Who are all the key players in Syria’s civil war and rebel uprising?

Syria’s long civil war has claimed global attention after the insurgents took control of Damascus over the weekend and toppled the 50-year-old Assad regime.

on Tuesday, He announced the new interim leader of Syria was taking charge of the country as interim prime minister with the support of the former rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.

In a brief speech on state television, Mohammed al-Bashir, a little-known figure in most of Syria who previously ran an administration in a small pocket of rebel-held northwest, said he would lead the interim authority until on March 1.

The stunning advance by rebel forces over the past two weeks has come as several key players in the conflict have been distracted or weakened, sparking the most intense clashes since a 2020 ceasefire brought relative calm to the north of the country

Here’s a look at the key players.

5 foreign powers in Syria

Syria’s civil war began in 2011 after an uprising against the Assad government. Five foreign powers have a military presence in the country: the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Israel. Forces opposed to Assad, along with US-backed fighters, had controlled more than a third of the country.

Turkey has deployed troops in northwestern Syria, territory occupied by Syrian rebel groups that rose up against Assad in 2011. Turkey, which strongly supported the 2011 uprising, supports some of those rebel groups.

Iran deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria as early as 2012 to help Assad. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, played an important role. For Iran, Assad is a crucial ally, part of its “Axis of Resistance” to Israel and US influence in the Middle East.

US military intervention in Syria began in 2014 with airstrikes against the Islamic State jihadist group that had declared its rule over a third of Syria and Iraq. US forces remain in Syria and continue to support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Russia intervened militarily alongside Assad in 2015, in its biggest incursion into the Middle East since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Operating from an air base in Latakia province, Russian air power decisively tilted the conflict in Assad’s way.

Israel owns the Golan Heights, which it seized in its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors. on Monday, Israeli forces occupied a buffer zone in the Golan Heights established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria. Israel has denied reports that its forces had advanced beyond the buffer zone into the countryside southwest of Damascus.

The presence of Iranian and Iranian-backed forces in Syria has been a major cause of concern for Israel, leading it to conduct frequent airstrikes in Syria.

Syrian pro-government forces. With the support of Russia, Iran

Syrian government troops have long controlled much of the country, thanks to allied forces sent by Russia and Iran.

Until this weekend, Assad’s forces controlled most of the main population centers, including the capital Damascus and cities in central, southern and eastern Syria. The Syrian government’s capture of Aleppo in late 2016 was a turning point in the conflict, and the loss of the city in recent days is a major setback.

Iran’s military advisers and proxy fighters have played a critical role in bolstering Assad’s forces during the war. But Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been weakened in its recent war with Israel and Iran has been distracted by the conflict. Last week, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias deployed to Syria to support the government’s counteroffensive.

The Russian military has supported Assad from the Mediterranean coast, where it maintains its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union, and from the Hmeimim air base in Latakia province, which hosts hundreds of Russian troops. But much of his attention and resources have been focused on his war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Monday that Russia did granted political asylum to Assad.

Insurgent groups. Mainly supported by Turkey

The anti-government forces are led by the insurgent Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has long served as al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria and is considered a terrorist group by the United Nations as well as countries like the US and Canada.

Public Safety Canada noted that Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), which in 2017 merged with HTS, has claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks, including ambushes, kidnappings, assassinations, suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices.

HTS had controlled much of northwestern Syria and in 2017 established a “salvation government” to manage day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaeda, abandoning hardline officials and vowing to embrace religious pluralism and tolerance.

Other insurgent groups include Noureddine el-Zinki, which was previously supported by the US, before joining the HTS-led alliance.

A Turkish-backed coalition of groups known as the Syrian National Army has attacked areas such as the northern town of Tel Rifaat, which is controlled by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Chinese fighters from the Turkistan Islamic Party and Chechen fighters from the former Soviet Union have taken part in the fighting in the northwest of the country, according to Syrian opposition activists.

Turkey, which controls parts of northern Syria, will not say how many troops it has in the country.

Syrian Democratic Forces. With the support of the US

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed coalition of groups, control much of eastern Syria.

The SDF has been fighting the Islamic State group, capturing the last bit of land held by the extremists in eastern Syria. About 900 US troops are stationed in eastern Syria to prevent a resurgence of the extremist group.

On Sunday, the United States launched one of its largest and most expansive assaults against IS camps and operatives in the desert, capitalizing on the fall of Assad’s government. So far, U.S. officials say they are not planning an increase in U.S. forces in Syria, but are focused on making sure those already there are safe.

Turkey considers the main Kurdish faction of the SDF to be linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which it and its allies consider a terrorist group.