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Syrian Conflict
The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided civil war in Syria fought between the Ba’athist Syrian Arab Republic led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, along with domestic and foreign allies, and various domestic and foreign forces opposing both the Syrian government and each other in varying combinations. The war is currently the second deadliest of the 21st century.
The war, which began on 15 March 2011 with major unrest in Damascus and Aleppo, is being fought by several factions: the Syrian Armed Forces and its international allies, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Salafi jihadist groups (including al-Nusra Front), a loose alliance of mostly Sunni opposition rebel groups (including the Free Syrian Army), the mixed Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and, with a number of countries in the region and beyond being either directly involved or providing support to one or another faction (Iran, Russia, Turkey, the United States, as well as others).
What Erdogan Wants