In Syria, almost 40% of the territory still escapes the regime

Beirut – By routing the rebels in the province of Deraa, cradle of the Syrian revolt in 2011, the regime of Bashar al-Assad strengthens its territorial hold in a country that remains fragmented between multiple belligerents.
  

Thus, nearly 40% of Syrian territory still escape the power of Damascus. In a country devastated since 2011 by a deadly war, how is the territorial division of the actors of the conflict taking shape?

– Assad Regime –

Supported by two major allies, Russia and Iran, the Syrian regime has been victorious since the military intervention in Moscow in late 2015.

Securing Damascus and its around for the first time since 2012, then launching the reconquest of Deraa, loyalist forces control more than 60% of Syrian territory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

The main cities of the country -Damas, Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Daraa-, known as " Useful Syria ", are now all acquired.

Government territories also host 72% of the population, according to geographer Fabrice Balanche, a specialist in Syria.

– The North-West, Insurgent Stronghold –

The province of Idleb, in northwestern Syria on the border with Turkey, is the main stronghold of the insurgents.

It is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist coalition formed by the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, although regime forces nibbled at areas of the province.

In the north and north-west of the country, Ankara-backed rebels control territories on the border with Turkey, including the city of Al-Bab in Aleppo province.

These rebels took part in an offensive of the Turkish army, launched in the province of Aleppo against the Kurdish stronghold of Afrine, which they conquered in March.

In the south, rebels remain in the province of Quneitra, which borders the Golan Heights, most of which is annexed and occupied by Israel.

The insurgents – jihadists of Tahrir al-Sham and rebels – only control 9% of Syria, according to the OSDH.

In addition to the military defeats, there is the geographical break-up and fragmentation of the rebellion into a myriad of small groups that sometimes engage in internal wars.

– Kurdish Territories –

The semi-autonomous Kurdish zone, established in favor of the war in Syria, is now the largest part of Syrian territory that still escapes the power of Damascus.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Washington-backed Arab-Kurdish coalition, controls territories in the north and north-east of the country, as far as the border with Iraq, or 27.4% of the country, according to the OSDH.

The Kurdish territories of the north-east host important oil fields of Syria.

With the support of the international coalition led by Washington, the SDS spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group. At the end of 2017 they conquered Raqa, the de facto capital of jihadists in Syria.

– Jihadist Reductions –

After a meteoric rise in 2014 and the proclamation of a " caliphate " straddling the territories conquered in Iraq and Syria, the IS is now cornered in last desert dwindles. It controls less than 3% of the territory, according to the OSDH.

He keeps only a few pockets in the east of the country, along the border with Iraq and near the river Euphrates. It is also present in desert areas of the center, especially in the province of Homs.

In the south-west, the Khaled Ben al-Walid Army, a jihadist faction that pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2016, controls a few pockets in the province of Deraa. IS cells are also active in Idleb Province.

At the peak of its meteoric rise, IS had managed to get hold of nearly half of Syria.