Many readers who have been following us for years have asked for a sort of informative summary of what is happening in Syria. In the complicated landscape of the Syrian war, national states and hundreds of armed groups act in different ways and for different purposes, continuing the armed struggle.
We would like to clarify that the following is a summary scheme, for obvious reasons incomplete in the face of all the facets of the scenario. It takes into account the political-military weight of the subjects indicated and the change in equilibrium in recent months. Above all with regard to rebel formations, the scheme refers to the current power relations and the most important acronyms without highlighting the degree of legal legitimacy relative to the context. In light of the following legend, it may be useful for a general summary of the Syrian framework updated at the end of May 2017.
To better understand the table we indicate with:
Syria: all the armed forces and paramilitaries loyal to President Bashar Al Assad.
Free Syrian Army: the first rebel military cartel formed by a galaxy of subgroups (some jihadists), whose political counterpart is the Syrian National Coalition. In the north it is affiliated with Turkey; to the south to the anti-ISIS Coalition forces.
Islamic state: the terrorist and Islamist state inspired by the Sunni Waabhite identity that arose between Syria and Iraq.
Islamic Front: the union of 7 terrorist jihadist groups (including Ahrar Al Sham) operating in Syria, mostly north of Damascus.
Turkey: the Turkish armed forces and the Turcoman militias operating in Syria related to them (eg Turkistan Islamic Party...).
Russia: the set of Russian forces lined up alongside Damascus (at the request of the Syrian government).
Iran: the set of Iranian armed and paramilitary forces lined up alongside Damascus (at the request of the Syrian government).
Iraq: the set of Baghdad regular forces deployed against ISIS, except for Shiite paramilitary militias (see PMU).
Anti-ISIS coalition: all the forces of Western and Arab countries lined up against ISIS in Syria (without the consent of the Syrian government). It is officially part of the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Denmark, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain and Qatar.
USA: the set of US forces deployed in Syria (without the consent of the Syrian government).
SDF / YPG (Syrian Democratic Forces / People Protection Unit): the Arab-Kurdish military cartel supported by the US and engaged in the north-east of Syria.
Israel: the political-military role played by Israel in the Syrian crisis.
Hezbollah: the Lebanese Shiite militia armed by Iran deployed alongside the Damascus government (at the request of the Syrian government).
PMU (Popular Mobilization Unit): the Iraqi Shiite militia cartel deployed alongside the Damascus government.
Saudi Arabia: the political-military role played by Saudi Arabia in the Syrian crisis.
HTS (Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham): the 18 cartel jihadist terrorist formations (including the bulk of the former Al Qaeda) operating in the northwest of Syria.
The colors and definitions in the table should be considered as a summary.
(photo: US Army)
