Free Syrian Army

ISIS asks for a security deposit too.

Fighting between U.S.-backed Syrian rebels and rival militants has killed more than 20 people in northern Syria over the past two days, opposition activists said on Monday

the Syrian war involves numerous actors, dozens of seemingly contradictory alliances and rapidly changing dynamics. But while the war is indeed complicated, making sense of it is crucial to understanding the recent Paris attacks, the refugee crisis in Europe, and the continuing turmoil in the region. Here are the basics—decoded.

The answer from Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was blunt. Asked on Nov. 3 if saving Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, was a matter of principle for the Russians, Zakharova replied: “Absolutely not, we never said that.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday discussed ways of organizing a political process between the Syrian government and its opponents.

When the Arab Spring hit Syria in 2011, few would have predicted that a simple uprising in Deraa would lead to full-blown conflict with over 250,000 dead and millions fleeing the country.

During a key battle in the rugged mountains of a northern province earlier this month, U.S.-backed Syrian rebels collapsed before an assault by al-Qaeda fighters. Some surrendered their weapons. Others outright defected to the militants.

Syrian rebel forces on Friday captured nearly 260 government soldiers in the restive northern part of the country after clashes in several towns in the area, said a pro-opposition group.

Rebel fighters said they detonated bombs in central Damascus at an army headquarters on Sunday, suggesting they are again trying to target the regime’s central leadership.

Opposition groups accused the Syrian government of carrying out a massacre near the capital of Damascus, where said several hundred people were found dead.

Syrian rebels have remained defiant amid heavy shelling of Aleppo, vowing that the city will become a “graveyard” for pro-government forces.

Syrian rebel forces clashed with the army in central Damascus for a fourth consecutive day.

United Nations observers have entered the war-torn town of Haffa, describing the area as largely deserted and reeking of death.

United Nations military observers were forced to stay in the northern Syrian town of Khan Cheikhoun after their vehicles were damaged in a bomb blast.

Syria began its United Nations-mandated ceasefire on Thursday amid skepticism.

Several top officials in the Syrian regime are suspected of responsibility for committing crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, arbitrary detentions, and other abuses.

Amjad told New York-based HRW that his commander, Brig. Gen. Ramadan Ramadan, normally asked his subordinates to save their ammunition, but this time was different, getting an order to “Use heavy shooting. Nobody will ask you to explain.”