The Syrian State of Play

2021 marks the ten year anniversary of the Syrian civil war, a devastating conflict that has claimed an estimated 387,100 to 593,000 lives, displaced nearly eight million citizens and destroyed much of an ancient country that represented the cradle of civilisation in 9000 BC. The complexity of the ongoing situation is underpinned by the numerous factions battling for control; the rise of ISIS who once occupied one third of the country at its peak, drew the involvement of the majority of the twenty-two countries currently participating with ‘boots on the ground’, including the United Kingdom following an…