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                 A Guide to the Major Warring Parties in Syria

   by VOA News

   Key internal actors

   Syrian Government -- President Bashar al-Assad, of Shi'ite offshoot
   Alawite minority, dubs all opponents, civilian or armed, "terrorists;"
   indiscriminately kills civilians, as well as armed opposition.

   Relatively Moderate and Islamic Nationalist Opposition -- Includes
   Western-backed Free Syrian Army, countless local militias seeking
   Assad's ouster. Mainly Sunni. At times, has sided with hardline
   Islamists when battlefield circumstances have dictated; but threaten
   further cooperation if U.S. doesn't provide more backing.

   Islamist Opposition -- Includes hardline Islamist forces Ahrar al-Sham
   and al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Seeks to overthrow Assad; works
   at times with moderate opposition.

   Kurdish Forces -- Mainly fighting Islamic State, but have clashed in
   past with moderate and Islamist rebels; once Assad launched recent
   Aleppo offensive, moved quickly to grab FSA and Islamist-held towns in
   northern Syria. Seeks to unite Kurdish enclaves along Turkish border.

   Islamic State -- Jihadist insurgency, fights everyone. Seeks to
   establish caliphate.

   Key external actors

   United States -- Leads international coalition fighting Islamic State.
   Backs Kurds in their fight east of the Euphrates River against the
   Islamic State group and some moderate and Islamic nationalist
   opposition forces.

   Turkey -- Part of the anti-IS coalition, but critical of U.S.
   insistence on focusing only on IS and not on the ouster of Assad.
   Opposed to Kurdish self-rule ambitions, and now shelling Kurdish
   fighters.

   Saudi and other Sunni Gulf States -- Part of anti-IS coalition; focused
   also on removing Assad, deepening regional Sunni/Shi'ite divide.

   Russia -- Backs Assad government and has formed a battlefield alliance
   with the Kurds. Says its fight is against IS and other "terrorists,"
   but has focused its military intervention on the moderate opposition to
   Assad.

   Iran -- Shi'ite-led government backs Assad, also worsening sectarian
   divides.

   Hezbollah -- Lebanese Shi'ite militia backs Assad government, a
   longtime patron, another sectarian player.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/guide-major-warring-parties-syria/319
   5304.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/guide-major-warring-parties-syria/3195304.html