The game of foreign influences in Syria.

1. BACHAR AL-ASSAD’S REGIME MAINTAINS
THE MOST POPULATED PART OF THE COUNTRY WITH
SUPPORT FROM IRAN AND RUSSIA

Damascus Diet and its Russian and Iranian sponsors

Thanks to the decisive support of the Russian air force and pro-Iranian militias, the Bashar Al-Assad regime managed to reconquer two-thirds of Syria, with the main cities and strategic roads (). Today, nearly 10 million Syrians out of a total of 16 million inhabitants of the country live under its authority. More than 9 million Syrians have fled the country since the beginning of the war in 2011 ()..

RUSSIA: STRENGTHENING THE KREMLIN’S INFLUENCE ON THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has reduced its military presence in Syria (), but continues to provide armed support to the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Therefore, Moscow increasingly resorts to mercenaries. Thanks to its air bases and naval

Russia now has a permanent foothold on NATO’s southeastern flank.

2. THE SYRIAN REBELS, LEARNED IN
IDLIB’S POCKET, FACES THE REGIME
AND HIS ALLIES

rebel forces, dominated by the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTC)

HTC, a terrorist organization according to Damascus, Washington and Brussels, is fighting against the regime’s army, supported by Russian aviation, in the area it controls: an enclave of 3,000 square kilometers in the northwest of the country. HTC controls the Bab Al-Hawa crossing (), which derives revenue by taxing international aid that passes through it. It is estimated that more than 4 million people live in opposition-controlled areas.

3. IN THE SOUTH, THE ISRAELI BOMBING
HEZBOLAH’S POSITIONS FOR JUDGEMENT
THE IRANIAN PRESENCE IN SYRIA

Since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks against Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the pro-Iranian groups that support him. Israeli raids in Syria () have intensified since Israel’s offensive in Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

4. THE ISLAMIC STATE ORGANIZATION (EI) HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED IN SMALL TOWNS AND IS FACING THE UNITED STATES, WHICH IS STILL PRESENT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM

Jiadists of the Islamic State (IS) organization

IS cells remain active, especially in the Badiya desert near the border.
Iraqi-Syrian.

USA : ANTI-TERRORIST FIGHT

As part of the international anti-jihadist coalition, some 900 US soldiers are deployed in the country, mainly in areas under Kurdish control. Although ISIS was declared defeated in 2019, Washington maintains an armed presence to fight the jihadist cells still active. The US army notably has a base in the oil field.
of Al-Omar, the Conoco gas field and the strategic military base, in Al-Tanf (), close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

5. THE KURDS OCCUPY THE LEFT BANK OF THE EUPHRATES AND FACE TURKEY AND ISIS

Kurdish forces
Supported by the USAThe Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by Kurdish militias, remain in the north and east.
of the country, where more than 2 million people reside,
which include important hydrocarbon deposits ().

Türkiye: KEEP THE KURDISH FORCES
AWAY FROM ITS BORDER

The Ankara Army () occupies a discontinuous strip of territory in northern Syria. It exercises its control there with Syrian auxiliaries and former combatants.
of the united opposition in the ANS. while hunting
To protect the Kurdish populations in the Syrian territories under its control, Ankara has created a buffer zone between Turkish soil and the Kurdish forces – linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, an autonomist movement considered “terrorist” by Turkey) – that administer northern and eastern Syria.