US ROLE IN SYRIA SINCE 2011
A recap of American military involvement in the ongoing Syrian crisis
PRESSURE ON ASSAD
April-May 2011: US imposes sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Oct 2011: US ambassador leaves Syria and Damascus recalls its ambassador from Washington
OBAMA STRIKES DEAL WITH RUSSIA
Aug 2013: Syrian government is accused of carrying out a chemical attack near Damascus that killed more than 1,400 people Sept 2014: US President Barack Obama agrees to a deal with Russia, Assad's backer, to dismantle Syria's chemical weapons arsenal
TARGET: ISLAMIC STATE
Sept 23, 2014: US and Arab allies launch air strikes in Syria against IS. US deploys 2,000 soldiers Oct 2015: SDF, a Kurdish-Syrian Arab alliance, is created with US backing. It is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia
March 2019: SDF overruns IS in northeastern Syria, driving them out of their last patch of territory in the village of Baghouz
FIRST DIRECT ACTION
April 7, 2017: US forces fire a barrage of cruise missiles at Syria's Shayrat airbase. It is the first direct US action against Assad's government April 14, 2018: The US launches strikes after an alleged chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Douma
TRUMP’S PULLOUT PLAN
Dec 19, 2018: US President Donald Trump announces that all of the 2,000 US troops in Syria will be withdrawn Aug 7, 2019: Turkish, US officials agree to jointly manage a buffer zone between the Turkish border and areas in Syria controlled by YPG
US STEPS ASIDE
Oct 6-7, 2019: Washington announces that US forces will withdraw from border areas to make way for a "long-planned operation" by Turkish forces