Beirut: Syria’s rebels have been pushed back to a handful of areas, mainly in the country’s northwest, parts of Aleppo province, the towns surrounding Damascus and two southern provinces.
Hundreds of civilians and rebels left east Aleppo on Thursday after an evacuation deal handing control of the city to regime forces.
Apart from significant territory held by Daesh, Syrian rebels now control of just 15 per cent of Syrian territory, says the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Some 100,000 rebels are fighting across Syria, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Idlib province
The northwestern province of Idlib is the rebels’ last stronghold.
It is almost entirely under the control of the Army of Conquest, a coalition dominated by former Al Qaida affiliate Fateh Al Sham Front and including Islamist rebel factions Ahrar Al Sham and Faylaq Al Sham.
Two Shiite villages, Fuaa and Kafraya, are under regime control but are under siege by rebels.
Bordering on Aleppo province, Idlib has access to the Turkish border and is a base for large number of fighters including many arrivals from other regions recaptured by the regime.
Dara’a and Quneitra
Most of the southern province of Dara’a, which borders Jordan, is under rebel control. Dara’a city, considered the birthplace of the Syrian revolution in 2011, is mainly held by pro-regime forces.
Quneitra, which borders the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is two-thirds under rebel control.
Eastern Ghouta
Rebels control almost half of eastern Ghouta, a large area east of Damascus, including its major towns, according to the Observatory. Several areas are under siege by regime forces.
The regime has advanced in recent months, reaching several deals whereby rebels withdraw in exchange for safe passage towards Idlib, often following lengthy blockades.
“Dismantling the insurgency in Eastern Ghouta will be one of the regime’s biggest objectives in 2017,” said Aron Lund, a non-resident fellow also at The Century Foundation.
Aleppo province
Rebels still hold an area west of Aleppo city, including Al Atarib Daret Ezza, as well as four towns in the north of the province — Marea, Kafr Hamra, Hreitan and Azaz next to the Turkish border.
Homs province
In the central province of Homs, rebels control Rastan, Talbisseh and Houla, towns that were among the first to revolt against the regime in 2012.
Houla was the scene of a massacre by the regime in May 2012, in which at least 108 people were killed.
Latakia
Positioned on the Mediterranean coast, it is a key regime stronghold and ancestral home of President Bashar Al Assad, but rebels hold parts of the mountainous area bordering Turkey.
