 "Explainer: Why is there a conflict between the government and the rebels in Syria, know what is the reason for the civil war")
Rebels captured two Syrian cities last week. Since then, nearly 3 lakh people have been killed and 60 lakh people have been displaced in this conflict. These events have once again reminded the world that the civil war that started 14 years ago in Syria is not over yet. After all, why is this war happening and why is it not over yet and why has it flared up again recently? Let us understand all these things one by one.
Civil war is going on since 2011
In 2011, there were protests in Syria to oust then-dictator President Bashar al-Assad, but the movement was crushed by the Assad government’s army. Subsequently, an armed resistance began, initially consisting of small-scale militants and some Syrian army rebels. All these forces were not united at that time and their ideologies were also different, but the goal of all of them was to remove the Assad government. Various parts of them also received support from foreign powers including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE and even the US.
Supporters of the Assad government: On the other hand, the Assad government has received the support of Russia and Iran, where the Revolutionary Guards of Iran and the proxy Hezbollah of Lebanon supported the Assad government in fighting the rebels, while on the other hand, Russian planes also helped.
The role of terrorists
Not only this, the Islamic extremist Al-Qaeda has also taken a lot of interest in Syria, but not all rebels like them. By 2014, extremists and ISIS had taken control of many parts of the country, raising fears that Syria would forever become a terrorist stronghold. In such a situation, the US-led international coalition intervened, the aim of which was to eliminate the terrorists without clashing with the Assad government. Here, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDA), a group of Kurdish fighters formed with US support, worked effectively to eliminate ISIS.
There was a ceasefire four years ago
In the year 2020, Russia and Turkey agreed to a ceasefire and also agreed to create a security corridor to keep terrorists at bay. No major incident happened after that, but even the Assad government of Syria could not regain all its territories. But the situation suddenly changed last week. This time the situation is slightly different. This time the rebels started with an attack on Aleppo and they came together as a new coalition of the Military Operations Command and quickly took control of the countryside outside of Aleppo and are now said to have captured the entire city. have done A week later, the rebels also captured the city of Hama, 150 kilometers south of Aleppo. The rebels now want to push the Syrian army further south towards the city of Homs.
Syria’s support weakened
The rebels want to take advantage of the Syrian government’s weak position. While Russia has been embroiled in a war with Ukraine for two years, Iran is now facing attacks from Israel. Israel is attacking Hezbollah in particular. Analysts believe that the Syrian rebels want to take advantage of this weakness. Losing Aleppo and Hama is a major setback for the Syrian army.
The new alliance is led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), formerly with Al Qaeda. Now they have captured the city of Idlib and rebel groups backed by Turkey and earlier the US have also joined them. But some rebels have also fought against the SDF, complicating matters. At the same time, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army controls most of the city of Aleppo. Many of these areas were not occupied by Bashar al-Assad but by the SDF. The strategy of Syrian and Russian planes is different, they are attacking the areas of Aleppo and Idlib, but for now it is not easy for them to take back these areas.