The Timeline of Fourteen Years of Civil War in Syria

The sudden collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria marks the climax of nearly 14 years of rebellion and a key moment in the civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands, displaced half the population, and drawn foreign powers into the midst of this crisis. Reuters reports the key events of this 14-year uprising: 2010 - Initial protests against Assad quickly spread across the country and faced severe repression, arrests, and gunfire from security forces. Some protesters took up arms, and military units joined the opposition. The uprising turned into an armed revolution gradually supported by Western, Arab, and Turkish countries. 2011 - A bombing in Damascus was the first bombing by the new al-Qaeda branch in Syria, the al-Nusra Front, which gained power and began to suppress groups with nationalist ideologies. Global powers gathered in Geneva and agreed on the need for a political transition, but their disagreements on how to achieve it thwarted years of UN-backed peace efforts. Bashar al-Assad employed his air force against opposition strongholds while rebels continued to advance, escalating the war with massacres on both sides. 2012 - Hezbollah of Lebanon assisted Bashar al-Assad in achieving victory in Qusayr, halting the rebels' movement and demonstrating the increasing role of the Iran-supported group in this conflict. Washington declared the use of chemical weapons a red line, but a chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta, held by rebels, killed dozens of civilians without provoking a military response from the U.S. 2013 - ISIS suddenly seized the city of Raqqa in northeastern Syria and took more territory in Syria and Iraq. Rebels surrendered in the old city of Homs and agreed to be transferred to outer suburbs; this was their first major defeat in an important urban area and a precursor to future 'evacuation' agreements. Washington formed a coalition against ISIS and began airstrikes that helped Kurdish forces reverse the jihadists' momentum, but this created tension with its ally, Turkey. 2014 - With better cooperation and receiving more weapons from abroad, rebel groups advanced further and captured northwest Idlib province, but Islamist militants played a larger role in the war. Russia entered the war and supported Assad with airstrikes, shifting the war in favor of government forces and advancing against rebels in the following years. 2015 - Concerned about Kurdish advances at the border, Turkey launched an offensive with its allied rebels, creating a new area under Turkish control. The Syrian army and its allies defeated rebels in Aleppo, which at that time was considered Bashar al-Assad's greatest victory in the war. The al-Nusra Front separated from al-Qaeda and attempted to present itself as a moderate group, adopting new names and eventually becoming Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. 2016 - Israel confirmed that it had conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah in Syria. The aim of these attacks is to reduce the growing power of the Islamic Republic and its allies. U.S.-backed Kurdish forces defeated ISIS in Raqqa. This attack and the Syrian army's counterattack drove the jihadist group from nearly all its territory. 2017 - The Syrian army recaptured Eastern Ghouta and then quickly retook other revolutionary areas in central Syria and subsequently the southern rebel base in Daraa. 2018 - ISIS lost the last piece of its territory in Syria. The U.S. decided to keep some of its forces in the country to prevent attacks on its Kurdish allies. 2019 - Russia supported a government offensive that ended with a ceasefire with Turkey, stabilizing most front lines. Bashar al-Assad controlled most territories and all major cities, appearing to be firmly established in power. Rebels held northwest areas. A Turkey-backed force controlled the border strip. Kurdish forces led the northeastern region. 2022 - Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 led to clashes between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, ultimately resulting in a reduction of Hezbollah's presence in Syria and a lethal weakening of Assad. 2023 - Rebels launched a new attack on Aleppo. With Assad's allies focused on other fronts, his army quickly collapsed. Eight days after Aleppo's fall, rebels captured most major cities and entered Damascus, ousting Assad from power. The rebels attacked the Islamic Republic's embassy in Damascus. The continued U.S. presence in eastern Syria aims to prevent the resurgence of ISIS. Syrian rebels announced the capture of Damascus and the end of Assad's regime on state television. The Assad family's rule in Syria has ended; opponents have also captured Damascus.