, another chemical attack by the Syrian army was reported by the opposition, who documented the injured with video footage. The activists say up to 400 people were effected by the attack in Adra and Houma of the Damascus suburbs. The content of the chemicals used has not been identified yet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170615|title=Syria: Rebels Allege Another Chemical Attack by Regime|author=Ari Soffer|publisher=Arutz Sheva|date=5 August 2013|accessdate=15 August 2013}}</ref>

On 21 August, Jobar, Zamalka, 'Ain Tirma, and Hazzah in the Eastern Ghouta region were struck with chemical weapons. At least 635 people were killed in ]. The Ghouta chemical attacks were confirmed after a three-week investigation conducted by the UN, who also confirmed the main agent used in the chemical attacks was sarin gas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://untribune.com/post/61391791260/un-chemical-weapons-report-will-confirm-sarin-gas-used |date=16 September 2013 |title=UN Chemical Weapons Report Will Confirm Sarin Gas Used in Aug. 21 Attack |deadurl=no |accessdate=17 September 2013}}</ref> The Mission "collected clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used in the Ein Tarma, Moadamiyah and Zalmalka in the Ghouta area of Damascus." Third party analyses of the evidence reported by the UN showed that the sarin gas was military grade, and the rockets that delivered the sarin may have been launched from Syrian army or rebel controlled territory.<ref name=hershlrb /><ref name=Gladstone20130916>{{cite news|last1=Gladstone|first1=Rick|last2=Chivers|first2=C.J.|title=Forensic Details in U.N. Report Point to Assad's Use of Gas|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/world/europe/syria-united-nations.html|accessdate=17 September 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 September 2013}}</ref><ref name=Drum20130916>{{cite news |last=Drum |first=Kevin |title=Yep, the Ghouta Gas Attacks Were Carried Out By the Assad Regime |url=http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/syria-un-report-ghouta-sarin-rocket-attack |newspaper=Mother Jones |date=16 September 2013 |deadurl=no |accessdate=17 September 2013}}</ref>

On 9 September, Russia urged Syria to put its' chemical weapons stockpile under international control. The initiative was expressed in the wake of American threat of attacking Syria after the chemical attack of 21 August.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/lavrov-syria-attack-terror-lavrov-warning/25099919.html |title=Russia Urges Syria To Put Chemical Weapons Under International Control |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=9 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Isachenkov|first=Vladmir|title=Russia To Push Syria To Put Chemical Weapons Under International Control|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/russia-syria-chemical-weapons-international-control_n_3893951.html|work=Huffington Post|date=9 September 2013}}</ref> On 14 September, US and Russia announced in Geneva that they reached a deal on how Assad should give up his chemical weapons.<ref>John Solomon. , '']''. 14 September 2013.</ref> A U.N. report of 2014 found that 'the evidence available concerning the nature, quality and quantity of the agents used on 21 August indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to the chemical weapons stockpile of the Syrian military, as well as the expertise and equipment necessary' and that the chemical agents used in the ] 'bore the same unique hallmarks' as those used in Al-Ghouta attack.<ref>U.N report A-HRC-25-65 Reuters, 5 March 2014 The Guardian 5 March 2014 </ref>

On 12 April 2014, Chemical weapons were used again in Syria, this time on the town of Kafr Zita, ] (see ]).<ref> Dialy Telegraph 11 May 2014 </ref> Doctors on the ground said they believed the agent to be ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2014/04/12/syria-rebels-government-confirm-poison-gas-attack|title=New rebel, government claims of poison gas attack complicates Syria civil war, weapons cleanup|date=April 12, 2014|publisher=US News}}the guardian, 20 April 2014 </ref> Within days of the attack, analysts said they were moving towards a belief that there is 'a coordinated chlorine campaign with growing evidence that it is the government side dropping the bombs'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/22/us-syria-crisis-chlorine-idUSBREA3L11I20140422 |title=Syria's chemical weapons wild card: chlorine gas |work=Reuters |author=Oliver Holmes |date=22 April 2014 |accessdate=May 8, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10796175/Syria-chemical-weapons-the-proof-that-Assad-regime-launching-chlorine-attacks-on-children.html |title=Syria chemical weapons: the proof that Assad regime launching chlorine attacks on children |work=] |author=Ruth Sherlock |date=29 Apr 2014 |accessdate=May 8, 2014}}</ref>

===Cluster bombs===
The Syrian army began using ]s in September 2012. Steve Goose, director of the Arms division at Human Rights Watch said "Syria is expanding its relentless use of cluster munitions, a banned weapon, and civilians are paying the price with their lives and limbs,” "The initial toll is only the beginning because cluster munitions often leave unexploded bomblets that kill and maim long afterward."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/03/16/syria-mounting-casualties-cluster-munitions |title=Syria: Mounting Casualties from Cluster Munitions|publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=16 March 2013}}</ref>

===Scud missile attacks===
In December 2012, the Syrian government began using ] missiles on rebel-held towns, primarily targeting Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news|author=Saad, Waida; Rick, Gladstone|title=Scud Missile Attack Reported in Aleppo|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/world/middleeast/scud-missile-aleppo.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=22 February 2013|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref> On 19 February, four Scud missiles were fired, three landed in Aleppo city and one on ] town, Aleppo governorate. Between December and February, at least 40 Scud missile landings were reported.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sevil Küçükkoşum |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-fired-more-than-40-scud-missiles-in-two-months.aspx?pageID=238&nid=41564 |title=Syria fired more than 40 Scud missiles in two months |work=Hürriyet Daily News}}</ref> Altogether, Scud missiles killed 141 people in the month of February.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sly|first=Liz|title=Ballistic missile strikes on Aleppo signal new escalation in Syria war|url=http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-26/world/37310124_1_ballistic-missiles-scuds-aleppo|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=26 February 2013}}</ref> The United States condemned the Scud missile attacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50927099/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/us-condemns-scud-attack-syria-invites-opposition-talks/#.UX05nLWUT6c |title=U.S. condemns Scud attack in Syria, invites opposition for talks|publisher=NBC News |date=24 February 2013}}</ref> On 1 March, a Scud missile landed in Iraq. It is believed that the intention was to hit the Deir Ezzor governorate.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weaver|first=Matthew|title=Syria crisis: Scud missile lands in Iraq |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2013/mar/01/syria-crisis-kerry-visits-turkey-live|newspaper=The Guardian|date=1 March 2013|location=London}}</ref> On 29 March, a Scud missile landed on ], Aleppo, killing 20 and injuring 50.<ref>{{cite news|title=20 dead in Scud missile attack in Syria, activists say|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/29/world/la-fg-wn-syria-scud-missile-20130329|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=29 March 2013|first1=Raja|last1=Abdulrahim|first2=Lava|last2=Selo}}</ref> On 28 April, a Scud missile landed on Tell Rifaat, killing four, two of them women and two of them children, SOHR reported.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/04/28/Missile-fired-on-Syria-town-kills-4-civilians-.html |title=NGO: Missile fired on Syria town kills 4 civilians|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=28 April 2013}}</ref> On 3 June, a surface to surface missile, not confirmed as a Scud, hit the village of ] around midnight killing 26 people including six women and eight children according to ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130603-syrian-missile-kills-26-village-near-aleppo |title=Syrian missile kills 26 in village near Aleppo 3 June 2013 |publisher=France 24 |date=6 December 2012}}</ref>

===Suicide bombings===
{{Further|List of bombings during the Syrian Civil War}}
Rebel suicide bombings ]; the Al-Nusra Front has claimed responsibility for 57 out of 70 similar attacks through April 2013.<ref name="AlNusraDaraa">{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/11/al_nusrah_front_claims_3_more.php|title=Al Nusrah Front claims 3 more suicide attacks in Daraa|date=27 November 2012}}</ref><ref name="LWJDamascusBombing">{{cite web|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/04/suicide_bomber_kills_77.php|title=Suicide bomber kills 16 in Syrian capital|date=8 April 2013}}</ref> The bombings have claimed numerous civilian casualties.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/world/middleeast/syria-explosion-damascus.html|title=Wider Use of Car Bombs Angers Both Sides in Syrian Conflict|date=8 April 2013|accessdate=28 April 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|first=Anne|last=Barnard}}</ref>

===Barrel bombs===
{{main|Barrel bomb}}

A barrel bomb is a type of ] used by the Syrian Air Force. Typically, a barrel is filled with a large amount of TNT, and possibly ] and oil, and dropped from a helicopter. The resulting detonation can be devastating.<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref>BBC, ; AFP 20 December 2013 </ref>

===Thermobaric weapons===

], also known as "fuel-air bombs," have been used by the government side during the Syrian civil war. Since 2012, rebels have said that the Syrian Air Force (government forces) is using thermobaric weapons against residential areas occupied by the rebel fighters, such as during the ] and also in ].<ref>. Ynetnews.com (20 June 1995).</ref><ref>. Firstpost.com.</ref> A panel of United Nations human rights investigators reported that the Syrian government used thermobaric bombs against the strategic town of Qusayr in March 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cumming-Bruce|first=Nick|title=U.N. Panel Reports Increasing Brutality by Both Sides in Syria|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/world/middleeast/un-panel-reports-increasing-brutality-by-both-sides-in-syria.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 June 2013}}</ref> In August 2013, the BBC reported on the use of napalm-like incendiary bombs on a school in northern Syria.<ref>, BBC News, 30 September 2013 </ref>

==Belligerents==

===Syrian government and affiliated parties===
{{see also|List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War}}

====Syrian Army====
{{main|Syrian Army}}
Before this uprising and war broke out, the force of the Syrian Army was estimated at 325,000 regular troops of which 220,000 ‘army troops’ and the rest in navy, air force and air defences; and additionally 280,000-300,000 reservists.

Since June 2011, defections of soldiers are being reported. By July 2012, the ] estimated tens of thousands soldiers to have defected, a Turkish official estimated 60,000 soldiers to have defected. According to Western experts, this did not yet harm the strength of that army; the defecting soldiers were mainly ] without access to vital command and control in the army.
In August 2013, the strength of the Syrian army had dropped to 178,000 regular troops, likely due to defections, desertions and casualties, according to the ] in London.

====National Defense Force====

{{main|National Defense Force (Syria)}}
The Syrian NDF was formed out of pro-government militias. They receive their salaries, and their military equipment from the government,<ref name="reuters">{{cite news|title=Insight: Battered by war, Syrian army creates its own replacement|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-syria-crisis-paramilitary-insight-idUSBRE93K02R20130421|accessdate=29 May 2013|newspaper=Reuters|date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Rise of the militias |author=Michael Weiss |url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/rise-of-the-militias |newspaper=NOW. |date=17 May 2013 |accessdate=}}</ref> and currently numbers at around 100,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria's Alawite Force Turned Tide for Assad|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323997004578639903412487708.html|publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=26 August 2013|accessdate=2 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Syria’s civil war: The regime digs in|url=http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21579494-president-bashar-assad-and-his-forces-have-won-new-lease-life-regime-digs |newspaper=The Economist |date=15 June 2013 |accessdate= }}</ref> The force acts in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and running counter-insurgency operations in coordination with the army, which provides them logistical and artillery support.
The force has a 500-strong women's wing called "''Lionesses of National Defense''" which operates checkpoints.<ref>{{cite news|title=Using Women to Win in Syria|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/originals/2013/09/women-fighters-syria-rebels-regime.html|author=Adam Heffez|publisher=] (Eylül)|date=28 November 2013|accessdate=28 November 2013}}</ref>

NDF soldiers are allowed to take ] from battlefields, which can then be sold for extra money.<ref name="reuters"/>

====Shabiha====
{{main|Shabiha}}

The ''Shabiha'' are unofficial pro-government militias drawn largely from Assad's ] minority group. Since the uprising, the Syrian government has frequently used ''shabiha'' to break up protests and enforce laws in restive neighborhoods.<ref name="Organized crime">{{cite web|last=Asher|first=Berman|title=Criminalization of the Syrian Conflict|url=http://www.understandingwar.org/article/criminalization-syrian-conflict|work=Institute for the Study of War|accessdate=27 October 2012}}</ref> As the protests escalated into an armed conflict, the opposition started using the term ''shabiha'' to describe any civilian Assad supporter taking part in the government's crackdown on the uprising.<ref name="Shabiha">. (PDF).</ref> The opposition blames the ''shabiha'' for the many violent excesses committed against anti-government protesters and opposition sympathizers,<ref name="Shabiha"/> as well as looting and destruction.<ref name=Harpers>{{cite web |url=http://harpers.org/archive/2011/06/hbc-90008111 |title=The Two Homs |last=Adorno |first=Esther |date=8 June 2011 |work=Harper's Magazine |accessdate=22 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/us-syria-idUSTRE78D3HV20110915|title=Armored Syrian forces storm towns near Turkey border|first=Khaled Yacoub|last=Oweis|agency=Reuters|date=15 September 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012|location=Amman}}</ref> In December 2012, the ''shabiha'' were designated a terrorist organization by the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/11/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html |title=U.S. blacklists al-Nusra Front fighters in Syria |publisher=CNN |accessdate=17 December 2012 |date=12 December 2012}}</ref>

] is reported to have created the ''shabiha'' in the 1980s for government use in times of crisis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=20120515124158 |title=Bashar Al-Assad's transformation |work=Saudi Gazette |date=15 May 2012 |accessdate=6 July 2012}}</ref> ''Shabiha'' have been described as "a notorious Alawite paramilitary, who are accused of acting as unofficial enforcers for Assad's regime";<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tnr.com/article/world/93286/syria-assad-shabbiha-sectarianism|title=Assad's Devious, Cruel Plan to Stay in Power By Dividing Syria—And Why It's Working|first=Oliver|last=Holmes |date=15 August 2011|work=TNR}}</ref> "gunmen loyal to Assad",<ref name=r452011>{{cite news|agency=Reuters|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/04/us-syria-assad-alawites-idUSTRE7433X620110504|title=Analysis: Assad retrenches into Alawite power base|date=4 May 2011}}</ref> and, according to the Qatar-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, "semi-criminal gangs {{sic|hide=y|comprised| of}} thugs close to the regime".<ref name=r452011/> Despite the group's image as an Alawite militia, some ''shabiha'' operating in Aleppo have been reported to be Sunnis.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/03/us-syria-aleppo-idUSTRE81213720120203 |title=Uprising finally hits Syria's "Silk Road" city |agency=Reuters |date=3 February 2012 |accessdate=18 August 2012|first=Khaled Yacoub|last=Oweis}}</ref>

In 2012, the Assad government created a more organized official militia known as the ], allegedly with help from Iran and Hezbollah. As with the ''shabiha'', the vast majority of Jaysh al-Sha'bi members are Alawite and Shi'ite volunteers.<ref name=guardianfeb13>. '']''. 12 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.</ref><ref name=miamiherald>. '']''. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013</ref>

====Hezbollah====
{{main|Hezbollah}}
General Secretary Nasrallah denied Hezbollah had been fighting on behalf of the Syrian government, stating in a 12 October 2012 speech that "right from the start the Syrian opposition has been telling the media that Hezbollah sent 3,000 fighters to Syria, which we have denied".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=ArabWorld&article=6018 |title=Drone flight over Israel: Nasrallah’s latest surprise |publisher=Arab-American News}}</ref>

However, according to the Lebanese '']'' newspaper, Nasrallah said in the same speech that Hezbollah fighters helped the Syrian government "retain control of some 23 strategically located villages inhabited by Shiites of Lebanese citizenship". Nasrallah said that Hezbollah fighters have died in Syria doing their "jihadist duties".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hirst|first=David|title=Hezbollah uses its military power in a contradictory manner|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/Oct-23/192380-hezbollah-uses-its-military-power-in-a-contradictory-manner.ashx#axzz2AJrVn2Ik|newspaper=The Daily Star|location=Beirut|date=23 October 2012}}</ref>

In 2012, Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon and took over eight villages in the ] of Syria.<ref name=alarabiya17feb13>. ], 17 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.</ref>

Former secretary general of Hezbollah, Sheikh ], confirmed in February 2013 that Hezbollah was fighting for the Syrian army.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/02/26/268422.html |title=Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria will 'go to hell,' says former leader |publisher=Al Arabiya|date=26 February 2013}}</ref>

On 12 May, Hezbollah, with the Syrian army, attempted to retake part of Qusayr.<ref name="Hezbollah in Q 2013">{{cite news | title=Hezbollah Aids Syrian Military in a Key Battle | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/world/middleeast/syrian-army-moves-to-rebel-held-qusayr.html | date=19 May 2013 |work=The New York Times | author=Barnard, Anne; Saad, Hwaida}}</ref> By the end of the day, 60 percent of the city, including the municipal office building, were under pro-Assad forces.<ref name="Hezbollah in Q 2013"/> In Lebanon, there have been "a recent increase in the funerals of Hezbollah fighters" and "Syrian rebels have shelled Hezbollah-controlled areas."<ref name="Hezbollah in Q 2013"/>

As of 14 May, Hezbollah fighters were reported to be fighting alongside the Syrian army, particularly in the ].<ref name="shiites in hez">{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/world/middleeast/nasrallah-warns-that-hezbollah-is-ready-to-come-to-syrias-aid.html| title=Leader of Hezbollah Warns It Is Ready to Come to Syria's Aid | work=The New York Times | date=30 April 2013 | accessdate=14 May 2013 | author=Anne Barnard, Hania Mourtada}}</ref> And Hassan Nasrallah has called on Shiites and Hezbollah to protect the shrine of Sayida Zeinab.<ref name="shiites in hez" /> President Bashar al-Assad denied in May 2013 that there were foreign fighters, Arab or otherwise, fighting for the government in Syria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/2013519124646578835.html |title=Syrian offensive on Qusayr deepens|publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref>

On 25 May, Nasrallah announced that Hezbollah was fighting in the Syria against ] extremists and "pledged that his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas that border Lebanon".<ref name="Hezbollah 2013">{{cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/hezbollah-chief-says-group-fighting-syria-162721809.html | title=Hezbollah chief says group is fighting in Syria | agency=Associated Press | date=25 May 2013 | accessdate=25 May 2013 | author=Mroue, Bassem}}</ref> He confirmed that Hezbollah was fighting in the strategic Syrian town of Qusayr on the same side as ]'s forces.<ref name="Hezbollah 2013"/> In the televised address, he said, "If Syria falls in the hands of America, Israel and the ], the people of our region will go into a dark period."<ref name="Hezbollah 2013"/>

According to independent analysts, by the beginning of 2014, approximately 500 Hezbollah fighters had died in the Syrian conflict.<ref></ref>

====Iran====
{{main|Iranian support for Syria in the Syrian Civil War}}
Since the start of the civil war, Iran has expressed its support for the Syrian government and has provided it with financial, technical, and military support.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21547305 |title=The long road to Damascus|work=The Economist|accessdate=11 February 2012|date=11 February 2012}}</ref>

===Opposition parties===
]. In center, president ], along with VPs ] and ], as well as all ] chairmen ], ] and ].]]

====Syrian National Council====

{{main|Syrian National Council}}
Formed on 23 August 2011, the National Council is a coalition of anti-government groups, based in Turkey. The National Council seeks the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule and the establishment of a modern, civil, democratic state. SNC has links with the ].

In November 2012, the council agreed to unify with several other opposition groups to form the ]. The SNC has 22 out of 60 seats of the Syrian National Coalition.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian opposition groups reach unity deal|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/11/syrian-opposition-deal/1697693/|newspaper=USA Today|date=11 November 2012}}</ref>

====Syrian National Coalition====
{{main|National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces}}
On 11 November 2012 in Doha, the National Council and other opposition forces united as the ].<ref name="usatoday1">{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/11/syrian-opposition-deal/1697693/|title=Syrian opposition groups reach unity deal |work=USA Today |date=11 November 2012|accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref> The following day, it was recognized as the legitimate government of Syria by numerous Persian Gulf states. Delegates to the Coalition's leadership council are to include women and representatives of religious and ethnic minorities, including Alawites. The military council will reportedly include the Free Syrian Army.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jim Muir |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20295857 |title=Syria crisis: Gulf states recognise Syria opposition |publisher=BBC|date=12 November 2012 |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref>

The main aims of the National Coalition are replacing the ] government and "its symbols and pillars of support", "dismantling the security services", unifying and supporting the ], refusing dialogue and negotiation with the al-Assad government, and "holding accountable those responsible for killing Syrians, destroying , and displacing ".<ref>{{cite web| title =The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces| publisher =] | date =12 November 2012 |url=http://www.lccsyria.org/10488| accessdate =20 November 2012 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6CIpu8And |archivedate=19 November 2012|deadurl=no }}</ref>

=====Free Syrian Army=====
{{main|Free Syrian Army}}
]

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is the main armed opposition in Syria. Its formation was announced in late July 2011 by a group of defecting ] officers. In a video, the men called upon Syrian soldiers and officers to defect to their ranks, and said the purpose of the Free Syrian Army was to defend civilian protesters from violence by the state.<ref name=worldtribune1>{{cite news |work=The World Tribune |url=http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_syria0973_08_03.asp |title=Defecting troops form 'Free Syrian Army', target Assad security forces |accessdate=13 November 2011 }}</ref> Many Syrian soldiers subsequently deserted to join the FSA.<ref>{{cite news |title=Free Syrian Army Partners with Opposition: What's Next for Syria? |first=Daniel |last=Torvov |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/259730/20111202/syria-assad-free-syrian-army-sanctions.htm |work=International Business Times |date=2 December 2011 |accessdate=28 September 2012}}</ref> The actual number of soldiers who defected to the FSA is uncertain, with estimates ranging from 1,000 to over 25,000 by December 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last=Blomfield|first=Adam|title=Syrian rebels strike heart of Damascus|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/8902832/Syrian-rebels-strike-heart-of-Damascus.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=21 November 2011|location=London}}</ref> The FSA functions more as an umbrella organization than a traditional military chain of command, and is "headquartered" in Turkey. As such, it cannot issue direct orders to its various bands of fighters, but many of the most effective armed groups are fighting under the FSA's banner.

As deserting government soldiers abandoned their armored vehicles and brought only light weaponry and munitions, FSA adopted ]-style tactics against government security forces in urban areas. Initially, its primary target has been the ] militias; most FSA attacks are directed against trucks and buses that are believed to carry security reinforcements.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hafez|first=Salam|title=Syrian Opposition Call for No-Fly Zone|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/124717/syrian-opposition-call-for-no-fly-zone.html|accessdate=8 October 2011|newspaper=The Journal of Turkish Weekly|date=8 October 2011}}</ref> Sometimes, the occupants of government vehicles are taken as ]s, while in other cases the vehicles are attacked either with ] or with hit-and-run attacks. To encourage defection, the FSA began attacking army patrols, shooting the commanders and trying to convince the soldiers to switch sides.<ref>. NYTimes (2012-03-04)</ref> FSA units have also acted as defense forces by guarding neighborhoods with strong opposition presences, patrolling streets while protests take place, and attacking Shabiha members. As the insurgency grew, the FSA began engaging in urban battles against the Syrian Army.

In May 2013, ], one of the FSA leaders, acknowledged that rebels were badly fragmented and lacked the military skill needed to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. He said it was difficult to unify rebels because many of them were civilians and only a few of them had military service. Idriss said he was working on a countrywide command structure, but that a lack of material support was hurting that effort. He pointed out shortage of ammunition and weapons, fuel for the cars and money for logistics and salaries. "The battles are not so simple now,” Idriss said. "At the beginning of the revolution, they had to fight against a checkpoint. They had to fight against a small group of the army. Now they have to liberate an air base. Now they have to liberate a military school. Small units can't do that alone, and now it is very important for them to be unified. But unifying them in a manner to work like a regular army is still difficult." He denied any cooperation with Al-Nusra Front but acknowledged common operations with another Islamist group ]. In April the US announced it would transfer $123 million of aid through his group.<ref name="McClatchySalimIdriss">{{cite web|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/05/07/190602/syrian-rebel-leader-salim-idriss.html|title=Syrian rebel leader Salim Idriss admits difficulty of unifying fighters|date=7 May 2013}}</ref> In late September, it was reported that the Army and rebels in some areas have ceased hostilities, and individual FSA-linked parties have begun attempts to start dialogue.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/a-syrian-solution-to-civil-conflict-the-free-syrian-army-is-holding-talks-with-assads-senior-staff-8847615.html|title=A Syrian solution to civil conflict? The Free Syrian Army is holding talks with Assad's senior staff|work=The Independent|date=29 September 2013|accessdate=30 September 2013|location=London|first=Robert|last=Fisk}}</ref>

====Mujahideen====
{{further|Foreign rebel fighters in the Syrian Civil War}}
In September 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that extremist groups make up 15–25% of rebel forces.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kerry: Syrian rebels have not been hijacked by extremists|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/04/syria-hagel-kerry-obama-rebels/2764567/|newspaper=USA Today|date=4 September 2013|first1=Jim|last1=Michaels}}</ref> According to ], about 12% of rebels are part of groups linked to ], 18% belong to ], and 9% belong to ].<ref>{{cite web|author=Kelley, Michael|url=http://www.businessinsider.com.au/graphic-the-most-accurate-breakdown-of-the-syrian-rebels-2013-9|title=A full extremist-to-moderate spectrum of the 100,000 Syrian rebels|work=Business Insider|date=19 September 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Malas, Nour & Abushakra, Rima|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303796404579096782311389904.html|title=Syrian rebel units reject pro-western opposition political leaders|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=25 September 2013|accessdate=4 October 2013}}</ref>
] have joined the conflict in opposition to Assad. While most of them are jihadists, some individuals, such as ], have joined to support the Syrian opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/world/middleeast/as-syrian-war-drags-on-jihad-gains-foothold.html|title=As Syrian War Drags On, Jihadists Take Bigger Role |work=The New York Times|date=29 July 2012 |accessdate=9 December 2012|first1=Neil|last1=MacFarquhar|first2=Hwaida|last2=Saad}}</ref>

The ] estimates that 2,000–5,500 foreign fighters have gone to Syria since the beginning of the protests, about 7–11 percent of whom came from Europe. It is also estimated that the number of foreign fighters does not exceed 10 percent of the opposition armed forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://icsr.info/2013/04/icsr-insight-european-foreign-fighters-in-syria-2/|title=ICSR Insight: European Foreign Fighters in Syria|date=2 April 2013}}</ref>
Another estimate puts the number of foreign jihadis at 15,000 by early 2014<ref name=us>{{cite news|last=Friedman|first=Thomas L.|title=Not Just About Us|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/opinion/friedman-not-just-about-us.html|accessdate=9 January 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=7 January 2014}}</ref> ),
The ] expressed concerns that some of the fighters might use their skills obtained in Syria to commit acts of terrorism back in Europe in the future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rt.com/news/belgian-father-son-syria-433/|title='He was brainwashed': Desperate Belgian father searches for son fighting in Syria|date=26 April 2013}}</ref>

In October 2012, various Iraqi religious groups join the conflict in Syria on both sides. Radical Sunnis from Iraq, have traveled to Syria to fight against President ] and the Syrian government.<ref name="nyt10282012">{{cite news|title=Iraqi Sects Join Battle in Syria on Both Sides|date=28 October 2012|work=The New York Times|accessdate=22 November 2012|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/world/middleeast/influx-of-iraqi-shiites-to-syria-widens-wars-scope.html|last1=Ghazi|first1=Yasir |last2=Arango |first2=Tim}}</ref> Also, Shiites from Iraq, in ] and ], have traveled to ] from ], or from the Shiite Islamic holy city of ], Iraq to protect ], an important mosque and shrine of ] in Damascus.<ref name="nyt10282012"/>

In September 2013, leaders of 13 powerful rebel brigades rejected Syrian National Coalition and called Sharia law "the sole source of legislation". In a statement they declared that "the coalition and the putative government headed by Ahmad Tomeh does not represent or recognize us". Among the signatory rebel groups were ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/25/world/meast/syria-rebels/index.html|title=Syrian rebels reject interim government, embrace Sharia|date=25 September 2013 | work=CNN}}</ref> In November 2013, seven Islamist groups combined to form the ].

=====Al-Nusra Front=====
{{main|Al-Nusra Front}}
The al-Nusra Front, being the biggest ] group in Syria, is often considered to be the most aggressive and violent part of the opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9716545/Inside-Jabhat-al-Nusra-the-most-extreme-wing-of-Syrias-struggle.html|title=Inside Jabhat al Nusra – the most extreme wing of Syria's struggle|date=2 December 2012 | location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Ruth|last=Sherlock}}</ref> Being responsible for over 50 ]s, including several deadly explosions in Damascus in ] and ], it is recognized as a terrorist organization by Syrian government and was designated as such by United States in December 2012.<ref name="AlNusraDaraa" />

In April 2013, the leader of the ] released an audio statement announcing that al-Nusra Front is its branch in Syria.<ref name="globalpost">{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130409/qaeda-iraq-confirms-syrias-nusra-part-network|title=Qaeda in Iraq confirms Syria's Nusra is part of network|date=9 April 2013|accessdate=9 April 2013|agency=]}}</ref> The leader of al-Nusra, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, said that the group will not merge with the Islamic State of Iraq, but still maintain allegiance to ], the leader of ].<ref name="naharnet">{{cite news|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/78961-al-nusra-commits-to-al-qaida-deny-iraq-branch-merger/|title=Al-Nusra Commits to al-Qaida, Deny Iraq Branch 'Merger'|date=10 April 2013|accessdate=10 April 2013|agency=]}}</ref>

The relationship between the Al-Nusra Front and the indigenous Syrian opposition is tense, even though al-Nusra Front has fought alongside the FSA in several battles. The Mujahideen's strict religious views and willingness to impose ] disturbed many Syrians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/with-wary-eye-syrian-rebels-welcome-islamists-into-their-ranks/|title=With wary eye, Syrian rebels welcome Islamists into their ranks|date=25 October 2012|accessdate=28 January 2013}}</ref> Some rebel commanders have accused foreign jihadists of "stealing the revolution", robbing Syrian factories and displaying religious intolerance.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/17/syria-crisis-alqaida-fighters-true-colours|title=Syria crisis: al-Qaida fighters revealing their true colours, rebels say|last=Chulov|first=Martin|date=17 January 2013|accessdate=26 January 2013|work=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref>

Al-Nusra Front has been accused of mistreating religious and ethnic minorities since their formation.<ref>. TheBlaze.com (30 June 2013).</ref> The estimated manpower of al-Nusra Front is approximately 6,000–10,000 people, including many foreign fighters.<ref name="GuardianForeignFighters">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/23/syria-foreign-fighters-joining-war |title=Syria: the foreign fighters joining the war against Bashar al-Assad|work=The Guardian|date=23 September 2012|accessdate=9 December 2012|location=London|first=Ghaith|last=Abdul-Ahad}}</ref>

On 10 March 2014, Al Nusra released 13 Christian nuns captured from Malouula, Damascus, in exchange for the release of 150 women from the Syrian government's prisons. The nuns reported that they were treated well by Al Nusra during their captivity, adding that they "were giving us everything we asked for" and that "no one bothered us".<ref>{{cite web|author=Agence France-Presse in Jdeitdet Yabus |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/10/kidnapped-nuns-thank-negotiators-freed-syria |title=Kidnapped nuns thank negotiators after being freed in Syria &#124; World news |publisher=theguardian.com |date=2014-03-10 |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref>

=====ISIS=====
{{main|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant}}
The ISIS, (also called Dā'ash or the ]) made rapid military gains in Northern Syria starting in April 2013 and as of late 2013 controls large parts of that region, where the ] describes it as "the strongest group".<ref name="ISISNorthSyria">{{cite news|title=Al Qaeda-linked group strengthens hold in northern Syria|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/05/world/europe/syria-turkey-al-qaeda/|author=Gul Tuysuz, Raja Razek, Nick Paton Walsh|publisher=CNN|date=6 November 2013|accessdate=3 December 2013}}</ref> It has imposed strict ] law over land that it controls. The group was, until 2014, affiliated with ], led by the Iraqi fighter ], and has an estimated 7,000 fighters in Syria, including many non-Syrians. It has been praised as less corrupt than other militia groups, and criticized for abusing human rights<ref name=AI>{{cite web|title=Syria: Harrowing torture, summary killings in secret ISIS detention centres|url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/syria-harrowing-torture-summary-killings-secret-isis-detention-centres-2013-12-19|work=19 December 2013|publisher=Amnesty International|accessdate=3 January 2014}}</ref> and for not tolerating non-Islamist militia groups, foreign journalists or aid workers, whose members it has expelled or imprisoned.<ref name=birke1>{{cite journal|last=Birke|first=Sarah|title=How al-Qaeda Changed the Syrian War|journal=New York Review of Books|date=27 December 2013|url=http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2013/dec/27/how-al-qaeda-changed-syrian-war}}</ref>

===Sectarianism and minorities===
{{main|Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War}}
]
Both the opposition and government have accused each other of employing sectarian agitation. The successive governments of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad have been closely associated with the country's minority ] religious group,{{Citation needed|date=February 2014}} an offshoot of Shia, whereas the majority of the population, and thus most of the opposition, is ], lending plausibility to such charges, even though both leaderships claim to be secular.

====Kurds====
{{main|2012 Syrian Kurdistan conflict}}
{{See also|Syrian Kurdistan}}
] – mostly ] Muslims, with a small minority of ]s – represented 10% of Syria's population at the start of the uprising in 2011. They had suffered from decades of discrimination and neglect, being deprived of basic civil, cultural, economic, and social rights.<ref name="OHCHR Sep11">{{Cite journal |separator= . |title= Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url= http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |publisher= UN Human Rights Council |date= 15 September 2011 |accessdate=30 June 2012}}</ref>{{rp|7|date=December 2012}} When protests began, Assad's government finally granted citizenship to an estimated 200,000 stateless Kurds, in an effort to try and neutralize potential Kurdish opposition.<ref name="HRW Kurds">{{cite web |last= Muscati |first= Samer |date= 14 May 2012 |title= Syrian Kurds Fleeing to Iraqi Safe Haven |url= http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/05/14/syrian-kurds-fleeing-iraqi-safe-haven |publisher= Human Rights Watch |accessdate=30 June 2012 }}</ref> This concession, combined with Turkish endorsement of the opposition and Kurdish under-representation in the Syrian National Council, has resulted in Kurds participating in the civil war in smaller numbers than their Syrian Arab Sunni counterparts.<ref name="HRW Kurds"/> Consequently, violence and state repression in Kurdish areas has been less severe.<ref name="HRW Kurds"/> In terms of a post-Assad Syria, Kurds reportedly desire a degree of autonomy within a decentralized state.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Blair |first1= Edmund |last2= Saleh |first2= Yasmine |date= 4 July 2012 |title= Syria opposition rifts give world excuse not to act |url= http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/07/04/uk-syria-crisis-rifts-idUKBRE8630IY20120704 |agency= Reuters |accessdate=9 July 2012 }}</ref>

]
Since the outset of the civil war, numerous Kurdish political parties have organised themselves into an umbrella organisation, the ]. Until October 2011, most of these parties were members of the NCC. After October 2011, only the PYD remained in the NCC, holding a more moderate stance regarding the Assad government.

The conflict between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamists groups such as al-Nusra Front have escalated since a group of Kurds expelled Islamists from the border town of Ras al-Ain.<ref>. Rudaw.net.</ref>

==International reaction==
{{main|International reactions to the Syrian Civil War}}
] (U.S.) speaks at a ] urgent debate on Syria, February 2012]]
The ], ], the United Nations,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011318231622114396.html |title=UN chief slams Syria's crackdown on protests |publisher=Al Jazeera|date=18 March 2011}}</ref> and many Western governments quickly condemned the Syrian government's violent response to the protests, and expressed support for the protesters' right to exercise ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jj7uSbIAaro1v0fwW4jziIxQ1j9w?docId=CNG.a807bd69f3debaa7a6b4ca2383f9500b.1191 |title=Canada condemns violence in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=21 March 2011 |accessdate=22 March 2011}}</ref> Initially, many Middle Eastern governments expressed support for Assad, but as the death toll mounted they switched to a more balanced approach, criticizing violence from both government and protesters. Both the Arab League and the ] suspended Syria's membership. Russia and China vetoed Western-drafted ] resolutions in 2011 and 2012, which would have threatened the Syrian government with targeted sanctions if it continued military actions against protestors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15177114|title=China and Russia veto UN resolution condemning Syria|publisher=BBC|date=5 October 2011}}</ref> Recently, the United Nations prepared an ], in which both the Syrian government and opposition have promised to participate.

==Humanitarian help==
{{main|Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war}}
The international humanitarian response to the conflict in Syria is coordinated by the ] (UNOCHA) in accordance with ] Resolution 46/182.<ref>United Nations General Assembly Resolution 182 session 46 Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian emergency assistance of the United Nations on 19 December 1991''</ref> The primary framework for this coordination is the Syria Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP) which appealed for ] $1.41 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Syrians affected by the conflict.<ref>. Retrieved 18 September 2013</ref> Official United Nations data on the humanitarian situation and response is available at http://syria.unocha.org/; an official website managed by UNOCHA Syria (Amman). UNICEF is also working along side these organizations to provide vaccinations and care packages to those in need. It has launched a vaccination campaign to eradicate polio from the region, as 17 cases have come up since the war broke over three years ago.
]
Financial information on the response to the SHARP, as well as assistance to refugees and for cross-border operations, can be found on UNOCHA's Financial Tracking Service. As at 18 September 2013, the top ten donors to Syria were: United States, European Commission, Kuwait, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Denmark.<ref>UNOCHA, Financial Tracking Service, http://fts.unocha.org/pageloader.aspx?page=emerg-emergencyDetails&emergID=16303. Retrieved 18 September 2013</ref> ] and other government agencies in US delivered nearly $385 million of aid items to Syria in 2012 and 2013. The United States is providing food aid, medical supplies, emergency and basic health care, shelter materials, clean water, hygiene education and supplies, and other relief supplies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/working-crises-and-conflict/responding-times-crisis/where-we-work/syria|title=USAID/SYRIA}}</ref> ] has stocked 30 hospitals and sent hundreds of thousands of medical and food parcels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irusa.org/emergencies/syrian-humanitarian-relief/|title=SYRIAN HUMANITARIAN RELIEF}}</ref>

Other countries in the region have also contributed various levels of aid. Iran has been exporting between 500 and 800 tonnes of flour daily to Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130303/iran-sending-tonnes-flour-daily-syria-report|title=Iran sending tonnes of flour daily to Syria: report|agency=Agence France-Presse |date=3 March 2013}}</ref> Israel has provided treatment to 750 Syrians in a field hospital located in ]. Rebels say that 250 of their fighters received medical treatment there.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenational.ae/world/revealed-how-syrian-rebels-seek-medical-help-from-an-unlikely-source-in-israel|title=Revealed: how Syrian rebels seek medical help from an unlikely source in Israel|date=2014-01-12|accessdate=2014-01-17}}</ref> On 26 April 2013, a humanitarian convoy, inspired by ], departed from Turkey to Syria. Called ''Hayat'' ("Life"), it is set to deliver aid items to ] inside Syria and refugees in neighboring countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. Syrian refugees currently make up one fourth of Lebanon's population, mostly consisting of women and children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=107584|title=Humanitarian aid convoy departs to help Syrian refugees|date=27 April 2013}}</ref>

The ] has reported that 35% of the country's hospitals are out of service and, depending upon the region, up to 70% of health care professionals have fled. Cases of ] and ] have increased by more than twofold since the beginning of 2013. Due to fighting, the normal vaccination programs cannot be undertaken. The displaced refugees may also pose a risk to countries to which they have fled.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22766084 |title=WHO warns of Syria disease threat |publisher=BBC |date=4 June 2013}}</ref>

==Foreign involvement==
{{main|Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War|Foreign rebel fighters in the Syrian Civil War}}
[[File:SyrianCivilWarMap.png|thumb|300px|Map of countries surrounding Syria (red) with military involvement.
{{legend|Green|Countries that support the rebels}}
{{legend|Blue|Countries that support the Syrian government}}
{{legend|Yellow|Countries that have groups that support the rebels with military force and have groups that support the Syrian government with military force}}
{{legend|#87CEEB|Countries that have groups that support the Syrian government with military force}}
]]
The Syrian civil war has received significant international attention, and both the Syrian government and the opposition have received support, militarily and diplomatically, from foreign countries.

The major parties supporting the Syrian Government are ]. Both of these are involved in the war politically and logistically by providing military equipment, training and battle troops. The Syrian government has also received arms and political ].<ref>, cnn, August 30, 2013</ref>

The main Syrian opposition body – the Syrian coalition - receives political, logistic and military support from the US, Britain and France.<ref name=memmott>{{cite news|last=Memmott|first=Mark|title=As Talks Continue, CIA Gets Some Weapons To Syrian Rebels|url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/13/222020019/as-talks-continue-cia-gets-some-weapons-to-syrian-rebels|accessdate=10 December 2013|newspaper=National Public Radio|date=13 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=marcus>{{cite news|last=Marcus|first=Jonathon|title=Syria conflict: UK to give extra £5m to opposition groups|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19205204|accessdate=10 December 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=10 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=France’s Hollande hints at arming Syrian rebels|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130920-france-says-ready-arm-syrian-rebels-hollande-assad-fsa-islamists|accessdate=10 December 2013|newspaper=France24|date=20 September 2013}}</ref> The Syrian coalition also receives logistic and political support from major Sunni states in the Middle East, most notably Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia; all the three major supporting states however have not contributed any troops for direct involvement in the war, though Turkey was involved in a number of border incidents with the Syrian Army.

The major Syrian Kurdish opposition group, the PYD, was reported to get logistic and training support from Iraqi Kurdistan. Islamist militants in Syria were reported to receive support from private funders, mainly in the Arabian Peninsula area, as well as from al-Qaeda in Iraq.

==Video footage==
Between January 2012 and September 2013, over a million videos documenting the war have been uploaded, and they have received hundreds of millions of views.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria's War Viewed Almost in Real Time|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579083112566791956.html|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=27 September 2013}}</ref> The ''Wall Street Journal'' states that the "unprecedented confluence of two technologies—cellphone cams and social media—has produced, via the instant upload, a new phenomenon: the YouTube war." The ''New York Times'' states that online videos have "allowed a widening war to be documented like no other."<ref>{{cite news|title=Watching Syria's War|url=http://projects.nytimes.com/watching-syrias-war|accessdate=29 September 2013|newspaper=NYT}}</ref>

==Impact==

===Deaths===
{{main|Casualties of the Syrian Civil War}}
]

Estimates of deaths in the conflict vary widely, with figures, per opposition activist groups, ranging from 104,420 and 150,345.<ref name=SOHR/><ref name="Violations Documenting Center"/><ref name="Violations Documenting Center1"/><ref name="shuhadamain">{{cite web |url=http://syrianshuhada.com/?lang=en&|title=Syrian Martyrs |publisher=Free Syria |accessdate=2 May 2013}}</ref> On 2 January 2013, the United Nations stated that 60,000 had been killed since the civil war began, with UN ] ] saying "The number of casualties is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking."<ref name=deathtolljump>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/02/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html |title=U.N.'s Syria death toll jumps dramatically to 60,000-plus|date=3 January 2013 | work=CNN}}</ref> Four months later, the UN's updated figure for the death toll had reached 80,000.<ref name=UN80000Dead>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22886730 |title=Syria death toll at least 93,000, says UN |publisher=BBC News |date= 13 June 2013}}</ref> On 13 June, the UN released an updated figure of people killed since fighting began, the figure being exactly 92,901, for up to the end of April 2013. ], UN high commissioner for human rights, stated that: "This is most likely a minimum casualty figure." The real toll was guessed to be over 100,000.<ref name=UN/><ref name=UN1>{{cite news|title=U.N. says Syria death toll has likely surpassed 100,000|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-un-syria-death-toll-20130613,0,2953708.story|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=13 June 2013|first=Patrick J.|last=McDonnell}}</ref> Some areas of the country have been affected disproportionately by the war; by some estimates, as many as a third of all deaths have occurred in the city of ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21228039|title=Syria crisis: Solidarity amid suffering in Homs|publisher=BBC|date=29 January 2013|accessdate=29 January 2013}}</ref>

One problem has been determining the number of "armed combatants" who have died, due to some sources counting rebel fighters who were not government defectors as civilians.<ref>{{cite web|last=Enders |first=David |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/06/173808/deaths-in-syria-down-from-peak.html |title=Deaths in Syria down from peak; army casualties outpacing rebels'|date=6 November 2012 |accessdate=14 November 2012}}</ref> At least half of those confirmed killed have been estimated to be combatants from both sides, including 52,290 government fighters and 29,080 rebels, with an additional 50,000 unconfirmed combatant deaths.<ref name=SOHR/> In addition, ] reported that over 500 children had been killed by early February 2012,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www6.arabnews.com/node/405908|title=400 children killed in Syria unrest |publisher=Arab News|date=8 February 2012 |accessdate=28 January 2013|location=Geneva }}</ref> and another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons;<ref name="npr">{{cite web |last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/03/146346490/rights-group-says-syrian-security-forces-detained-tortured-children |title=Rights Group Says Syrian Security Forces Detained, Tortured Children: The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=3 February 2012 }}</ref> both of these claims have been contested by the Syrian government. Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners are known to have died under torture.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/world/middleeast/hundreds-tortured-in-syria-human-rights-group-says.html |work=The New York Times |first=Kareem |last=Fahim |title=Hundreds Tortured in Syria, Human Rights Group Says |date=5 January 2012|accessdate=12 March 2013 }}</ref> In mid-October 2012, the opposition activist group ] reported the number of children killed in the conflict had risen to 2,300,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160978#.UH2WesU3tCg |title=Fighting Continues in Syria |publisher=Arutz Sheva|date=16 October 2012 |accessdate=25 October 2012}}</ref> and in March 2013, opposition sources stated that over 5,000 children had been killed.<ref name="Violations Documenting Center"/>

In January 2014, ] was released detailing the systematic killing of more than 11,000 detainees of the Syrian regime.<ref></ref>

===Illness===
Once-rare infectious diseases have spread in rebel held areas, primarily affecting children, brought on by the collapse of sanitation and deteriorating living conditions. These include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], (a disfiguring parasitic skin disease). Of particular concern is the contagious and crippling ] which as of late 2013 doctors and international public health agencies report more than 90 cases of. Critics of the regime complain that it has brought on the spread of disease by cutting off vaccination, sanitation and safe-water services to "areas considered politically unsympathetic" even before the uprising.<ref name=Suppressed>{{cite journal|last=Sparrow|first=Annie|title=Syria’s Polio Epidemic: The Suppressed Truth|journal=New York Review|date=February 20, 2014|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/feb/20/syrias-polio-epidemic-suppressed-truth/?insrc=hpma&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Mideast%20Brief&utm_campaign=Mideast%20Brief%201-22-2014|accessdate=23 January 2014|quote=Even before the uprising, in areas considered politically unsympathetic like Deir Ezzor, the government stopped maintaining sanitation and safe-water services, and began withholding routine immunizations for preventable childhood diseases. Once the war began, the government started ruthless attacks on civilians in opposition-held areas, forcing millions to seek refuge in filthy, crowded, and cold conditions.}}</ref>

===Refugees===
{{main|Refugees of the Syrian Civil War}}
]
The violence in Syria has caused millions to flee their homes. In August 2012, the United Nations said more than one million people were internally displaced,<ref name=200krefugees>{{cite news|title=Syria crisis: Number of refugees rises to 200,000|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19370506|accessdate=24 August 2012|date=24 August 2012|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> and, in September 2013, the UN reported that more than 6.5 million Syrians had been displaced, of whom 2 million fleeing to neighboring countries, 1 in 3 of those refugees (about 667,000 people) seeking safety in tiny ] (normally 4,8 million population).<ref name=NYT5Sep>"," ''The New York Times'', 5 September 2013</ref>
Others have fled to Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Turkey has accepted 400,000 Syrian refugees, half of whom are spread around a dozen camps placed under the direct authority of the Turkish Government. Satellite images confirmed that the first Syrian camps appeared in Turkey in July 2011, shortly after the towns of Deraa, Homs, and Hama were besieged.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astrium-geo.com/en/4807-syrian-refugee-camps-in-turkish-territory-interactive-web-report |title=Syrian refugee camps in Turkish territory tracked by satellite |publisher=Astrium-geo.com }}</ref> On 9 October 2012, the ] (UNHCR) reported that the number of external Syrian refugees stood at between 355,000 to 500,000.<ref name=reuters335000>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/us-syria-crisis-refugees-idUSBRE8980ZP20121009|date=9 October 2012|accessdate=16 October 2012|agency=Reuters|title=Up to 335,000 people have fled Syria violence: UNHCR|first=Raissa|last=Kasolowsky}}</ref> In September 2013, the UN stated that the number of Syrian refugees had exceeded 2 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23937972 |title=UN refugee agency says more than 2m have fled Syria |publisher=BBC | date=3 September 2013}}</ref>

===Human rights violations===
{{Main|Human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War}}
According to various human rights organizations and United Nations, human rights violations have been committed by both the government and the rebels, with the vast majority of the abuses having been committed by the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130313/un-must-refer-syria-war-crimes-icc-amnesty |title=UN must refer Syria war crimes to ICC: Amnesty |publisher=GlobalPost |accessdate=2014-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/16/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html |title=Top Syrian general defects, says morale among forces at a low |publisher=CNN.com |accessdate=2014-03-27 |date=16 March 2013}}</ref><ref>,</ref>

The U.N. ] investigating human rights abuses in Syria confirms at least 9 intentional mass killings in the period 2012 to mid-July 2013, identifying the perpetrator as Syrian government and its supporters in eight cases, and the opposition in one.<ref>{{cite news|last=Heilprin|first=John|title=Syria Massacres: UN Probe Finds 8 Were Perpetrated By Syria Regime, 1 By Rebels|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/11/syria-massacres_n_3905323.html|publisher=Huffington Post|date=11 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-massacres-by-syria-regime-and-1-by-rebels-since-april-2012-un-war-crimes-report-shows/ | work=CBS News}}</ref>

By late November 2013, according to the ] (EMHRN) report entitled “Violence against Women, Bleeding Wound in the Syrian Conflict”, approximately 6,000 women have been raped (including gang-rape) since the start of the conflict - with figures likely to be much higher given that most cases go unreported.<ref>, BBC, 26 November 2013.</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>

According to three eminent international lawyers.<ref>Sir Desmond de Silva QC, former chief prosecutor of the special court for Sierra Leone, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, the former lead prosecutor of former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic, and Professor David Crane, who indicted President Charles Taylor of Liberia at the Sierra Leone court</ref> Syrian government officials could face war crimes charges in the light of a huge cache of evidence smuggled out of the country showing the "systematic killing" of about ]. Most of the victims were young men and many corpses were emaciated, bloodstained and bore signs of torture. Some had no eyes; others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution. Experts say this evidence is more detailed and on a far larger scale than anything else that has yet emerged from the 34-month crisis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/20/evidence-industrial-scale-killing-syria-war-crimes|title=Syrian regime document trove shows evidence of 'industrial scale' killing of detainees|date=21 January 2014|publisher=theguardian|accessdate=21 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/20/world/syria-torture-photos-amanpour/|title=EXCLUSIVE: Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime|date=21 January 2014|publisher=CNN|accessdate=21 January 2014}}</ref>

On 30 January 2014, Human Rights Watch released a report detailing, between June 2012 and July 2013, government forces razing to the ground seven anti-government districts in the cities of Damascus and Hama, equating to an area the size of 200 football fields. Witnesses spoke of explosives and bulldozers being used to knock down buildings.<ref></ref> ] was provided as part of the report and the destruction was characterized as collective punishment against residents of rebel-held areas.<ref></ref>

UN reported also that ''"] warfare is employed in a context of egregious human rights and international humanitarian law violations. The warring parties do not fear being held accountable for their acts."'' Armed forces of both sides of the conflict blocked access of humanitarian convoys, confiscated food, cut off water supplies and targeted farmers working their fields. The report pointed to four places besieged by the government forces: Muadamiyah, Daraya, Yarmouk camp and Old City of Homs, as well as two areas under siege of rebel groups: Aleppo and Hama.<ref name="UNHCRfeb2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session25/Documents/A-HRC-25-65_en.doc|title=Report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic|date=2014-02-12|accessdate=2014-03-07}}</ref><ref name="thenewage.co.za"/> In ] 20,000 residents are facing death by starvation due to blockade by the Syrian government forces and fighting between the army and ], which prevents food distribution by UNRWA.<ref name="UNHCRfeb2014" /><ref name="MMHYarmouk">{{cite news|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/03/03/3971810/yarmouk-update-nusras-apparent.html|title=Yarmouk update: Nusra's apparent return complicates UNRWA's hopes for food program|date=2014-03-03|accessdate=2014-03-06}}</ref> The UN further stated that government sieges have left more than 250,000 subjected to relentless shelling and bombardment. "They are denied humanitarian aid, food and such basic necessities as medical care, and must choose between surrender and starvation,” the members of the UN Commission of Inquiry said.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=1706092&CategoryId=12395 |title=Latin American Herald Tribune - UN: Assad Regime Causing Mass Civilian Casualties in Syria |publisher=Laht.com |date=2013-06-15 |accessdate=2014-03-27}}</ref>

===Economy===
By July 2013, the Syrian economy has shrunk 45 percent since the start of the conflict. Unemployment increased fivefold, the value of the Syrian currency decreased to one-sixth its pre-war value, and the public sector lost USD $15 billion.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria Weighs Its Tactics As Pillars of Its Economy Continue to Crumble|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/world/middleeast/government-in-syria-searches-for-answers-as-economy-crumbles.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=13 July 2013|first=Anne|last=Barnard}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2013/02/economic-impact-syrian-crisis.html |title=Report Shows War's Impact on Syrian Economy – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East |publisher=Al-Monitor }}</ref>

===Crime wave===
]
As the conflict has expanded across Syria, many cities have been engulfed in a wave of crime as fighting caused the disintegration of much of the civilian state, and many police stations stopped functioning. Rates of thievery increased, with criminals looting houses and stores. Rates of kidnappings increased as well. Rebel fighters were sighted stealing cars and destroying an Aleppo restaurant in which Syrian soldiers had eaten.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cave|first=Damein|title=Crime Wave Engulfs Syria as Its Cities Reel From War|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/10/world/middleeast/crime-wave-engulfs-syria-as-its-cities-reel-from-war.html|accessdate=26 August 2012|work=The New York Times|date=9 August 2012}}</ref>

By July 2012, the human rights group ] had documented over 100 cases of rape and ] during the conflict, with many of these crimes believed to be perpetrated by the Shabiha and other pro-government militias. Victims included men, women, and children, with about 80% of the known victims being women and girls.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/blog/entry/the-ultimate-assault-charting-syrias-use-of-rape-to-terrorize-its-people|title=The ultimate assault: Charting Syria's use of rape to terrorize its people|publisher=Women Under Siege|date=11 July 2012|accessdate=27 August 2012}}</ref>

Criminal networks have been used by both the government and the opposition during the conflict. Facing international sanctions, the Syrian government relied on criminal organizations to smuggle goods and money in and out of the country. The economic downturn caused by the conflict and sanctions also led to lower wages for Shabiha members. In response, some Shabiha members began stealing civilian properties, and engaging in kidnappings.<ref name="Organized crime" />

Rebel forces sometimes relied on criminal networks to obtain weapons and supplies. Black market weapon prices in Syria's neighboring countries have significantly increased since the start of the conflict. To generate funds to purchase arms, some rebel groups have turned towards extortion, stealing, and kidnapping.<ref name="Organized crime" />

===Cultural heritage===
{{main|List of heritage sites damaged during Syrian civil war}}
The civil war has caused significant damage to Syria's cultural heritage, including ]s. Destruction of antiquities has been caused by ], army entrenchment, and ] at various ]s, museums, and monuments.<ref>Cunliffe, Emma. . ] and the ]. 1 May 2012.</ref> A group called ] is monitoring and recording the destruction in an attempt to create a list of heritage sites damaged during the war and gain global support for the protection and preservation of ] and architecture.<ref>Fisk, Robert. . ''The Independent''. 5 August 2012.</ref>

UNESCO listed all six Syria's ]s as endangered but direct assessment of damage is not possible. It is known that the ] was heavily damaged during battles being fought within the district, while ] and ] suffered minor damage. Illegal digging is considered a grave danger, and hundreds of Syrian antiquities, including some from Palmyra, appeared in Lebanon. Three archeological museums are known to have been looted; in Raqqa some artifacts seem to have been destroyed by foreign Islamists due to religious objections.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/world/middleeast/syrian-war-takes-heavy-toll-at-a-crossroad-of-cultures.html|title=Syrian War Takes Heavy Toll at a Crossroad of Cultures|date=2014-04-16|accessdate=2014-04-18|work=The New York Times|first=Anne|last=Barnard}}</ref>

The war has produced its own particular artwork. A late Summer 2013 exhibition in London at the ] was able to show some of this work.<ref>{{cite news|author=David Batty |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/22/syria-art-smuggled-exhibition-london-uk |title=Syrian art smuggled from the midst of civil war to show in London |work=The Guardian |date=22 June 2013}}</ref>

===Lebanon===
{{main|Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon}}
The Syrian government has bombed targets in Lebanon several times. Most recently, on 1 January 2014, 10 Syrians were wounded when government forces bombed the ] hills near the Lebanese town of ].<ref name="bombleb">{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/01/syria-lebanon/4280361/|title=Syria bombs Lebanon, targeting Syria rebels | work=USA Today | date=1 January 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Syrian civil war}}
{{div col||20em}}
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
{{div col end}}
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last=Hinnebusch |first=Raymond |year=2012 |title=Syria: From 'Authoritarian Upgrading' to Revolution? |journal=] |volume=88 |issue=1 |pages=95–113 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-2346.2012.01059.x }}
* {{cite journal |last=International Crisis Group |title=Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East (VII): The Syrian Regimes Slow-Motion Suicide |journal=Middle East/North Africa Report N°109 |format=PDF |date=13 July 2011 |url= http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Syria/109%20Popular%20Protest%20in%20North%20Africa%20and%20the%20Middle%20East%20VII%20--%20The%20Syrian%20Regimes%20Slow-motion%20Suicide.pdf |accessdate=22 July 2011}}
*{{cite journal |title=The Syrian Uprising of 2011: Why the Asad Regime Is Likely to Survive to 2013 |first=Joshua |last=Landis |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4967.2012.00524.x |journal=Middle East Policy |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=72–84 |year=2012 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Lawson |editor-first=Fred Haley |date=1 February 2010 |title=Demystifying Syria |url=http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/Demystifying-Syria.php |publisher=Saqi |isbn=978-0-86356-654-7 }}
* Rashdan, Abdelrahman. ''OnIslam.net.'' 21 March 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
* {{cite book |last=Van Dam |first=Nikolaos |url=http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/The-struggle-for-power-in-Syria-Nikolaos-van-Dam.php |title=The Struggle for Power in Syria: Politics and Society under Asad and the Ba'ath Party |publisher=I. B. Tauris |date=15 July 2011 |isbn=1-84885-760-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wright |first=Robin |title=Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East |location=New York|publisher=Penguin Press |year=2008 |isbn=1-59420-111-0 |pages=212–261 }}
* {{cite book |last=Ziadeh |first=Radwan |title=Power and Policy in Syria: Intelligence Services, Foreign Relations and Democracy in the Modern Middle East |year=2011 |location=London|publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-84885-434-5 }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|wikt=no|commons=Category:Syrian Civil War (2011-present)|b=no|n=Category:2011 Syria anti-government protests|q=no|s=no|v=no|voy=no|display=the Syrian civil war}}
;Interviews
{{Expand section|date=December 2013}}<!--could use at least one Assad interview here. probably all the 3/4 hes given to the int'l press. Russia Today, some Argentina one and Duetsche Welle, was it?-->
* A discussion of the at the '']''.
*

;Supranational government bodies
*

;Human rights bodies
* , ]

;Media
* at '']''
* {{YouTube|lg0O0N9HJaY|HOMS: Journey into Hell}} documentary by '']''
* at '']''
* at '']''
* {{Guardian topic|world/syria|Syria}}
* collected news and commentary at '']''
* at '']''
* collected coverage at '']''
* The battle for Syria (documentary films). Sources: TV news air footage (video documentary + English subtitles {{YouTube|2iAnhGCaG6s|The battle for Syria}}, official video documentary and the official text of the ).]
* Syrian diary (documentary films). Sources: TV news air footage (video documentary + English subtitles {{YouTube|M5MQZ8azNx0| Syrian diary}}), official video documentary of the .]

{{Syrian civil war}}
{{Arab Spring}}
{{Syria topics}}
{{Ongoing military conflicts}}
{{Middle East conflicts}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syrian Civil War}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Revision as of 23:10, 14 May 2014

This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (November 2013)

{{Syploying attack helicopters against rebel forces.

On 12 April, both sides, the Syrian Government and rebels of the FSA entered a UN mediated ceasefire period. It was a failure, with infractions of the ceasefire by both sides resulting in several dozen casualties. Acknowledging its failure, Annan called for Iran to be "part of the solution", though the country has been excluded from the Friends of Syria initiative.<ref>{{cite web |title= Iran reaffirms full support f

  1. Cite error: The named reference Air War was invoked but never defined (see the help page).