The protests of March 2011, led to a civil war between government forces and the armed opposition, leading to an international conflict where the fight against terrorists is intermingled with the conflict of interests of several foreign countries, including the two largest nuclear powers , as well as the regional powers.91

The organization that grouped, at first, the Syrian opposition was the Syrian National Council (SNC), based in Istanbul, in 2011 included all the anti-government factions. However, political, military and religious divergences divided the SNC in 2012-13 (into armed groups, the moderate opposition and the radical opposition). On the other hand, the Kurds created their own group, of which their armed arm Popular Protection Unit (YPG for its acronym in Kurdish) is part. Due to the division of the opposing forces, different Islamist groups, such as the ex-Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State, acquired a greater role in their confrontation against government forces.

After the government could not appease the conflict, several international players, such as the US, Europe, Turkey and monarchies of the Middle East, intervened directly or indirectly. Since the beginning of the war, the USA provided support to the 'moderate opposition', such as the armed groups of the Free Syrian Army, although much of this aid ended up in the hands of Islamist groups, so by 2018 all aid to this group had been stopped, focusing on the SDF.

The president of Syria, Bashar al-Asad, has stated on several occasions that after the defeat of the terrorists, the military of Turkey and the US they must leave Syrian territory or they will be forcibly expelled: