Eight years of conflict in Syria

Beirut: From the bloody repression of protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime to several foreign interventions, here are key dates in eight years of war in Syria.
The conflict has left more than 360,000 people dead, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while millions more have been displaced.

Revolt, repression  
In March 2011 unprecedented protests break out to demand civil liberties and the release of political prisoners, after four decades of repressive rule by the Assad dynasty.
The regime cracks down on demonstrations but rallies continue.
In July a defecting army colonel sets up the Turkey-based opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA).

 Air strikes, Hezbollah, Iran 
In March 2012 regime forces retake control of the third city Homs, which had fallen into the hands of the rebels. It carries out other bloody operations, notably in the central city of Hama, after massive anti-regime protests.
In July FSA fighters launch a battle for Damascus but the government holds firm.
From 2013 regime helicopters and planes unleash barrel bombs on rebel zones.
The same year Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah says it is fighting alongside Syrian government forces. 
Iran also boosts its military support for Assad, Tehran's longtime ally.

Rise of the jihadists - 
In June 2014, after clashes with the regime and rebel groups, the jihadist Islamic State group proclaims a "caliphate" over territory it has seized in Syria -- where Raqa becomes its de facto capital -- and neighbouring Iraq.
In September a US-led coalition launches air strikes against IS in Syria.
The strikes benefit Kurdish groups, which since 2013 have run autonomous administrations in Kurdish-majority areas.
Kurds join with Arabs to form the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- backed by the US-led coalition -- which goes on to oust IS from key areas including Raqa in October 2017.

Russia to Assad's aid  
In September 2015 Russia launches air strikes in support of Assad's troops, who are on the back foot.
Russian firepower helps turn the tables for the regime, which begins to retake rebel-held territory, including second city Aleppo in December 2016.
In January 2017 Syrian regime backers Russia and Iran, and rebel supporter Turkey organise peace talks in Kazakhstan.
The peace efforts eclipse those led by the United Nations.

US strikes 
In April 2017 a sarin gas attack on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun kills more than 80 people.
In retaliation US President Donald Trump unleashes strikes by Tomahawk missiles against the regime's Shayrat airbase.
The government has regularly been accused of using chemical weapons, which it denies.

Turkish offensive - 
Turkey launches an operation in January 2018 against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which form the backbone of the SDF alliance.
Ankara is wary of Kurdish aspirations for autonomy. In March it captures the Afrin region, chasing out the YPG which it labels a "terrorist group".

Blitz of Eastern Ghouta 
In February 2018, the Syrian regime launches a ferocious assault on Eastern Ghouta, the final rebel-held enclave near Damascus.
In April the army announces it has retaken the pocket, where more than 1,700 have been killed in the siege.
The same day the United States, Britain and France carry out a wave of punitive strikes in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack on civilians in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma.

Trump orders troops home  
On December 19 Trump orders the withdrawal of the some 2,000 US troops from Syria, saying in a tweet that America had "defeated IS".
The YPG expresses alarm given the threat of a new Turkish offensive on its positions and on December 28 calls on the Syrian army to deploy alongside its own forces in the north.

IS last redoubt 
On February 2, 2019, the SDF announces it has begun a "decisive battle" to take the last scrap of territory from IS at Baghouz in eastern Syria.
Over the next few weeks, tens of thousands of women, children and men -- including jihadists -- pour out of the enclave, hampering the US-backed offensive.
On March 13 the SDF says IS is in its "final moments" after launching a new bombing blitz on the jihadists' last redoubt.