Syria’s War Began 14 Years Ago. Explore FRONTLINE’s Reporting on Its Origins and Consequences

In the 14 years since the war in Syria broke out, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions have been displaced from their homes or have lost their livelihoods. What began as a popular uprising in March 2011 was met by a swift and brutal crackdown by then-President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. It then morphed into a protracted armed conflict that drew in other countries and led to the emergence of extremist organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

After years of stalemate, the conflict reached a pivotal moment on Dec. 8, 2024, when Syrian rebels overthrew Assad’s regime.

Syria is now led by an interim government headed by Ahmad al-Sharaa, who faces obstacles in unifying the fractious country. Until the December ouster of Assad, al-Sharaa went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani and was the leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which once had ties to Al Qaeda. He has pledged to build a unified government that will give freedom to all Syrians, but sectarian violence continues to plague the country.

Syria is also reckoning with the atrocities that happened during the war, as more evidence has emerged of mass killings and torture carried out under the Assad regime, in Saydnaya prison and elsewhere.

FRONTLINE has been covering the war in Syria since it began in 2011, tracing its origins and evolution, its impact on Syrians and the rest of the world, and how the U.S. has responded. One of our earliest documentaries followed members of the Syrian opposition movement and revealed accounts of torture by the Assad government’s forces. Our films over the years featured rebel fighters who said they were being secretly armed and trained by the U.S. and told the first-person stories of Syrians fleeing persecution and war. FRONTLINE chronicled the battle of Aleppo through the eyes of children, and the 2019 film For Sama captured the brutal bombardment of the city through the eyes of a young mother and filmmaker.

To understand how the Syrian conflict reached this moment, watch FRONTLINE’s reporting about the fight, its ongoing toll and the ripple effects across the world.

The Roots of the Syrian Uprising & the Assad Regime’s Response

The Regime (2011)

From the first year of the conflict, this documentary looks at how the Syrian rebellion began, how Assad moved to crush it and how his regime originally came to power.

The Regime Responds (2012)

This documentary examined how Assad held on to power eighteen months into the rebellion via increasingly brutal means, including attacking civilian neighborhoods, as opposition tactics also escalated.

Inside Assad’s Syria (2015)

Filmed inside government-controlled areas of Syria, this documentary examined the contrast between the Assad regime’s PR campaign and the reality of life on the ground, as well as why many regime loyalists equated all opponents of Assad with ISIS.

Inside the Syrian Opposition

Syria Undercover (2011)

With undercover reporting, this film followed members of the Syrian opposition movement who were forced into hiding, revealing accounts of torture by government security forces.

The Battle for Syria (2012)

This documentary followed Syria’s rebel leaders and warring factions within the opposition movement, finding that some had turned to brutal means.

Syria’s Second Front (2014)

Believed to be the first in-depth U.S. television report on the emergence of ISIS, this film showed how, three years into Syria’s war, rebel forces were no longer fighting only the Assad regime but were also vying for control against a ruthless group calling itself the Islamic State.

Syria: Arming the Rebels (2014)

This documentary followed Syrian rebel fighters who said they were being secretly armed and trained by the United States, part of a covert U.S. intelligence program.

The Jihadist (2021)

Over most of two decades, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani’s life was a roadmap of Islamist militancy in Iraq and Syria. Designated a terrorist by the United States, the powerful Syrian militant said his fight was with Assad, not the U.S., in his first interview with a Western journalist.

Firsthand Accounts of War & Displacement

Syria Behind the Lines (2013)

Filmed in Syria’s rural Orontes River valley, this documentary looked at how the conflict pitted neighbor against neighbor: on one side, a young rebel soldier fighting to the death to bring down Assad, and facing him, a career soldier determined to preserve the regime’s hold on power.

Children of Syria (2016)

An Oscar nominee, this documentary followed four children surviving in war-torn Aleppo, their escape to safety in Germany and their adjustment to life as refugees.

Exodus (2016)

This panoramic film told the first-person stories of refugees and migrants fleeing persecution and war worldwide, including in Syria. It incorporated footage filmed by the refugees themselves as they left their homes on dangerous journeys in search of safety, including a harrowing sequence filmed by a Syrian refugee on a sinking dinghy crossing the Mediterranean — a journey on which thousands have died.

Exodus: The Journey Continues (2018)

A sequel to the 2016 film, this documentary told the intimate, firsthand stories of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa who, caught in Europe’s tightened borders, faced the global rise of nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment. It expanded on the story of a Syrian family featured in 2016’s Exodus.

For Sama (2019)

This Oscar-nominated film documented the harrowing realities of the siege on rebel-held Aleppo and what Physicians for Human Rights described as “systematic” hospital bombings by Assad’s military and Russian forces. The documentary unfolded from the perspective of Waad al-Kateab — a female filmmaker who was married to one of the last doctors remaining in the besieged city — as she tried to raise her baby daughter, Sama, amid the devastation.

Foreign Intervention

The Rise of ISIS (2014)

This documentary traced how the extremist group that would become known as ISIS rose to power, including by taking advantage of the conflict in Syria, and examined the stakes of disagreements inside the Obama administration over whether to provide arms to moderate rebels.

Obama at War (2015)

This documentary chronicled how then-President Barack Obama responded to the Syrian uprising, the Assad regime’s crackdown and the chaos that followed. The film paid particular attention to deep divisions within the Obama administration about what the U.S.’s role should be, including what happened when the White House assessed that the Assad regime had crossed what Obama once called “a red line” — the use of chemical weapons on civilians — and how Russia stepped in with a diplomatic proposition.

The Secret History of ISIS (2016)

As part of its examination of how ISIS came to be, this documentary recounted how the group’s first leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, exploited the Syrian uprising and sent agents into Syria to commit bloody attacks and fuel the war, ultimately seizing large swaths of territory and declaring a capital in Raqqa.

Confronting ISIS (2016)

This film examined the successes and failures of the U.S.-led effort to degrade and destroy ISIS, including the Obama administration’s struggle to deal effectively with the crisis in Syria, and what happened when Putin’s military entered the fray.