: Syria’s war since 2011 has involved a host of regional and international players, forced millions of people from their homes and left more than 380,000 people dead.In March 2011, protests break out calling for political change after four decades of repressive rule by the Assad dynasty, Bashar having succeeded his father Hafez in 2000.In July, an army colonel, who has defected from the military, sets up the Turkey-based opposition Free Syrian Army .
FSA fighters in July launch a battle for Damascus. The government retains control of the capital, but rebels seize parts of the suburbs. US president Barack Obama pulls back from threatened punitive strikes, instead agreeing a deal with Moscow meant to dismantle Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.In June 2014, the jihadist Islamic State group proclaims a “caliphate” over territory it has seized in Syria and Iraq.Kurdish groups, which since 2013 have set up autonomous administrations in Kurdish-majority areas, join with Arabs to form the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces .
In a string of deadly campaigns, the regime retakes key rebel bastions, from Aleppo in 2016 to Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of the capital in 2018.In April 2017, a sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun kills more than 80 people.