Syria conflict tracker

What is happening in Syria?

Syria conflict: the transition, SDF integration, Suwayda, Israel, key actors, a sourced timeline, what to watch, and monthly conflict events and fatalities.

This tracker reports the latest available monthly humanitarian conflict summary for Syria. It is a country-level pulse, not a comprehensive incident ledger, a full casualty count for the 2011-2024 civil war, or a forecast.

Background

Syria's uprising began in the southern city of Deraa, where security agents detained and tortured 15 boys for painting anti-government slogans in March 2011; on 18 March security forces fired on protesters and killed three, Al Jazeera reported. Protests against Bashar al-Assad spread and, as CFR notes, turned into a full war between the government and rebel groups. Foreign powers entered the fight. The Islamic State seized territory from 2013 and was pushed back by a US-led coalition and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Russia began air strikes for Damascus in September 2015, and Turkish troops have operated inside Syria since 2016, mainly against Kurdish armed groups. Sources: Al Jazeera, cfr.org.

UN estimates cited by CFR put the civil war's death toll at no fewer than 580,000, and more than half of Syrians were uprooted; Al Jazeera reported that 6.8 million had fled abroad at the 2021 peak. Rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took Damascus on 8 December 2024, ending Assad's rule, and the group's leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was named interim president on 29 January 2025. Sectarian bloodshed followed. A UN commission said some 1,400 people, mainly Alawite civilians, were killed on the coast in March 2025, and it counted at least 1,707 dead in Suwayda province during a week of fighting in July 2025. Sources: cfr.org, Al Jazeera (1, 2), mprnews.org, thenationalnews.com.

In late October 2026 Syria is governed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and armed violence continues on several fronts. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi declared his force dissolved into the national army on 25 August 2026. In Suwayda, the Druze National Guard of Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri fought government forces again in late August, while Israeli troops operate mainly in Quneitra and Deraa. On 26 October, Jordanian air strikes in the south killed seven people, Syria said; Jordan said it hit Islamic State militants. Iraq's prime minister visited Damascus two days later. UNHCR data published in August recorded 1,717,964 refugee returns, while about 15.6 million people still need aid. Sources: euronews.com, al-monitor.com (1, 2), longwarjournal.org, npasyria.com.

Key actors

• Ahmed al-Sharaa — Syria's president, who hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Damascus on 28 October 2026 for talks on trade, energy and regional ties. (longwarjournal.org)
• Mazloum Abdi and the former SDF — Abdi led the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces until he declared them dissolved into the Syrian army in August 2026, after which he was named an adviser to the president. (euronews.com)
• Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and the National Guard — Druze spiritual leader in Suwayda whose National Guard militia opposes the Sharaa government, seeks autonomy for the province and clashed with security forces in late August 2026. (al-monitor.com)
• Israel — Says it is protecting Syria's Druze and conducts military operations in southern Syria, mainly in Quneitra and Deraa provinces. (al-monitor.com)
• Islamic State — Jihadist group that declared war on the Sharaa government in a recording released on 21 February 2026 and then claimed a wave of attacks on security forces in the north-east. (thenationalnews.com)
• Turkey — Neighbour that opposes Kurdish autonomy, backed Damascus during its January 2026 offensive against the SDF, and belongs to a Mecca defence pact that Syria says it is considering joining. (cfr.org)
• Jordan — Neighbour that struck what it called Islamic State hideouts in southern Syria on 26 October 2026 after a deadly church attack, a move Damascus condemned as a breach of sovereignty. (al-monitor.com)

Timeline

1. March 18, 2011 — Security forces fire on protesters in Deraa, killing three, after the detention and torture of 15 boys over anti-government graffiti. (Al Jazeera)
2. December 8, 2024 — Rebels take Damascus and Bashar al-Assad flees the capital by plane, ending five decades of Assad family rule. (Africanews)
3. January 29, 2025 — Ahmed al-Sharaa is named interim president; the old constitution and parliament are dissolved. (mprnews.org)
4. March 6, 2025 — A government arrest operation on the coast triggers attacks by pro-Assad fighters and reprisals; a UN commission later reports some 1,400 killed, mostly Alawite civilians. (Al Jazeera)
5. July 16, 2025 — Israel bombs the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus during fighting in Druze-majority Suwayda, and government forces withdraw from the city. (al-monitor.com)
6. December 18, 2025 — US President Donald Trump signs the defence bill that permanently repeals the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, subject to reviews every 180 days. (thenationalnews.com)
7. January 30, 2026 — Damascus and the SDF announce a ceasefire and phased integration deal after government forces capture large parts of the north-east. (dawn.com)
8. August 25, 2026 — SDF commander Mazloum Abdi declares the force dissolved and its integration into the Syrian army complete. (euronews.com)
9. October 26, 2026 — Jordanian air strikes hit southern Syria; Syria says seven people were killed, while Jordan says it killed more than 20 Islamic State militants. (al-monitor.com)
10. October 28, 2026 — Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi makes his first visit to Damascus and meets al-Sharaa on trade and energy links. (longwarjournal.org)

What to watch

• Islamic State attacks on government forces. After the Islamic State declared war on the government on 21 February 2026, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights counted at least 13 people killed in 10 attacks in four days. Tracked in the UCDP Conflict Events panel on the live dashboard.
• Clashes between the Druze National Guard and government forces in Suwayda. Fighting resumed in late August 2026 around Mazraa, a year after a July 2025 outbreak in which a UN commission counted at least 1,707 dead. Tracked in the Armed Conflict Events map layer on the live dashboard.
• Cross-border operations in southern Syria. Israeli raids continue in Quneitra and Deraa, and Jordanian strikes on 26 October 2026 killed seven people, according to Syria. Tracked in the Military Activity map layer on the live dashboard.
• Refugee returns against unmet humanitarian need. UNHCR recorded 1,717,964 refugee returns and about 1.97 million IDP returns by August 2026, while about 15.6 million people still need assistance. Tracked in the UNHCR Displacement panel on the live dashboard.

Background, actors, timeline and watch list last reviewed November 5, 2026 against the linked sources. They are context for the monthly figures above, not part of the HAPI/HDX dataset.

Country readings

Syria has a Country Instability Index reading of 95 (Critical). Instability is a live 0-100 stress score; resilience is a structural 0-100 index ranked across countries. Both describe each country as a whole, not this crisis alone, and a country without a reading reflects index coverage, not a statement about risk.

Sources: Country Instability Index published pulse and the country resilience index snapshot used on each country page.

Coverage boundary

Syria (SY). Events outside this list are not included in the live totals on this page.

How to read this tracker

Use these monthly country summaries as a bounded pulse, then inspect the dashboard for event-level context, map layers, and other independent signals. The figures are not forecasts and should not be interpreted as a complete casualty or incident ledger. SUZU Monitor's forecasts are graded separately, and that record is published on the forecast accuracy scorecard.

Questions about the Syria conflict

Download: tracker.json. Scope source: SUZU Monitor crisis registry. Maintained metrics: HAPI/HDX humanitarian conflict summaries from the UN OCHA Humanitarian API.

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