Regime forces have launched an offensive to retake water sources near Damascus, independent monitors have reported. But the UN cautioned warring parties of escalating the situation as a ceasefire holds across the nation.
Image: picture-alliance/Anadolu Agency/T. al Masri
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The UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Thursday said a nationwide ceasefire was "largely holding with some exceptions" as independent war monitors reported airstrikes near Damascus.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces stepped up a campaign to wrestle Wadi Barada on the outskirts of Damascus from rebel control.
The monitor reported an increase in airstrikes and shelling in the area, where water pumping facilities serving more than 5 million people in Damascus have been damaged by renewed violence.
De Mistura told reporters in Geneva that five villages in Wadi Barada reached an "agreement" with the government but two others failed to do so.
"There is a danger, a substantial danger, (an) imminent danger that this may develop into further military escalation," he added.
'Tit-for-tat approaches'
A suicide bomber on Thursday evening killed at least 7 people in a high-security district in Damascus, a rare occurrence in the regime stronghold.
The attack happened in the Kafr Sousa district, home to ministers and senior security officials. According to the Observatory, at least four of the victims were soldiers, including a colonel.
The UN envoy warned that armed groups in the Idlib province blocked 23 buses and Syrian drivers from leaving the area to deliver humanitarian aid.
"These are not UN officials. These are Syrian buses with Syrian drivers. And that is not to happen because this complicates then tit-for-tat approaches," he added.
While peace talks brokered by Russia and Turkey are scheduled for later this month in the Kazakh capital, Astana, de Mistura said the UN has not yet been invited. Turkish officials announced later on Thursday, however, that Ankara and Moscow had agreed to invite representatives from the United States to the meeting.
Russia and Turkey, which support opposite sides of the conflict, also signed an agreement on Thursday to "coordinate" air traffic when conducting strikes on "terrorist targets" in Syria, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
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Fleeing war and poverty
In late 2014, with the war in Syria approaching its fourth year and Islamic State making gains in the north of the country, the exodus of Syrians intensified. At the same time, others were fleeing violence and poverty in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Niger and Kosovo.
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Seeking refuge over the border
Vast numbers of Syrian refugees had been gathering in border-town camps in neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan since 2011. By 2015, with the camps full to bursting and residents often unable to find work or educate their children, more and more people decided to seek asylum further afield.
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A long journey on foot
In 2015 an estimated 1.5 million people made their way on foot from Greece towards western Europe via the "Balkan route". The Schengen Agreement, which allows passport-free travel within much of the EU, was called into question as refugees headed towards the wealthier European nations.
Image: Getty Images/M. Cardy
Desperate sea crossings
Tens of thousands of refugees were also attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean on overcrowded boats. In April 2015, 800 people of various nationalities drowned when a boat traveling from Libya capsized off the Italian coast. This was to be just one of many similar tragedies - by the end of the year, nearly 4,000 refugees were reported to have died attempting the crossing.
Image: Reuters/D. Zammit Lupi
Pressure on the borders
Countries along the EU's external border struggled to cope with the sheer number of arrivals. Fences were erected in Hungary, Slovenia, Macedonia and Austria. Asylum laws were tightened and several Schengen area countries introduced temporary border controls.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/B. Mohai
Closing the open door
Critics of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" refugee policy claimed it had made the situation worse by encouraging more people to embark on the dangerous journey to Europe. By September 2016, Germany had also introduced temporary checks on its border with Austria.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Striking a deal with Turkey
In early 2016, the EU and Turkey signed an agreement under which refugees arriving in Greece could be sent back to Turkey. The deal has been criticized by human rights groups and came under new strain following a vote by the European Parliament in November to freeze talks on Turkey's potential accession to the EU.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Altan
No end in sight
With anti-immigration sentiment in Europe growing, governments are still struggling to reach a consensus on how to handle the continuing refugee crisis. Attempts to introduce quotas for the distribution of refugees among EU member states have largely failed. Conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere show no signs coming to an end, and the death toll from refugee sea crossings is on the rise.
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'Use of chemical weapons'
Meanwhile, the United States on Thursday announced sanctions against 18 senior Syrian military officers and officials over the use of chemical weapons in the civil conflict.
The UN and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in a joint inquiry, found that Syrian government forces had used chlorine gas attacks at least three times since 2013.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons," said Ned Price, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council.
"The Assad regime's barbaric continued attacks demonstrate its willingness to defy basic standard of human decency, its international obligations and longstanding global norms," he added.
Damascus has denied using chemical weapons while combating opposition forces in the country.
More than 300,000 people have been killed and half the population displaced since the conflict erupted in 2011 when government forces launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
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The "Arab Spring" effect
In 2011, as regimes crumble across the region, tens of thousands of Syrians take to the streets to protest against corruption, high unemployment and soaring food prices. The Syrian government responds with live ammunition, claiming some 400 lives by May.
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Condemnation without consensus
At the urging of Western countries, the UN Security Council condemns the violent crackdown. The EU and US implement an arms embargo, visa bans and asset freezes in the months that follow. With the backing of the Arab League, calls eventually grow for the Syrian president's departure. But not all UN members agree with this demand.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Szenes
Assad refuses to back down
Bashar al-Assad - who has been in power since the death of his father in 2000 - sees his reputation wane with the continuing unrest. He refuses to end decades-long emergency rule, which allows for surveillance and interrogation. Russia backs its ally, supplying weapons and vetoing UN resolutions on Syria multiple times.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Badawi
The opposition gets organized
By the end of the year, human rights groups and the UN have evidence of human rights abuses. Civilians and military deserters are slowly beginning to organize themselves to fight back against government forces, which have been targeting dissidents. More than 5,000 have died so far in the fighting. It will take another six months before the UN acknowledges that a war is taking place on Syrian soil.
Image: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Outside intervention
In September 2012, Iran confirms that it has fighters on the ground in Syria - a fact long denied by Damascus. The presence of allied troops underscores the hesitance of the US and other Western powers to intervene in the conflict. The US, stung by failed interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, sees dialogue as the only reasonable solution.
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Fleeing the conflict
As the death toll nears 100,000, the number of refugees in neighboring countries - such as Turkey and Jordan - hits one million. That number will double by September 2013. The West and the Arab League have seen all attempts at a transitional government fail in the two years of war, watching as fighting spills over into Turkey and Lebanon. They fear Assad will stay in power by any means possible.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
No united front against Assad
Assad has long claimed he's combatting terrorists. But it's not until the second year of war that the fragmented Free Syrian Army is definitely known to include radical extremists. The group Al-Nusra Front pledges allegiance to al Qaeda, further splintering the opposition.
Image: Reuters/A. Abdullah
From brute force to chemical warfare
In June 2013, the White House says it has evidence that Assad has been using sarin nerve gas on civilians - a report later backed by the UN. The discovery pushes US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders toward considering the use of military force. However, Russia's proposal to remove the chemical weapons ultimately wins out.
Image: Reuters
Islamic State emerges
Reports of a new jihadist group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) emerge in the final weeks of 2013. Taking land in northern Syria and Iraq, the group sparks infighting among the opposition, with some 500 dead by early 2014. The unexpected emergence of IS ultimately draws the US, France, Saudi Arabia and other nations into the war.
