The regime forces impose their control over about 45% of the Syrian Territory, with an area of more than 83 thousand square kilometers of the Syrian territory
The “Islamic State” organization declines to the 4th influential power regarding the areas of control, after the regime forces, and the Syria Democratic Forces, and the factions
The Syrian Desert witnesses the continuation of violent military operations against the “Islamic State” organization as the pace of fight hasn’t decreased in any of the fronts against the “Islamic State” organization in the Syrian territory, but the pace has actually continued violently a day after another, through which all parties are trying to end the presence of the organization in their areas of control, so that the organization has turned from the state of fighting all powers, each in its controlled areas and contact lines with it, to fighting only two main powers, which are the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities with a Russian support, and the Syria Democratic Forces backed by the US Special Forces and the International Coalition’s warplanes in the provinces of Homs, Raqqa, Hama, Deir Ezzor and Hasaka.
These military operations led to more declining within the ranks of the organization, as they forced the organization to withdraw from large areas estimated to be thousands of square kilometers, especially in Syrian Desert, and these areas the organization lost have entered within the areas controlled by the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities. With this declining of the organization, which used to control more than half of the Syrian territory, with a percent exceeded the 50%, in 2015, has turned to an organization controlling an area of about 15.8% of the area of Syria, with a geographical area of about 29300 square kilometers.
While the regime, which used to control, at the end of 2015, about 22% of the entire Syrian territory, which is 185180 square kilometers, has become the power that control the largest area in Syria as it imposes control over an area of about 44.8% of the geographical area of Syria with an area of more than 83 thousand square kilometers. The regime exists in the center of the provinces of Damascus. Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia, Tartous, Suwaidaa, Daraa , Hasaka, Deir Ezzor, and Quneitra, and the regime forces completely control Tartous province, and almost control the provinces of Suwaidaa and Latakia and it also control large parts of the provinces of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, and parts of the provinces of Daraa and Quneitra, while the regime forces has no presence at all in Idlib province except for the presence of their militants allied to them in Fou’a and Kafria, while the regime forces’ presence in Hasaka is limited to several positions in the cities of Hasaka and Qamishli and its vicinity, while the regime exists in large parts in the southern, western, southwestern countryside of Raqqa, in addition to its control over parts of Deir Ezzor city and positions and military barracks in its vicinity. The regime forces and their allied militiamen lost about 117000 of their members who were killed during the ongoing battles for the 78th month in a row.
As the Syria Democratic Forces, of which the YPG is their main pillar, have become the 2nd influential power in terms of their areas of control of the geographical area of Syria, as the Syria Democratic Forces became in control of a geographical area of about 42 thousand square kilometers of the Syrian territory (about 22.8%) after they managed, during the past months, to achieve large advancement, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the large advancement of the People’s Protections Units (YPG) and the Syria Democratic Force, which was achieved after the intensive support of the International Coalition’s warplanes and advisors, in addition to the military reinforcement delivered consecutively and in large amounts to the Syria Democratic Forces, and were distributed to their areas of control that are extending from the Syrian border to the western countryside of Manbij, including Raqqa and parts of Deir Ezzor, in addition to their control over the city of Aleppo and Afrin area and other villages extending from Deir Jamal to al-Shala area in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo.
However, the rebel and Islamic factions, Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, Turkmenistan Islamic Party, and other factions include Jihadist fighters, which used to control large areas of the Syrian territory, have declined in many areas, where their controlled areas estimated to 16.5% of the areas of control in the Syria, with a geographical area reached more than 30600 of the entire area of Syria. Within the total percent and the whole areas controlled by the factions, the “Euphrates Shield” Operation Factions and the Turkish forces control an area of more than 2250 square kilometers, which is about 1.22%, while the West and US-backed factions operating in the Syrian Desert in the area extending from al-Tanf – Kharbat al-Shahmi crossing to the north of Kharbat al-Zakaf, in which a camp of these factions is set up, control an area of about 3550 square kilometers, which is about 1.91 percent of the geographical area of Syria. The factions, with the declining of the “Islamic State” organization, have become the third influential power in term of the controlled areas in Syria after the regime force and the Syria Democratic Forces.
Jaysh Khaled Ibn al-Waleed, which pledges allegiance to the “Islamic State” organization, controls an area of about 250 square kilometers, which is about 0.13 percent of the area of the Syrian territory and the Jaysh exist in Yarmouk Basin in the western countryside of Daraa, which is adjacent to the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored since the second half of 2016 until today, the 28th of August 2017, a significant change in terms of expansion of the regime forces and their allied militiamen of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities, with the support of Russia and Iran, as well as the expansion of the Syria Democratic Forces in terms of their areas of control, and the entry of the Turkish forces into the Syrian territory and their participation with their supported factions in military operations, through which they blocked the last exist remained for the “Islamic State” organization with the outside world, in addition to the significant decline of the “Islamic state” organization in many areas, as the regime forces managed in many areas to restore control over areas after besieging them and agreeing with the people in these cities and towns on “settlement of their situations or displacement”.
High resolution link of the map of Syria shows the distribution of military powers in the country until the 28th of August 2017
