The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has led to a power vacuum in the country, with various factions vying for control. The United States is concerned about the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) and has targeted ISIS positions in central Syria. Turkey, which controls a zone of Syria on its northern border, continues to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and the fleeing of Assad, controls the city. However, the Islamist militant group is not a U.S. ally, and its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. The group’s goal is to establish fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria, which has led to U.S., U.N., and Turkish designations as a terrorist organization.
The Syrian government, led by Assad, has been weakened, and its forces have not been able to reassert control. The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) has also been involved in the conflict, battling both HTS and the Islamic State. The SNA is a coalition of Turkish-backed forces primarily intent on fighting Kurdish forces and has clashed with HTS.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed Kurdish force, is fighting both the Islamic State and Turkish-backed forces. The SDF has hailed the fall of Assad’s regime and sees it as an opportunity to build a new, democratic Syria.
Turkey has played a significant role in the conflict, supporting the SNA and aiming to push the Kurdish population back from its border. The United States and Turkey are on opposing sides in the conflict, with the U.S. backing the SDF and Turkey supporting the SNA.
Other players in the conflict include Russia, which has provided air support to the Syrian government, and Iran, which has supplied arms and military advice to the government. Israel has also become involved, launching strikes against Syria to disrupt Iran’s supply lines to its proxy Hezbollah group. The fall of Assad has given rise to a power vacuum, with different factions vying for control, and has led to a complex and volatile situation in the region.