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1 1 (September 20, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveenp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: September 20, 2021 Syria and U.S. Policy Since 2011, conflict betweenthe governmentof Syrian President Bashar alAs ad and opposition forces seeking his removalhas displaced roughly half ofthe country's population and killed nearly 600,000 people. Although conflict has abated in many areas following military intervention onAsad's behalffrom Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, fighting is ongoing in Idlib province, and pockets of armed resistance to the Asad governmenthave re-emerged in Syria's southwest. U.S. officials in 2021 assessedthathumanitarianneeds in Syriahave increasedby more than 20% over the last year amid international sanctions, the effects of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and Syrian governmentrestrictions on humanitarian access. U.S. military forces operate in Syria, where U.S. and coalition air operations against the Islamic State (IS) group began in 2014, and partner support operations have continued with specific authorization fromCongress since 2015. U.S. operations face challenges fromexternal actors including Iranian-backed militia groups, the Russian military, and Turkish-backed militia groups that control a buffer zone in northeastern Syria. IS fighters lost the last territory under their controlin 2019, but remnants of the group remain active. Thousands of IS prisoners remain in the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led force supportedby the United States and coalition partners. The United States seeks a negotiated political settlement to the Syria conflict and the enduring defeat of the Islamic State. Developments in 2021 For a conflict chronology, see CRS In Focus 111080, Syria Conflict Overview: 2011-2021, by Carla E. Humud. Military Developments Northwest. Northern areas ofIdlib province (seeFigure 1) are the only remaining area of Syria still under the control of armed opposition groups actively seeking theremoval of Syrian President Asad, including some affiliated with Al Qaeda. According to U.N.reporting, aerial bombardments and shelling in Idlib increased in mid-2021, in violation of a March 2020 ceasefire agreement negotiated by Rus sia and Turkey between the Syrian government and opposition groups operating in Idlib. The U.N. reported that June 2021 saw the largest displacementin the area sincethe ceasefire. Southwest. In 2021, clashes escalatedbetween regime and opposition forces in the southern province ofDar'a, where the Syrian uprising originated in 2011. Shelling and ground clashes displaced thousands of civilians; U.N. officials in August condemned what they described as a near siege- like situation. In September2021, a Russian-brokered ceasefire came into effect. Figure I. Syria iiounoanes are not necessam~y autnorntauve. ene unmteci states reccgnzec the Golan Hghts as pdrt of 5Is in 2019. U . seurity Council kesoution 49?, adopted on De cember 1, 198L held thar the area of the Golan fleights controlled by 'sra Is mII'ary is occuped t ory belonging to syia. Source: CRS, using ESRI and U.S. State Department data. Political Developments U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson has continued to call for a nationwide ceasefire in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2254 (2015) that would allow political negotiations-ongoing since2012-to advance. In May 2021, President Asad won a fourth seven- year term; voting occurred only in regime-held areas. U.S. officials des cribed theelection as an insult to democracy, noting that UNSCR2254 calls for Syrian elections to occur under U.N. supervision pursuant to a new constitution. Economic and Public Health Conditions Syria is facing a severe drought-viewed as one of the triggers of conflict in 2011-which has reduced harvests and increasedpoverty. Nine outoften Syrians live in poverty, according to U.N. reports. In 2021, demand has s urged for spots at overcrowded Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps in Kurdish-held areas thatprovide residents with food assistance. Acting U.S. Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS John Godfrey has statedthatthe Islamic State is actively seeking to exploit that economic situation to reconstitute ... in areas hardesthit by the economic downturn. The U.N. estimates a high degree of COVID-19 transmission in Syria, far exceeding the officially announced infection rates. Fifty -eight peircent of Syrian hospitals are fully functional. The Islamic State U.S. military officials as sess that the Islamic State remains entrenched as a cohesive, low-level ins urgency in rural areas of Syria. The group operates in ungoverned areas of the Syrian desert, fromwhich it continues to launch attacks against Syrianmilitary outposts, oilconvoys, andmilitary personnelin transit. In June 2021, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) assessedthat, ISIS likely has sufficient https://crs reports.congress.go\

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