Key players in Syria's multi-front war

Syria's war has in five years spiralled into a complex, multi-front conflict, with regime forces, rebels, Kurds and jihadists carving out zones of control as world powers conduct air campaigns.

Here are the main players:

- Regime and allies -

The Syrian army's 300,000-strong pre-war force has been halved by deaths, defections and draft-dodging.

It now controls about a third of Syrian territory, where roughly 60 percent of the population lives.

Around 150,000 to 200,000 men serve in pro-regime militias, primarily the 90,000-strong National Defence Forces.

Militias from Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan have also bolstered the regime forces.

Experts say Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah has deployed between 5,000 and 8,000 fighters in Syria.

Key regime backer Russia launched air strikes in Syria on September 30, allowing the government to regain territory lost more than three years ago.

Iran has remained a staunch ally of President Bashar al-Assad, sending military advisers and financial aid.

- Rebels -

The Free Syrian Army coalition has slowly been replaced by a myriad of mainly Islamist factions.

The rebels remain in several areas across Syria, mainly around Damascus, in the country's south, in parts of Aleppo province and in the east of Aleppo city.

Ahrar al-Sham is among the most powerful Islamist rebel groups in Syria. Founded in 2011 and financed by Turkey and Gulf states, according to experts, it is present mostly in the northern Idlib and Aleppo provinces.
Jaish al-Islam (the Army of Islam) is the most important rebel group in Damascus province. Its stronghold is in the Eastern Ghouta region, east of the capital.

The Southern Front is a coalition of rebel groups that hold swathes of territory in Daraa province.

- Al-Qaeda -

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front is the most important jihadist group in the country after its rival, IS.

It is essentially made up of Syrian jihadists and aspires to create an Islamic emirate.

Led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, it has forged alliances with other rebel groups in Idlib and Aleppo.

It is also present in Damascus province's Eastern Ghouta, as well as in Daraa, Homs and Hama provinces, where it is outnumbered by other rebel forces.

Al-Nusra is listed by Washington as a terrorist group.

Together, Al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham lead a key rebel alliance called the Army of Conquest which has driven the regime out of Idlib province.

- Islamic State group -

IS is the most well-organised, resource-rich and brutal anti-regime force in Syria.

Since 2013, it has seized large parts of Syria's territory, and it announced a "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq in 2014.
Tens of thousands of foreign fighters have joined its ranks.

Headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, IS militants are fighting on several fronts: against the regime, Al-Nusra, rebels and Kurdish groups.

It has suffered a series of setbacks in Syria since 2015, losing Kobane and Tal Abyad on the Turkish border.

It now controls less than 40 percent of Syria, including Deir Ezzor and most of the border with Iraq in the east, Raqa and part of Aleppo province in the north and Palmyra in the centre.

- Kurdish fighters -

The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) have controlled parts of Syria's north and northeast since the regime unilaterally withdrew from the region in 2012.

The YPG has scored major victories against IS with aerial support from a US-led air coalition.

It controls some 10 percent of Syrian territory and three-quarters of the border with Turkey.

- Turkey -

Since mid-February, Turkey has repeatedly shelled Kurdish fighters in Syria. Ankara contends the YPG is a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state.

- US-led coalition -

Since 2014, a US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Source: AFP