Syrian Civil War - Uprising in Syria, 2011–

Syrian Civil War

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Uprising in Syria, 2011–

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Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 29, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Date:: February 2011 - present

Location:: Syria

Participants:: Free Syrian Army; Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant

Context:: Arab Spring

Key People:: Vladimir Putin; Bashar al-Assad; Barack Obama

February 2011
- Several small demonstrations are held in Syria to call for reform and to show solidarity with pro-democracy protesters in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. Syrian security forces are able to contain the demonstrations, making a number of arrests.
March 6, 2011
- In the southern city of Darʿā, Syrian police arrest several children for writing antigovernment graffiti.
March 15, 2011
- Antigovernment protests are held in several cities around Syria.
March 19, 2011
- Syrian security forces seal off the city of Darʿā, the site of the heaviest protests, in an attempt to prevent protests from spreading.
March 24, 2011
- Dozens of protesters are reportedly killed when security forces open fire on a demonstration in Darʿā.
March 29, 2011
- As protests spread and the number of protesters reported killed rises, President Assad fires his cabinet. Representatives of the president hint that new reforms will be undertaken.
March 30, 2011
- In his first speech since protests began, Assad is defiant, blaming the unrest on foreign conspirators seeking to destabilize Syria. He offers no concrete reforms or concessions.
April 6, 2011
- In an attempt to appeal to conservative Muslims, the government shuts Syria’s only casino and reverses a law prohibiting teachers from wearing the niqāb, a veil that covers the face.
April 12, 2011
- The government begins to use heavy military weaponry against hubs of protest. Soldiers and tanks are deployed to the cities of Bāniyās and Homs.
April 16, 2011
- Assad gives his second speech since the protests began. He offers some concessions, vowing to lift Syria’s long-standing emergency law, which grants security forces broad authority to investigate and arrest Syrians when national security is deemed to be at risk.
April 19, 2011
- Syria’s emergency law is lifted, although the Syrian opposition dismisses the concession as merely cosmetic. The security forces continue to shoot and detain protesters.
April 28, 2011
- Dozens of members of the Baʿth Party resign in protest against the regime’s crackdown. Human rights groups and opposition groups estimate that the death toll exceeds 500.
May 9, 2011
- The European Union (EU) imposes an arms embargo and applies travel restrictions and asset freezes to 13 senior Syrian officials. The sanctions do not apply to Assad personally.
May 19, 2011
- The United States imposes new sanctions against Syrian officials. The new sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, extend to Assad himself.
May 23, 2011
- The EU votes to extend sanctions to include Assad.
May 30, 2011
- Protesters are galvanized by newly published images of the mutilated body of Hamza Ali al-Khatib, a 13-year-old boy from Darʿā who was tortured to death while in police custody. Photos of Khatib are distributed at protests, and the images become a potent symbol of the regime’s brutality.
June 6, 2011
- Syrian official media report that 120 soldiers were killed by armed gangs in the northern city of Jisr al-Shughūr, near the Turkish border. Members of the opposition claim that the soldiers were executed for refusing to fire on protesters.
June 10, 2011
- Syrian tanks and troops move into Jisr al-Shughūr. Thousands of residents flee across the border into Turkey.
June 20, 2011
- Assad gives a third speech in which he continues to blame foreign conspiracies for unrest in Syria. His calls for a national dialogue are dismissed by the opposition.
June 27, 2011
- The Syrian government permits some Syrian opposition leaders to hold a rare public meeting in a hotel in Damascus.
July 1, 2011
- Large demonstrations are held throughout Syria. In Ḥamāh, tens of thousands reportedly participate in street protests.
July 3, 2011
- Syrian tanks and troops are dispatched to Ḥamāh, where security forces raid houses and arrest suspected dissidents.
July 7, 2011
- Amid concerns that the Syrian military’s actions in Ḥamāh could lead to a massacre, the U.S. ambassador to Syria shows solidarity with protesters by visiting Ḥamāh. The Syrian government denounces the visit, calling it proof that the United States is involved in fomenting protest in Syria.
July 8, 2011
- As massive demonstrations are held in Ḥamāh, the French ambassador to Syria also travels to the city to show support for protesters.
July 11, 2011
- Crowds of Assad supporters attack the U.S. embassy and the French embassy in Damascus. Some demonstrators scale the walls of the U.S. embassy and vandalize parts of the building before embassy guards are able to reestablish control. No injuries are reported. At the French embassy, guards hold off crowds by firing into the air. U.S. and French officials accuse the Syrian government of permitting the attacks to take place.
July 25, 2011
- The Syrian cabinet approves a draft law allowing for the formation of new political parties in Syria. The law includes provisions that, members of the Syrian opposition argue, could be used by the Assad regime to disqualify any viable party.
July 29, 2011
- A group of defectors from the Syrian military announce the formation of the Free Syrian Army, an opposition militia. The announcement calls on other members of the Syrian military to defect rather than participate in violence against protesters.
August 3, 2011
- The UN Security Council condemns the Syrian government for its use of violence against protesters.
August 4, 2011
- Assad issues a decree putting the draft law allowing for the formation of new political parties into effect immediately.
August 8, 2011
- In a sign of the Assad regime’s increasing diplomatic isolation, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia recall their ambassadors to Syria.
August 17, 2011
- In a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Assad states that military and police operations in Syria have stopped. However, reports of attacks and civilian casualties continue to emerge.
August 18, 2011
- U.S. Pres. Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French Pres. Nicholas Sarkozy, and British Prime Minister David Cameron issue statements calling for Assad to step down as president.
August 23, 2011
- UN human rights officials estimate that more than 2,200 people have been killed by Syrian security forces since mid-March. The UN Human Rights Council votes to open an investigation into possible crimes against humanity.
September 2, 2011
- Bolstering sanctions, the EU agrees to a ban on the import of Syrian oil.
September 8, 2011
- Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls on Assad to end the violence against protesters. Ahmadinejad’s statement follows several public statements by Iranian officials acknowledging the legitimacy of Syrian protesters’ demands. Previously, Iran, thought to be the closest ally of the Assad regime, had remained publicly supportive of Assad’s response to the protests.
September 15, 2011
- Following a four-day conference of Syrian opposition activists in Istanbul, 140 people are selected to form the Syrian National Council, a council claiming to represent the Syrian opposition.
September 27, 2011
- In the first large-scale battle between government forces and the armed opposition, Syrian troops clash with army defectors—including members of the Free Syrian Army—in the city of Al-Rastan. After five days of fighting, government forces establish control of the city.
October 2, 2011
- The Syrian Nation Council issues a statement calling on the international community to defend protesters in Syria.
October 4, 2011
- China and Russia veto a UN Security Council resolution that condemns the Syrian government’s crackdowns and indicates that the continuation of violence against protesters could lead to international sanctions.
October 14, 2011
- The UN announces that 3,000 people have been killed since the start of protests, including nearly 200 children.
October 29, 2011
- The Arab League denounces the Syrian government’s use of violence against protesters.
November 1, 2011
- Qatar’s foreign minister announces that Syria has accepted an Arab League plan for dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition. The plan calls for the Syrian government to cease violence against protesters, allow journalists into the country, and release political prisoners.
November 8, 2011
- The UN releases a new report estimating that 3,500 people have been killed since the start of protests. Violence continues despite the Syrian government’s reported agreement to withdraw its troops from cities.
November 12, 2011
- The Arab League votes to suspend Syria. Arab diplomats criticize Syria for failing to implement the Arab League’s peace agreement. In Syria, embassies and consulates belonging to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and France are attacked by angry crowds following the vote.
November 16, 2011
- The Free Syrian Army attacks several army checkpoints and an air force intelligence base near Damascus. The attacks, the first to target government forces near the capital, are seen by many as an indication of the armed opposition’s increasing confidence.
November 27, 2011
- The Arab League votes to impose sanctions against Syria, including a ban on senior Syrian officials traveling to other Arab countries, a freeze on assets linked to the Assad regime, and a ban on commercial flights between Syria and other Arab countries. Turkey announces that it will also adopt the Arab League’s sanctions.
December 7, 2011
- In an interview with an American television network, Bashar al-Assad defends the Syrian government’s response to protests and denies having ordered the security forces to kill protesters. He maintains that disturbances in the country are the work of armed criminal gangs and that primary victims of violence have been members of the security forces and civilian supporters of the government.
December 12, 2011
- Syria holds elections for local councils as fighting continues in several cities. The opposition dismisses the vote as irrelevant and calls for a boycott.
December 13, 2011
- As fears of a civil war grow, Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reports that more than 5,000 people have been killed since protests began.
December 19, 2011
- Syria signs an agreement allowing Arab League monitors to enter the country to observe Syria’s implementation of the Arab League peace plan, which the country accepted in November.
December 22, 2011
- The first Arab League monitors arrive in Syria. The Syrian opposition objects to the appointment of Mustafa al-Dabi, a Sudanese general accused of having committed human rights violations in his own country, as the head of the delegation.
December 23, 2011
- Two bombings kill dozens in Damascus. Syrian officials announce that the bombings were carried out by al-Qaeda suicide bombers. Opposition leaders contend that the bombings were staged by the government to substantiate its claims that it is facing an insurrection by Islamic radicals.
December 27, 2011
- The rest of the Arab League delegation arrives in Syria. Although the observers’ first statements about the situation in Syria are positive, reports indicate that violence against protesters in Homs continues while the monitors are in the city.
January 2, 2012
- The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Nabil Elaraby, acknowledges during a press conference that Syrian security forces continue to kill protesters in spite of the presence of Arab League monitors. Elaraby says that monitors have confirmed that the Syrian government has withdrawn armoured vehicles and tanks from cities, partially complying with the Arab League plan.
January 4, 2012
- Opposition groups accuse the Syrian government of sidestepping its agreement to withdraw military forces from cities by replacing some military armoured vehicles with similar vehicles belonging to the police and concealing other vehicles in dugouts and behind barriers.
January 28, 2012
- Citing an increase in violence in Syria, Elaraby announces the suspension of the Arab League monitoring mission. The announcement comes after several Arab countries withdrew their members of the monitoring delegation over concerns for their safety.
February 4, 2012
- Russia and China veto a UN Security Council resolution that condemns the Assad regime’s violent crackdown and calls for a transition to a democratic political system in Syria. Chinese and Russian officials say that the resolution places excessive pressure on the Syrian government, decreasing the likelihood of a political settlement.
- The Syrian army begins an assault on the city of Homs, an opposition stronghold. Predominately Sunni districts of the city are hit by artillery and sniper fire, causing large numbers of civilian casualties. The attack continues for several weeks.
February 15, 2012
- The Syrian government announces that it will speed up its plans to hold a referendum on a new draft constitution, scheduling the referendum for February 26. The draft constitution, praised by Syrian officials for incorporating democratic reforms, is dismissed by the opposition and much of the international community as a ploy meant to draw attention away from violence in the country.
February 16, 2012
- The UN General Assembly passes a nonbinding resolution condemning the Syrian government’s crackdown and calling on Assad to resign.
February 23, 2012
- Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the UN, is appointed as a joint UN and Arab League peace envoy for Syria.
February 26, 2012
- As violence continues, Syria holds a referendum on the new draft constitution.
February 27, 2012
- Syrian officials announce that the constitutional referendum passed with nearly 90 percent of the vote and that voter turnout was high. The opposition says that the referendum, held on short notice amid widespread violence, must be considered illegitimate.
February 29, 2012
- A UN official says that the Syrian government’s crackdown has resulted in the deaths of more than 7,500 civilians since protests began.
March 11, 2012
- Annan’s first talks with Assad end with little sign of progress.
March 16, 2012
- Annan submits a peace plan to the UN Security Council, calling on the Syrian government to stop using violence against the opposition and to accept a cease-fire monitored by the UN.
March 22, 2012
- All 15 members of the UN Security Council agree to a statement threatening Syria with further action if it fails to end the violence.
March 27, 2012
- Annan announces that Syria has agreed to the UN-backed peace plan.
April 2, 2012
- Annan announces that Assad has accepted April 12 as the deadline for the implementation of the cease-fire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from cities as required by the UN peace plan. Over the next several days, media reports indicate escalating violence.
April 12, 2012
- The UN-sponsored cease-fire takes effect. Violence by Syrian forces reportedly decreases.
April 14, 2012
- Amid reports that Syrian forces have resumed attacks on civilians and opposition fighters, the UN Security Council passes a resolution authorizing the deployment of a team of monitors in Syria to observe the cease-fire. The first monitors arrive in Syria the following day.
April 19, 2012
- As violence escalates, Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, states that Syria has failed to adhere to the terms of the UN peace plan and that both government and opposition forces have been responsible for breaching the cease-fire.
May 7, 2012
- The Syrian government holds legislative elections. The elections are dismissed by the opposition as meaningless, given the weakness of the Syrian People’s Assembly and the ongoing violence in the country.
May 10, 2012
- More than 50 people are killed in a double suicide bombing at a military base in Damascus. The Syrian government blames opposition groups, while members of the opposition contend that the Syrian government staged the attack to discredit the opposition. A video statement purportedly released by the Nusrah Front, an Islamist militant group operating in Syria, claims responsibility for the bombings. Days later, however, spokesmen for the group denounce the video as a forgery and deny responsibility for the attack.
May 25, 2012
- More than 100 people are killed in the area known as Ḥūlah, north of Homs, with most of the victims concentrated in the village of Tall Daww. UN observers confirm that most of the dead were killed in house-to-house raids and that about 50 children died in the attacks. Witnesses and members of the opposition claim that the attacks were carried out by Syrian security forces and government-aligned civilian militias, while the government blames opposition militias.
May 28, 2012
- The governments of several Western countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, expel Syrian diplomats in response to the killings in Ḥūlah.
June 6, 2012
- Assad names Riyad Hijab, a senior figure in the Baʿth Party, as prime minister.
June 16, 2012
- The UN suspends its monitoring operations in Syria, citing difficulty of guaranteeing the monitors’ safety amid ongoing violence.
June 22, 2012
- A Turkish reconnaissance jet crashes into the Mediterranean Sea near Syrian airspace. In the following days, both Turkish and Syrian officials acknowledge that the jet was downed by Syrian air defenses, but Turkey and Syria provide differing accounts of when and for how long the plane entered Syrian airspace. The incident deepens military tensions between the two countries, which are already at odds over Turkey’s support for Syrian opposition fighters.
July 14, 2012
- The International Committee of the Red Cross announces that it will classify the conflict in Syria as a civil war. The new designation means that combatants are subject to international humanitarian law and may be prosecuted for war crimes.
July 18, 2012
- An explosion at the National Security Building in Damascus kills or injures a number of senior Syrian military and security officials responsible for the crackdown against the opposition. Those killed in the blast include Assef Shawkat, Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law and one of his closest advisers, and Daoud Rajiha, the minister of defense. Syrian state media claim that the attack was conducted by a suicide bomber. Senior members of the Free Syrian Army claim that the explosives were placed by a double agent within the Syrian security services and detonated remotely.
August 2, 2012
- Unable to broker a resolution to the crisis, Annan resigns from his position as the UN and Arab League peace envoy for Syria. Lakhdar Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat, is appointed as Annan’s replacement.
August 6, 2012
- Riyad Hijab, Syria’s newly appointed prime minister, defects, fleeing to Jordan with his family. Following his defection, Hijab predicts the imminent collapse of the Assad regime.
August 16, 2012
- The UN formally ends its monitoring mission in Syria.
September 13, 2012
- Brahimi arrives in Damascus to meet for the first time with Assad and other senior Syrian officials.
September 24, 2012
- Speaking at the UN headquarters in New York after his first trip to Syria, Brahimi states that the situation in Syria is continuing to deteriorate and that he is pessimistic about the chances for a negotiated peace in the immediate future.
September 25, 2012
- Amid heavy fighting in Aleppo, a fire destroys hundreds of shops in the city’s historic covered market, parts of which date back to the 15th and 16th centuries.
November 11, 2012
- After a week of negotiations in Qatar, Syrian opposition leaders announce the formation of a new Syrian opposition coalition, called the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (and sometimes also called the Syrian National Coalition). The Istanbul-based Syrian National Council, which had come to be regarded as too narrow to effectively represent the opposition, holds about a third of the seats in the new coalition’s leadership council. Over the next month the coalition receives recognition from dozens of countries as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
January 2, 2013
- The UN estimates that 60,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in 2011.
January 30, 2013
- Syrian officials accuse Israel of launching air strikes against a Syrian military research facility near Damascus. Israel does not formally acknowledge the attacks, but unofficial reports suggest that Israeli jets bombed a convoy carrying advanced weaponry to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
March 19, 2013
- Rockets carrying chemical weapons are reportedly used in a town near Aleppo. Each side accuses the other of having deployed chemical agents, but the allegations remain unproved.
May 19, 2013
- The Syrian army launches an offensive against al-Quṣayr, a strategically important town held by the rebels in western Syria. Thousands of fighters belonging to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian government, reportedly take part in the battle.
July 25, 2013
- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announces that the UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict.
August 21, 2013
- The Syrian opposition accuses pro-Assad forces of having killed hundreds in chemical weapons attacks in the suburbs of Damascus. Amateur video at the scene of the alleged attacks appears to show victims, including many children, suffering from respiratory distress and convulsions. Other videos show large numbers of dead adults and children with no visible signs of injury. Syrian officials deny having used chemical agents and assert that if such weapons were used, rebel forces are to blame.
August 22, 2013
- Officials from the UN, Europe, and the United States demand that UN weapons inspectors who entered Syria in early August to investigate earlier allegations of chemical weapons use be given immediate access to the sites of the most-recent alleged attacks.
August 25, 2013
- Assad grants UN inspectors access to the sites of alleged attacks.
August 26, 2013
- UN inspectors encounter gunfire from unidentified gunmen while en route to the sites of alleged attacks but are ultimately able to reach the sites to begin collecting evidence.
August 30, 2013
- U.S. Pres. Barack Obama announces that he is considering limited military action against targets in Syria in response to the Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
September 9, 2013
- Russia proposes a plan to put Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile under international control.
September 14, 2013
- The United States, Russia, and Syria reach an agreement for a plan to place Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile under international control.
September 16, 2013
- The UN inspectors’ report confirms that rockets carrying the nerve gas sarin were used on a large scale in the attacks on August 21. The report, however, does not specify which side was responsible for the attacks, and it does not give an exact number of victims.
January 22, 2014
- An international conference, Geneva II, is held in Switzerland in hopes of arriving at a negotiated end to the conflict. No progress is made, and the sessions are suspended in February.
June 23, 2014
- The last of the Syrian government’s declared stockpile of chemical weapons are removed from the country under the terms of the U.S.-Russian agreement from September 2013.
June 30, 2014
- After making significant territorial gains in Iraq in addition to its territory in Syria, the extremist militant group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) declares itself a caliphate, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as its leader.
September 23, 2014
- The United States and a coalition of Arab countries expand their air campaign against ISIL to strike targets in Syria as well as Iraq.
May 20, 2015
- ISIL takes control of Palmyra, an ancient city in eastern Syria with a rich collection of Greco-Roman monuments. ISIL later disseminates photographs and video of its fighters demolishing artifacts and structures.
September 30, 2015
- Russia carries out its first air strikes in Syria.
March 2016
- Syrian troops, bolstered by Hezbollah fighters and Russian air support, retake Palmyra from ISIL.
September 22, 2016
- After a brief cease-fire fails, Russia and Syrian government forces begin heavy bombardment of rebel-held territory in Aleppo.
December 22, 2016
- The Syrian government declares victory in Aleppo after the last rebel fighters are evacuated from the city.
April 7, 2017
- The United States strikes Shayrat air base, a government-controlled air force base, with dozens of cruise missiles in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack carried out by government forces against rebels in Khān Shaykhūn.
June 6, 2017
- The Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-aligned predominantly Kurdish force, launch an attack on Al-Raqqah, ISIL’s de facto capital in Syria. The attack is supported by U.S. air strikes and special forces.
October 17, 2017
- The Syrian Democratic Forces announce that Al-Raqqah has been cleared of ISIL fighters.
November 3, 2017
- Pro-government Syrian troops expel ISIL from Dayr al-Zawr in eastern Syria.
April 14, 2018
- U.S., U.K., and French forces launch air strikes targeting chemical weapons facilities near Damascus and Homs in response to a chemical weapons attack in Douma a week prior.
May 2018
- After a series of Israeli strikes targeting the Iranian military in Syria, Iran shells the Golan Heights from Syrian territory. Israel responds with a barrage against dozens of Iranian military sites in Syria.
June–July 2018
- Syrian government forces launch an offensive to retake the southwest region from rebel forces. The assault initially focuses on the province of Darʿā and later expands into surrounding areas, including the province of Al-Qunayṭirah. The region is successfully captured after rebels surrender in exchange for safe passage to the province of Idlib.
October 15, 2018
- A buffer zone is implemented in and around Idlib, according to an agreement negotiated between Russia and Turkey a month prior. The agreement is meant to de-escalate a potentially devastating attempt by the government to capture the last rebel-held territory.
April–June 2019
- Idlib comes under assault from Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes, but rebel forces are able to push the fighting back into the neighbouring province of Hama.
October 9, 2019
- Turkey launches an offensive into the Kurdish region of northeastern Syria, days after the United States says it would not fight such an incursion.
February 28–March 5, 2020
- Turkey and Russian-backed Syrian government forces come into direct confrontation after dozens of Turkish soldiers are killed. The confrontation ends after a cease-fire is brokered by Turkey and Syria’s ally Russia.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Zeidan.