Here’s who’s vying for power in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad

The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the culmination of years of civil war, has given way to a power vacuum with different factions protecting their own interests and fighting for power in the Middle Eastern nation.

The US, concerned about the resurgence of an ISIS stronghold, has struck targets associated with the Islamic State in central Syria.

Turkey, which controls a swath of Syria on its northern border, has continued to attack US-backed Kurdish forces.

Both work with different proxy pools.

Here are the various forces vying for control in the region:

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)

HTS was the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and Assad’s escape, and now controls the capital. But the Islamist militant group is far from a U.S. ally: Its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head and has been designated a terrorist since 2013. The group ruled only a part of northwestern Syria in Idlib. .

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The group, founded as an al Qaeda affiliate, still remains largely aligned with al Qaeda, but is focused on establishing fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria rather than a global caliphate.

The UN, the US and Turkey designate HTS as a terrorist organization. The group has in recent years worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist group, highlighting its government services in Idlib and pledging to protect religious and cultural sites, including churches, in Aleppo.

Experts believe that Turkey, which has long sought to topple Assad, may have been at play in the HTS offensive.

Syrian government forces

Syrian forces loyal to Assad have staved off coup attempts since 2011, often through violent crackdowns on protests and rebellion.

By 2020, government troops backed by Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah had pushed rebel forces into far northwestern Syria.

In the last days of November, rebel factions quickly overwhelmed government troops, taking control of Aleppo, a city previously retaken by Assad’s forces in 2016. Eight days later, the insurgents successfully captured not only Aleppo , but also Hama, Homs and Damascus.

On Monday, HTS granted Assad’s forces “a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted into compulsory service.”

“Their lives are safe and no one can assault them,” the group said in a statement.

Syrian National Army (SNA)

The SNA is a loosely-knit coalition of Turkish-backed forces primarily intent on fighting Kurdish forces. But the coalition, which carries out Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s anti-Assad efforts, was also involved in the fall of Damascus. The groups have also fought HTS and other Islamic State terrorists in the past.

The SNA coalition believes US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria are linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has launched Kurdish nationalist attacks in Turkey.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)

The SDF is a US-backed coalition of Kurdish forces centered in northeastern Syria. They have long worked alongside the US in the fight against Islamic State forces in Syria.

As well as fighting the Islamic State, they have been fending off attacks by Turkish-backed fighters.

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Kurdish forces did not take part in the offensive that toppled Assad, but praised the offensive campaign.

“In Syria, we are living historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians,” said Mazlum Abdi . the commander of the SDF, Sunday morning.

Turkey

After relatively friendly relations with Syria in the early 2000s, Turkey condemned Assad for a violent 2011 crackdown on protesters.

While Turkey and the US are allies, bound to protect each other through NATO, they are on opposing sides in Syria, although both celebrated the fall of Assad. the turk the military opened fire on US-backed forces in Syria over the weekend, where fighting broke out between rebel groups in Manbij, a Kurdish-held town near Syria’s border with Turkey. Turkey has long aimed to push the Kurds away from its border and is looking to use the current unrest to seize control along the border and decimate the Kurdish population there.

Kurdish separatists have fought Turkey for years, seeking to create their own autonomous nation.

Russia

Russia has long supported the Assad regime, and has for days granted asylum to the ousted leader.

Since 2015, Russia has effectively acted as Assad’s air force, but its ability to intervene on the dictator’s behalf has diminished as resources were needed for the war with Ukraine.

Iran

Iran was Assad’s main backer, providing weapons and military advice and directing its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah to fight the insurgents. But Hezbollah had to move its troops into Lebanon to fight Israel, leaving Assad’s forces in a weakened position.

HTS leader al-Golani lamented in a speech on Sunday that Syria has become “a playground for Iranian ambitions.”

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited the weakening of Hezbollah by its forces to play a key role in Assad’s downfall. Israel has consistently launched attacks against Syria with the strategic goal of disrupting the channels Iran uses to supply weapons to Hezbollah.

After Assad’s fall, Israel on Sunday struck Assad’s chemical weapons facilities in Syria, fearing what hands they might fall into in his absence.

Israel also took control of a buffer zone inside the Golan Heights, the first time it has captured territory in Syria since the 1973 war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved in on Sunday and told residents to stay in their homes until further notice. They said they needed to capture the territory to ensure border security.

They also captured Mount Hermon, the highest point on the border between the two countries and a blind spot in their defenses that Iran had been exploiting to send in low-flying drones.

USA

About 900 US troops remain in Syria, where they are partnering with the SDF to fight ISIS.

On Sunday, President Biden said US troops would remain there to “ensure stability”.

The US carried out dozens of precision strikes in more than 75 ISIS targets in central Syria over the weekend to prevent the terror group from taking advantage of the unrest to rebuild it.

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“We’re clear on the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any gaps to restore their ability to create a safe haven,” Biden said. “We’re not going to let that happen.”

Biden said the United States would support Syria’s neighbors — Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel — “if any threat from Syria arises during this transition.”

The president added that Assad’s fall created a “historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria.”