- Trump’s decision to pull US forces from Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria on October 6 left the civil-war-torn country open to Turkish attack, which followed on October 9.
- Syria has been caught in a civil war since 2011 – some 500,000 people have perished and 12 million have been displaced, according to the Human Rights Watch.
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What has been happening in Syria?
President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to pull US forces from Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria, officially announced by the White House on October 6, left the civil-war-torn country open to Turkish attack.
Here’s a 30-second explanation of what’s been going on:
Syria has been caught in a civil war since 2011. What started as as an uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was further complicated when ISIS declared its new caliphate in parts of Syria in 2014.
Some 500,000 people have perished and 12 million have been displaced because of the war, according to the Human Rights Watch.
The situation was exacerbated when President Trump ordered on October 6 that US soldiers be removed from the Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria, leading Turkey to invade the northeastern part of the country shortly thereafter.
Turkey invaded northeast Syria on October 9 in a military operation called "Operation Peace Spring."
Turkey's goal is to create a buffer zone at the Turkish border of Syria between the Turks and Kurds, and to repatriate the 3.6 million Syrian refugees who have come to Turkey as a result of the civil war. The Turkish incursion - led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who many call authoritarian - against Syria continues.
The Kurds are a minority ethnic group in the Middle East, living mostly in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Turkey considers the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a terrorist group. Turkey also considers the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Unit), which is the backbone of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) controlling the northeast, to be a terror organization as well.
Read more about who controls Syria, the Syrian-Turkish border, and ISIS in Syria here.
And finally, here's a 5-minute explanation of the events leading up to and through October, via a timeline of our past coverage:
October 18
Turkey may have used chemical weapons on the Kurdish civilians Trump left vulnerable
Trump's disastrous retreat from Syria raises new questions about his financial interests in Turkey
October 17
Vice President Mike Pence announces cease-fire agreement with Turkey in Syria
Trump praised Erdogan for a cease-fire in Syria that Turkey says is 'not a cease-fire'
Trump's withdrawal from Kurdish region has opened the door to a new wave of war crimes
Turkey's President Erdogan threw Trump's wild letter threatening him over Syria in the trash
Trump's hasty exit forced US troops to bomb their own base in 'an extreme worst-case scenario'
October 16
Pelosi said Trump had a 'meltdown' after the House overwhelmingly voted to condemn his Syria retreat
Trump is parroting Vladimir Putin's talking points as he defends pulling US troops from Syria
October 15
ISIS has been waiting for this very moment as Trump-fueled chaos in Syria helps it regroup
In just one week, Trump's Syria retreat has caused the nightmare scenario everyone warned him about
Trump is applauding Russia's victory in Syria after handing it to them on a platter
Trump's coziness with authoritarians is backfiring spectacularly in Syria
October 14
Trump hits Turkey with sanctions over military operation against Kurds in Syria
Trump thought Turkey was bluffing and would never actually invade Syria, report says
October 13
October 12
October 10
The US shared intelligence with Turkey that may have helped it target the Kurds in Syria
October 11
'We can shut down the Turkish economy if we need to': The Trump administration just threatened harsh new sanctions on Turkey
US troops in Syria were nearly struck by Turkish artillery barrages that came dangerously close
Turkish strikes are causing chaos on the Syrian border - here's what you need to know
October 9
Turkey launches military operation against the Kurds in Syria just days after Trump abandoned them
US-backed allies in Syria have paused their fight against ISIS amid Turkish military assault
Senators announce a bipartisan bill to impose 'severe sanctions' on Turkey and block military sales
Trump defends abandoning the Kurds by saying they didn't help the US in WWII
October 8
Trump's rapid Syria withdrawal is making life near the border with Turkey even more dangerous
A brutal dictator, warring US partners, and a former al-Qaeda branch: Here's who controls Syria now
11,000 Kurds died fighting ISIS and now the US is abandoning them - who will help America next time?
October 7
US to withdraw its troops in northeast Syria and pave the way for Turkish assault
The US troop withdrawal from northern Syria could reinvigorate ISIS
Trump defended his controversial decision to pull US forces out of Syria in a rambling tweetstorm
October 2
Inside the Syrian camp that is a 'ticking time bomb' for another wave of ISIS violence
August 8
A scathing new Pentagon report blames Trump for the return of ISIS in Syria and Iraq
July 1
The US says it launched strikes against an Al Qaeda training facility in Syria
May 16
May 9
The war in Syria's northwest corner is heating up again
April 29
April 3
March 23
US-backed Syrian forces declare 'physical defeat' of ISIS in Syria after nearly 5 years of struggle