Syrian civil war in its 9th year

By Selen Temizer

ANKARA (AA) - Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on protesters with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives, more than 5.5 million civilians took refugee in other countries when the civil war left eight years behind.

It was a period of “Arab Spring” in the Middle East, and, a group of students in Syria's Daraa wrote "Ohh doctor (Bashar al-Assad), it is your turn" on the walls on March 15, 2011, igniting a revolt against the Syrian regime.

Inflicted with unemployment, corruption and oppression under a single-party rule for half a century, Syrian people carried out demonstrations across the country.

When the Syrian regime began to suppress demonstrations with violence, it evolved into a fully-fledged civil war.

UN officials said that the Syrian regime has committed war crimes such as using chemical weapons, starving the population, deportation, blockade, arbitrary arrests and tortures.

- Turkey welcomes highest number of Syrian refugees

According to information compiled by an Anadolu Agency correspondent, the civilian casualties were recorded in hundreds of thousands and nearly 5,700,000 civilians were forcibly displaced.

According to the Office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Turkey alone hosts 3,644,000 refugees.

Some 946,000 Syrians took refuge in Lebanon, while Jordan hosted 670,000 others.

In Iraq, 253,000 Syrian took refugee and 133,000 others in Egypt.

The civil war displaced 6,600,000 civilians in the country.

Currently in Syria, 2,980,000 civilians live in difficult-to-reach areas or under siege.

- At least 13,983 people die due to regime torture

In its March 11 report, the Syrian Human Rights Network (SNHR) said that at least 127,916 people are held in Assad regime jails.

At least 13,983 people died because of the regime's torture, according to the report.

At least 921 civilians, including 398 children and 187 women, died of hunger and lack of medicine during the regime siege.

The regime has used chemical weapons at least 216 times, it added.

While the U.S.-backed terror group PKK/YPG still kidnapped at least 2,705 people, the fate of over 8,000 people held by Daesh is still a mystery.

- Territorial dominance

With eight years of war behind, the Assad regime has ruled over about 60 percent of the country with the help of its allies, Russia and Iran.

The area controlled by militant oppositions and anti-regime armed groups shrank to about 10 percent.

The YPG/PYD kept its occupation of 28 percent of the Syrian territory, while the area controlled by the ​​Daesh terror group fell to 2 percent.

- Turkey defends Syria's territorial integrity

Embracing millions of Syrians, Turkey has supported the territorial integrity of Syria since the beginning of the civil war.

Accordingly, Ankara has always opposed the formation of a terror corridor in northern Syria, which would divide and destabilize the country.

With its counter-terror operations Euphrates Shield in 2016 and Olive Branch in 2018, Turkey wiped out Daesh from Syria’s north and prevented a YPG/PKK terror corridor from being formed.

Turkey has also led international initiatives to guarantee Syria's territorial integrity.

The biggest emphasis of the meetings between Turkey, Russia and Iran within the framework of the ongoing Astana process since January 2017 has been Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

- Chronology

March 15, 2011: The Syrian civil war begins with peaceful demonstrations against the regime by a group of young people in the southern province of Daraa. The demonstrations quickly spread across the country.

Jan.-Feb. 2012: The conflict between the regime and the opposition intensifies.

April 26, 2011: The Syrian army enters Daraa, where the revolts were ignited.

June 30, 2012: Negotiations for a political transition in Syria starts in Geneva.

July-December 2012: Terror group YPG/PKK takes over the towns of Ayn Al Arab, Afrin and the district of Amude in Hasakah without any clash from the regime.

May 2013: Turkey proposes a three-tier plan to the U.S. consisting of a no-fly zone in Syria, the creation of safe zones for civilians and joint ground operations with the coalition forces.

Aug. 21, 2013: Assad regime massacres more than 1,400 civilians with chemical weapons in Eastern Ghouta. The U.S. decides against a military intervention and agrees with Russia instead to destroy the regime's chemical weapons.

Jan. 2014: As the regime begins to collapse, Iran begins to bring Shiite militias into Syria. Daesh takes Raqqa from the opposition groups.

June 30, 2014: Daesh declares its so-called Caliphate.

Sept. 22, 2014: The U.S.-led coalition launches an airstrike on Daesh.

Jan. 26, 2015: YPG/PKK captures Ayn Al Arab from Daesh with the intense aerial support of the U.S. for four months. Thus, an alliance between the U.S. and YPG/PKK begins.

March 2015: The opposition takes control of Idlib, northwestern Syria.

May 21, 2015: Daesh rules over about half of Syria by seizing the city of Palmyra.

Sept. 30, 2015: Russia gets directly involved in the civil war. Aerial support for the regime pushes the opposition into a corner.

Dec. 18, 2015: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2254. The road map of the political transition is determined.

Aug. 24, 2016: Turkish Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army launch the Euphrates Shield Operation. Some 2,055 square kilometers (793.4 square miles) of northern Syria is cleared of Daesh.

Jan. 23-24, 2017: First Astana meeting is held at the initiative of Russia and Turkey.

Feb. 23-March 4, 2017: With Astana process, negotiations between the regime and opposition in Geneva begin after year-long hiatus. Nine meetings held throughout the year prove inconclusive.

April 4, 2017: In chemical weapons attack, Syrian regime kills at least 100 civilians in Khan Sheikhun.

October 2017: YPG/PKK removes Daesh from Raqqah and a large part of Deir ez-Zor, spreading its presence to about one-third of the country.

November 2017: Regime blockade of Eastern Ghouta regime tightens. Hundreds of thousands of civilians face greatest humanitarian crisis of civil war.

January 2018: Turkey launches Operation Olive Branch against terrorist groups the YPG/PKK and Daesh.

Jan. 30-31, 2018: National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi, Russia. Decision taken to establish Constitutional Committee for Syria.

March 14-April 24, 2018: Forced evacuations begin from Eastern Ghouta. Regime takes control of the region.

April 6, 2018: Under new law, regime begins to seize real estate of deported civilians.

May 21, 2018: The capital Damascus comes under full regime control.

July 15-31, 2018: The regime completely captures the southern provinces bordering Jordan and Israel.

Sept. 17, 2018: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signed a memorandum of understanding in Sochi on Idlib to protect the cease-fire. But the regime violations continue. More than 105 civilians are killed, over 300 civilians injured in regime attacks.

Dec. 19, 2018: The U.S. announces it will withdraw its troops from Syria. A safe zone idea and collection of weapons from YPG/PKK are proposed for discussion.

Feb. 15, 2019: The YPG/PKK terror group and the U.S. capture the last Daesh stronghold east of the Euphrates River. Thus, the Daesh presence is confined to the regions under regime siege. U.S. President Donald Trump's call on European countries to get back their citizen members of Daesh is largely denied. The fate of Daesh members who are set to be released by terror group YPG/PKK becomes a global agenda.

Feb.-March 2019: Iran-led foreign terrorist groups backing the regime intensify their attacks on the Idlib de-escalation zone. Militant opposition sources report that Russia supports the strikes.

March 12, 2019: The regime attacks the civilian settlements in Idlib with white phosphorus bomb, which is prohibited for use internationally.

* Writing by Vakkas Dogantekin and Beyza Binnur Donmez