Exploring Historical Control in Syria

Overview

Areas of control in Syria depicts changes since 2014 for 8,099 localities

Authored by the Syria Conflict Mapping team at The Carter Center

To determine areas of control, the Center’s Syria Conflict Mapping Team relies on reported conflict events, independent media analysis, information from partners, including ACLED, and interlocuters in Syria.

To use: Click on the month in the bar below to change the map's areas of control. Select one of the armed group categories on the time chart below to see the control exerted by that particular group. Use the Governorate, Location Name under "Filter by Location" to view a particular area. Use "Search by Location Name" to find a particular location in English or Arabic. Right click on a point on the map and select "Drill Through" to see details of a location. 

Note: This page is best viewed on a desktop computer.

Because of the complexity of the actors involved in the conflict and the evolution of their engagement over time, we only use broad categories:

Government refers to the Syrian government and its allies, including Russian forces, Iranian forces, and pro-government militias.

Opposition refers to the amalgamation of non-state armed groups that oppose the Syrian government.

Kurds refer to the Kurdish-aligned armed group, including the Syrian Democratic Forces, that operate mainly in northeast Syria.

Kurds/Government denotes the locations where Kurdish de facto authorities and the Syrian government have agreed upon joint control. This includes Quamishli in the Hasakah Governorate, which has been under joint control since the start of the conflict.

To mark the locations that are administered by a combination of Turkish armed forces and Turkish-aligned opposition groups, we use the categories:

Operation Euphrates Shield or Operation Peace Spring, which refer to the Turkish military campaigns that took control of these locations.

U.S. and NSAGS refer to the three locations along Syria's border with Jordan that are under the control of U.S. military and allied opposition groups.

Related Resources

Take a look at our partner ACLED's complementary "Mapping Territorial Control in Syria" reports to see an overview of control per quarter.

Learn more about the Carter Center's Support for Peace in Syria project and read our weekly reports.