Syrian civil war nears Idlib showdown 

Government control 
Rebel control
Kurdish control
So-called Islamic State
Turkish control 

TURKEY
SYRIA
Afrin
Aleppo 
Raqqa
Rabia
Idlib
Salma 
Latakia 
Tartus
Homs 
Palmyra 
Damascus
Busr al-Harir
Qusayr
Daraa
Euphrates
IRAQ
JORDAN
ISRAEL
LEBANON
Beirut
Golan Heights

100km
62 miles


1 Mar 2011, Daraa: Violence flares after children paint anti-government graffiti on school walls. President Bashar al-Assad cracks down on demonstrations – dozens are killed

2 Jun 2013, Qusayr: Regime troops, led by Hezbollah fighters, seize rebel stronghold used as transit point for weapons and fighters from Lebanon

3 2015-16, Rabia, Salma: Syrian troops – backed by Russian air power – drive Al Qaeda-linked fighters from twin strongholds

4 2012-16, Aleppo: After siege and Russian-backed air offensive, pro-government and Kurdish forces take control of Syria’s second city

5 Mar 2017, Palmyra: Syrian troops, backed by Russian airpower, recapture ancient oasis city from Islamic State (IS)

6 May 2017, Homs: After two-year siege, regime takes control of country’s third-largest city – “capital of the revolution”

7 Oct, Raqqa: U.S.-backed Kurdish- led Syrian Democratic Forces capture heart of IS’s so-called caliphate

8 Feb-Apr 2018, Eastern Ghouta: Two-month assault drives out fighters from rebel stronghold

9 Jun 19-Jul 6, Daraa: Rebels surrender remaining opposition-held towns in “cradle of the uprising”

10 Aug, Idlib: Air strikes and shelling pound last city on Syrian territory
still held by rebels



Sources: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Al Jazeera      © GRAPHIC NEWS