Who controls what in Syria in the face of the relentless advance of the rebels?

Rebel groups dominated by radical Islamists from the northwest of Syria They took control, in ten days, of dozens of towns and two of the main cities of the country, in a dazzling offensive that further weakened Bashar al Assad’s regime.

This advance, facilitated by the withdrawal of the Syrian army in several regions, marks a turning point in the war in that country, triggered in 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy protests.

After 13 years of a bloody conflict that fragmented the country, who are the main actors involved and what territories do they control?

Led by the Islamists of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), a faction derived from the former Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, rebels in northern Syria launched a lightning offensive on November 27. First they took Aleppo, the country’s second city, except for the majority Kurdish neighborhoods controlled by Kurdish fighters.

They left the enclave of Idlib, in the northwest of the country, which was then the main stronghold of the armed opposition.

After capturing Aleppo they advanced towards Hama (in the center of the country), the fourth largest city in Syria, which they conquered on Thursday and from where government forces announced that they had withdrawn.

The rebel coalition arrived to the gates of Homslocated 150 kilometers from the capital, Damascus.

After the start of the conflict in 2011, the Syrian army lost most of its territory to opposition factions, Kurdish fighters and, later, jihadists from the ISIS group.

The Russian intervention in 2015 turned the situation around. With the military support from Russia, Iran and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollahthe regime regained control of two-thirds of Syria.

Currently, it only controls the threatened province of Homs, the capital, Damascus, and much of the coastline.

In western Syria, Russia has the Hmeimim air base and a naval base in the port of Tartus.

Taking advantage of the collapse of regime forces, local rebels announced that they had taken control of the southern province of Daraa, along with the city of the same name.

They also conquered a border post with Jordan, which closed its border with Syria.

The restive Daraa province, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising, was returned to Syrian government control in 2018, thanks to a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal that allowed the rebels to keep their light weapons.

Rebels in the area also claimed to have conquered the province of Sweida, a stronghold of the Druze minority in Syria, after the withdrawal of government forces.

Sweida was the scene of anti-government protests during the last year and a half.

The Syrian army confirmed on Saturday that it was withdrawing in the provinces of Daraa and Sweida.

Taking advantage of the weakening of the regime after the start of the war, the Kurds established an “autonomous administration” in areas of the north and east of the country, after the withdrawal of the regime from a large part of these regions at the beginning of the conflict.

Supported by Washington, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) progressively expanded their territory, achieving consecutive victories against the ISIS group.

Currently, they control northeast Syria and part of the province of Deir Ezzor, in the east, especially the eastern bank of the Euphrates.

On Friday they announced that they had deployed to the western bank of the river, following the sudden withdrawal of government forces and their allied pro-Iran groups.

US forces, deployed as part of an international anti-IS coalition, are stationed at several bases in Kurdish territory, including those in Deir Ezzor province.

They also have a presence in the south, in the strategic base of Al Tanf, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Turkish forces and their Syrian allies control a discontinuous strip of territory between Afrin and Ras al Ain in the northwest, along the Turkish border.

In parallel with the offensive in Aleppo, these groups took the enclave of Tal Rifat, which was under Kurdish control.

Since 2016, the Turkish military has launched several military operations in northern Syria, mainly targeting Kurdish fighters.

After having conquered vast areas in Syria and Iraq in 2014, the jihadist group suffered successive defeats until losing all its territories in Syria in 2019.

Fighters who have taken refuge in the Syrian desert continue to carry out bloody attacks against civilians, regime forces and Kurdish fighters.