File talk:Syrian Civil War.svg/Archive 2

Detail

Hama needs to be shrunk to the size of Latakia or Raqqa; Homs needs to be expanded a little bit. Tiny towns like Qardaha and Haffa need to be made slightly bigger for visibility. Talkalakh should have a blue circle around it. Maybe add Harasta between Douma and Damascus? It's also rebel held but under attack, like Douma. UltimateDarkloid (talk) 19:38, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I think it might be best to make regional maps to better show fine details as smaller towns and suburbs. We had separate maps for Tripolitania and the Gulf of Sidra for the Libyan war, and such a solution would do this map well. We already have one for Idlib province that shows the highways to Aleppo. A Rif Dimashq map would probably be a good idea as well. Thoughts? ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 22:54, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

I would have time to make one if I'm not so busy dealing with all these copyright accusations from FunkMonk. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 15:25, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

North border

The clashes between Syrian government troops and opposition fighters occurred in the Ras Al Ain border town. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/09/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 Done --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 19:12, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Idlib city

SOHR gives the impression that government forces are not in control of most of the city. Are there any non-partisan sources reporting this as well? ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 20:36, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

QAMISHLI IS NOT YET UNDER REBEL-OR KURDISH CONTROL! ONLY PARTS! THEREFORE THE CITY MUST BE MARKED BLUE AND NOT YET BROWN!! THERE ARE STILL ASSAD-TROOPS IN THE CITY! THANK YOU

Shhhh calm down. Use your inside voice.

Shouting aside, I agree. The map provided for the changes shows a still-occupied and unpressured government base by Qamishli. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:24, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

 Done -Futuretrillionaire (talk) 21:47, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Damascus - Allepo highway

According to http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=957678&tid=95994 Maraat Al Numaan is captured by government forces. Also they 'cleared' several valages arround Jisr ash Shugur.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.84.86.14 (talk • contribs)

No. Come back with an actual reliable source, not Russian state-owned media. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 09:09, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Several other reports from same sources was used as reliable.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.84.86.14 (talk • contribs)

Media with ties to the Russian government is repeatedly thrown out. If some has slipped through, then that is a problem, not a precedent. Moreover, I have found no other news sources reporting this. Again, provide a reliable source or we're done here. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:11, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

UK Prime minister says: We can invade Syria - so UK si already took side in confilct - so Guardian,BBC and other UK media are not reliable too. :)— Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.84.86.14 (talk • contribs)

Wrong. A British general has discussed contingency plans for an invasion. A contingency plan is like a backup plan for when things go wrong. The "green light" has not been given for it, and the UK's allies aren't really on board with it.

Even so, Russian state-owned media is considered unreliable for most purposes here—Syria or no. Russia routinely scores lower than even Zimbabwe in freedom-of-press rankings due to government interference. Some independent sources, like Kommersant and Novaya Gazeta, are more acceptable. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 09:08, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Eastern Syria

Guys,i am not Pro-Assad,but in recent days there was fierce fighting in Abu Kamal and Mayadin,so both towns should be blue. And is Al-Malakiyah really under complete kurdish control? no Assad-troops any longer in the region? are you sure? Thank you!— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.36.6 (talk • contribs)

Do you have sources that suggest fighting in those cities? The recent ISW map [1] says all of Deir ez-Zor province except the main city is under rebel control. However, I think you're right about the northeastern town in the Kurdish area. The ISW map has a operating army base near there. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 15:16, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

There has indeed been fighting reported around the airport of Abu Kamal [2]. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:46, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

 Fixed --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 23:09, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

ok guys,ABU KAMAL is now completely liberated,according to "Syria lebanon news" and "Al Jazeera". But there is still fighting in MAYADIN,according to fresh reports on Twitter.So Abu Kamal should now be brown and Mayadin blue! I have no other news at the moment,typical fighting all over the country,but no larger frontline-changes!— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.7.78 (talk • contribs)

I made some changes so here they are

Abu kamal - this http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/17/us-syria-crisis-airport-idUSBRE8AG08Z20121117 - regime hold no other base but air base in Deir ez-Zor.
Deir ez-Zor - as per main article, the city is in largely in rebel hands with regime incursion into it from airbase.
Ras al-Ayn - acc to recent reports, no more fighting in the town
Tell Abyad - acc to older reports, no more fighting in the town
Hama - completely and absolutely under regime control with rebels not attacking city itself.
Malikiyah - if we consider YPG as opposition (we probably shouldn´t) it is fully under their control. See main article
EllsworthSK (talk) 14:15, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Rumours on Twitter,that the last Assad-troops pulled out of Qamishli this weekend! This would mean,that in the Northeast and East only Raqqa,Hasakah and parts of Deir-Ez-Zour remain under Assad´s control. what do you others know???

Nothing. Rumours on twitter does not count for anything. If anything like that happened it would be already published on either rudaw, firat or xeber24. Nothing there. EllsworthSK (talk) 20:50, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

PYD, The Government and the FSA

I think that the kurdish PYD must have a seperated colour closer to the red one (The government). The Kurds are having a cooperation with governmental forces in Qamishlu and there hasn't been a fighting.1 But, there has been fighting between the PYD and the FSA for the control of Rasulayn. So it seems that there is a secret deal between the government and the kurds. Nima Farid (talk) 16:01, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

This "secret deal" is unconfirmed speculation, nothing more. Kurds are certainly a separate party, and should get a separate colour. I think the colourations should definitely be switched around: red for government, green for opposition, yellow for Kurds (like the Aleppo map). ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 02:21, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

And importantly, they are against Turkish intervention, while the FSA is Turkey's ally. Haghal Jagul (talk) 05:22, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Ras al Ain

The Observatory said casualties from clashes in Ras al-Ain included four Kurdish fighters, a local Kurdish official, and 24 members of the Islamist Al-Nusra Front and Gharba al-Sham rebel battalions. The clashes erupted after a Kurdish demonstration, which demanded that all rebels not from the town leave, was met with refusal. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/21-Nov-2012/syria-troops-besiege-town-near-damascus

There are many videos from Qamishli on youtube from recent days. no doubt,Assad´s troops left,Qamishli is under complete kurdish control!

I'm writing about Ras al Ain not Qamishli.

i know,but i think,it´s finally time to mark Qamishli as "brown". No Assad-presence there any longer

The National Security building in Qamishlu is still controlled by Assad forces. As far as I know. Haghal Jagul (talk) 05:15, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Al-Shaykh Badr and Al-Suqaylabiyah

These cities have been red and blue since their inclusion in August, yet in Cities and towns during the Syrian civil war both are categorized as government controlled. Does anyone have any current information about the matter or why they were originally labeled with these colors?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Susurri (talk • contribs)

I seriously doubt,that Mhardeh and Al-thawrah in the Raqqa-province are under rebel-control! I don´t think so! By the way,only today Mayadin was completely captured by the rebels. Qamishli is still divided between Kurds and Assad-troops. Maarat-al-Numan and Jish-Ash-Shugur are under rebel-control

Heavy clashes in Ariha (Idlib). Brown must be replaced with blue. Meanwhile many videos from today show,that Kurds are in complete control of Qamishli. No Assad-presence anywhere. Time to mark it "brown". The fight for Hasakah has started,according to many Twitter-sources. Town should be blue— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.35.19 (talk • contribs)

Are there any sources for Mhardeh and Al-thawrah? Because I've seen none. EllsworthSK (talk) 13:02, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

Mhardeh isn't even in Raqqa, and the map has been changed accordingly. I've been looking for sources, and haven't found much. Apparently, JN targeted a "military security detachment" near the town sometime before August 7 [3], but that's it. No real word on who controls the town itself.

As for al-Thawra, I also can't find anything on who controls the town itself, only that the route from there to Aleppo has both rebel and govt checkpoints along it [4].

According to SANA, Assad visited Sheikh Badr last month for Eid al-Adha [5].

Reminds me of some arguments we had on the Libyan map as to whether or not we should include tiny towns far away from reliable journalistic access.... ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:41, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

New colors

the new map is unacceptable,please block the user,who has done it. it´s chaos and nothing else!— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.35.19 (talk • contribs)

Please sign your posts, so people know whose talking. See here:[6]. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 14:51, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

i see that the new colors in the map makes it more distinguishable .Alhanuty (talk) 18:38, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Please see here for the discussion as to why we use the light green and brown-red. We would like the colours to be "distinguishable" for the maximum number of people, not just those with normal vision. At any rate, I am normal-sighted and that awful red that you chose is so bright it practically burns my retinae. I agree that the colours should be changed, but definitely not with your proposed colours. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:07, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

It´s nonsense to distinguish between the kurds and the sunni-arab rebels. the map is about which cities are being controlled by Assad and which not. In case of Libya we also had numerous diverse militias,but all cities controlled by them were also marked as "brown". we don´t need more colours. By the way,Ash Sheikh Badr is under control of Assad´s forces. And please mark Qamishli brown,Assad´s last troops left,only kurdish militias inside the city— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.35.19 (talk • contribs)

They did not, you are confusing it with Derik (Malikyah). Qamishlo has YPG presence, but so does Assad and YPG does not control border crossing for example. Morever it is different from Libya, Kurds have their own command council and they are fighting as their own force, not affiliated with FSA. There was nothing like that in Libya, they were all anti-Gaddafi forces which fought to bring him down and install rebel government. EllsworthSK (talk) 13:05, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

Someone with editing priveleges fix the caption for the map. It still talks about the new color scheme which is not what the map shows.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.0.212.191 (talk • contribs)

Anybody can edit the map. You just need to download Inkscape. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 02:03, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

FSA and YPG have had conflicts over control of a town recently. Haghal Jagul (talk) 07:45, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

More updates

JISH-ASH-SHIGOUR UNDER REBEL-CONTROL! Please update the map,thank you

http://news.yahoo.com/sunni-syrian-rebels-burn-shiite-mosque-video-122149917.html

QAMISHLI ALSO UNDER FULL KURDISH CONTROL!! PLEASE UPDATE THE MAP!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cWG8ipL6S4

http://ar.firatajans.com/index.php?rupel=nuce&nuceID=5820

https://twitter.com/search?q=qamislo&src=typd

"naila bozo ‏@nailabozo

dad spoke w qamişlo: PYD has full control there, people stand in lines to receive bread. no gas, no FSA, assad police staying at home #syria Öffnen "— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.38.76 (talk • contribs)

The burning of the mosque happened in Zarzur in Jisr al-Shughur District. Susurri (talk) 23:01, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

URGEEEEENT!! Homs shall go to green http://www.independent.co.uk/hei-fi/news/homs-is-calm-for-now-but-the-fear-remains-8405423.html— Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.32.152.141 (talk • contribs)

Well, the rebels still control 1 district (Old City). So it's not under full govt control. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 02:04, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

Exactly! one district and not the entire city! Homs has several districts, army is controlling over than 75% of the city so we should color it in green and a little blue circle around because you cant compare Homs to Aleppo (both are colored in blue in the map which is not logic) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.32.152.141 (talk • contribs)

Blue circle means external siege/attack. Blue dot means internally contested. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 03:56, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

You can't say the city is contested when you have only one district held by rebels out of 14 or more maybe you should turn it green please or at least green with blue circle— Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.32.152.141 (talk • contribs)

Again. Blue circle means attack from outside. Generally we don't change colours until the city is 100% taken; it was the same way with Libya. Although I could see using blue with green circle as a compromise. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 12:21, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

QAMISHLI UNDER COMPLETE KURDISH CONTROL!!!

http://ar.firatajans.com/index.php?rupel=nuce&nuceID=5820

https://twitter.com/search?q=qamislo&src=typd

13 Dez naila bozo naila bozo ‏@nailabozo

@vvanwilgenburg a family member who is part of PYD police in qamişlo says they have control and that assad police doesn't meddle. Gespräch zeigen

   Antworten
   Retweeten
   Favorisieren

13 Dez naila bozo naila bozo ‏@nailabozo

dad spoke w qamişlo: PYD has full control there, people stand in lines to receive bread. no gas, no FSA, assad police staying at home #syria— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.21.45 (talk • contribs) PLEASE cany anyone tell me how to create maps ? thanks— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.21.45 (talk • contribs)

Twitter is not a reliable source, sorry (although, is that the same van Wilgenburg who writes for Rudaw?). Most sources that I've seen do report that while PYD has de facto control, the town has not been cleared of all government presence—it's tolerated so long as it doesn't cause problems. Unfortunately, these maps are not good at showing such special cases. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 12:21, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

QAMISHLI LIBERATED!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed3iuEj5rMU&feature=youtu.be

Qammishli today!! Kurds control everything,Assad-police has collapsed,the policemen simply disappeared or joined the PYD. The city is liberated,no doubt!!!

DEIR EZZOR WILL FALL SOON!!!

According to serious reports Deir Ezzor will fall in the coming 24 hours. Only some Assad-snipers left!!!— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.21.45 (talk • contribs)

If both are the case, I'm sure a reputable news outlet will pick up on it soon enough. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 23:17, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

hello, i think,it´s time to mark "Ash Sheikh Badr" green. There is absolutely no foundation,that the town is under rebel control. According to all estimations and knowledge the town is under complete Assad-control. thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.38.12 (talk • contribs)

Bashar visited there not too long ago. I've told people before that it needs to change, but nobody's done it thus far. I'd do it if I had the slightest clue of how to image-edit. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:08, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

 Done --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 19:45, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

hello i am Anti-Assad,but are you sure,that Talkalakh,Mhardeh and Al Thawrah are really under rebel-control??? Considering the Assad-held environment i am doubting it!!! And what is with Qamishli??? there are more and more reports,that no Assad-forces are left in the city!!! Complete PYD-control. Thank you

yes,Qamishli is under complete Kurdish control for circa one week now!! all reports confirm it!

https://twitter.com/search?q=qamislo&src=typd

unfortunately the global media don´t notice it. around the globe professional journalism is dying out rapidly. Most media simply overtake the official statements from some ministers and state media. Poor and sad development — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.38.12 (talk • contribs)

Talkalakh is still rebel-held, at last I checked, but may have been experiencing clashes. Mhardeh was reportedly retaken by govt forces a while back, but Halfaya, which is directly next to it, is a "rebel stronghold". Haven't heard any information either way on Thawrah.

Again, twitter isn't a useable source. Global media may be slow to pick up on things, but I keep up with the reliable Kurdish news outlet Rudaw, and I haven't seen any reports from them. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 21:53, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

Hello can we please put Homs at least in blue with a green circle around!? the city is 80% under the government control, only the old city and khaldieh is under rebel control. thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.32.152.141 (talk • contribs)

Hama offensive

ATTENTION PLEASE!!

hi Guys,my name is Sascha from Germany,i am a military expert,it´s not a lie. I have seen your recent posts and can tell you following: 1) Talkalakh is under complete sunni-arab-rebel control,but largely surrounded by Assad´s troops. The same situation like in Rastan! 2)Mhardeh and Al Thawrah are under Assad´s control. Both towns must be changed to green. But the front is nearing both towns,as the rebel-mujahideen are actually in an ongoing offensive in the Hama-province and in the Aleppo-region! 3)Qamishli seems to be under complete PYD-control,with small elements of sunni-arab rebel groups also in the town and its environments. According to my sources Assad´s police-forces have simply disappeared and his troops,who were stationed in the city-center,were replaced to the town of Hasakah further south one week ago. So it would be ok to mark Qamishli "brown",but it´s not my decision,i am not in the position to change maps. Thank you,see you soon. Sascha,Germany — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.18.96 (talk • contribs)

ok guys,more fresh news from today,confirmed!

Rebels have advanced more than 40 kilometers south from Maarat-al-Numan and Jish-Ash-Shugur. Both towns are under complete rebel control now and must be completely marked brown. Furthermore in recent hours the rebels seized six small towns in the Hama-province,which are not on the map (it´s ok,they are small towns and the map shouldn´t be too big): Al Arba,Hamamiyat,Al-Zakat,Latamneh,Karnaz and Kafr Zita

Deir Ezzor not yet fallen,heavy fighting continues throughout the city. Small-scale clashes near Raqqa and Hasakah,both towns still under complete Assad-control. Sascha,Germany

so as a result of today we could do following changes on the map

1) marking Mhardeh and Al Thawrah as green 2) marking Maarat-al-Numan and Jish Ash Shugur as brown without a blue ring 3) basically we can even mark Qamishli as brown. There are no Assad-forces left inside the town. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.18.96 (talk • contribs)

Hallo Sascha! Yes, there has been a big rebel offensive opened up in Hama province, so there will likely have to be many changes soon. Mhardeh is under siege by rebels per [7], so it should go to green with blue ring—though Halfaya, less then 5km away is a "rebel stronghold".

As for Maarrat al-Numan, I'd like to see if the govt base at Wadi Deif right next to it has been taken or abandoned before doing anything with it, though apparently rebels have indeed assaulted Khan Shaykhun further down the road. Haven't seen Jisr ash-Shughur in the news much as of late, so I can't comment on that.

You mentioned a "van Wilgenburg" before as a family member? Is he the same one who writes for the Kurdish news agency Rudaw? If so, perhaps you could ask him to write up a piece on Qamishlo—then we could definitely change the map :) ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 22:30, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

hello Lothar and all others,no you must be mistaken,i haven´t mentioned such a guy, :)

Fresh news: REBELS HAVE TAKEN AL-SUQALAYBIYAH IN HAMA-DISTRICT! We must change it from blue to brown!

https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky

Mhardeh was taken two hours ago,so we can leave it finally "brown". Al-Tawrah still under Assad-control,we should change it "green".many more small towns in Hama-province liberated! Sascha,Germany— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.14.254 (talk • contribs)

Update: Jish Ash-Shugur still under Assad-control,and still Assad-troops in Qamishli. A soldier defected in Qamishli yesterday,so there are still troops inside barracks in Qamishli. Maarat-al-Numan under complete rebel-control,but Wadi-Diyaf-base near the town still besieged.Mhardeh still under Assad-control. Reports about rebel-control were premature. at the moment we must do following changes on the map

1) Al-Suqailabiyah (Hama-province) under complete rebel-control since yesterday (marking it brown) 2) Al-Thawrah (Raqqa-province) under Assad-control,marking it green 3) Mhardeh not yet fallen to the rebels,we should change it to green oder blue (because the rebels are approaching the town in these hours)

Sascha,Germany— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.14.254 (talk • contribs)

 Done I've made the changes you requested. Also, this is not how to sign your posts. Please see here: [8]. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 16:05, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

(edit conflict)Khan Shaykhun should get a blue ring per the same source as Mhardeh [9]. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:28, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

thank you my friend,we should update every day now,because the war is nearings its climax.for the moment i have no fresh news 16:26, 19 December 2012 (UTC) Sascha,Germany 79.233.14.254 16:27, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky

Rebels seized the town of Taibat Al-Iman in Hama-province (not on the map). It´s on Twitter,yes,but absolutely confirmed! 18:07, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

Hasakeh?

Apparently Jabhat al-Nusra may have taken Hasakeh. Do we have any other information on this? ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 02:47, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

i don´t think,that this is true. There are absolutely no other reports,that Hasakah has been taken by the mujahideen. Yesterday there were some small-scale clashes in Hasakah itself and in other parts of the province,but still Hasakah seems to be largely controlled by Assad´s forces. There are also kurdish militias in the city,their actual stance towards Assad is unknown.79.233.14.73 06:18, 20 December 2012 (UTC) Sascha,Germany

according to my sources the Assad-troops have stabilized their frontlines in the Hama-province for the moment,actually there is a stalemate in fighting. There is fighting all over the country as well as guerilla-attacks,but in recent hours the rebels have not been able to make a significant territorial gain. Sascha,germany, 79.233.14.73 08:00, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

The large "17th division" is still stationed in the town of Qamishli. One of these Assad-soldiers defected three days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhmGMXf3j-Q

So there is still an enormous presence of Assad-troops in Qamishli!! Sascha,Germany, 79.233.14.73 09:18, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

ATTENTION: An unknown idiot has changed the map again prior to the version of monday. Please update the map again. Too many freaks on this planet! Sascha,Germany 79.233.14.73 20:51, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

Daraya

Channel4 news journalist in this video on the CNN website says that Daraya is a rebel stronghold. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2012/12/21/pkg-thomson-syria-troops.itn?iref=allsearch 76.99.183.101 17:04, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

Daraya is only a suburb of Damascus and surrounded by Assad´s troops. Not so important

Safira

Safira should get a blue ring per [10]. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 01:37, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

 Done -I also changed Suqeilabiya to govt-controlled with a blue circle per this source:[11] --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 01:55, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

Hama Blue Circle?

This was posted onr Reuters 2 days ago? http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/12/20/uk-syria-crisis-idUKBRE8BI1JT20121220

Seektrue (talk) 08:32, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

no frontline-changes in recent 72 hours. Assad-forces have strengthened their hold on Hama-province for the moment,as well as on Qamishli,Raqqa,Hasakah etc.... Sascha,Germany, 79.233.13.60 09:35, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

Yabrood

FSA in full control off Yabrood (and has been for nearly a year) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20837975 69.255.29.249 23:41, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

 Done --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 23:59, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

HAREM AND TAL BRAK

Yesterday the sunni-arab rebel-mujahideen seized the town of Harem near the turkish border (Idlib-province) and the town of Tal Brak (Hasakah province). Both towns are small and not on the map! Nevertheless now only Qamishli is the single town on the turkish border where Assad has still some control. Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.91 07:49, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

ATTENTION!! My friends,i would like to update the site "Foreign relations of Montenegro",however i am blocked there for an unknown reason. On December 21 Montenegro and Togo have established diplomatic relations.

http://www.mip.gov.me/index.php/Saopstenja/saopstenje-22122012-1.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Montenegro

Can someone of you update the list?? Togo is in field "111" and the second field must be updated,the date with the diplomatic relations. It would be nice from you. Thank you in advance,Sascha,Germany 79.233.37.91 07:49, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

 Done keep up the great updates here, until the day the Independence Flag flys from the presidential palace in Damascus.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.197.127.59 (talk • contribs)

thank you,my friend. yes as a military expert and interested in the Syrian War,i will continue to follow it and update until the war is over. The "independence flag",well,but without any doubt the "New Syria" will be islamic and not "western democratic". this is ok,the RE-islamization of the muslim world is unstoppable and a "natural process" after centuries of foreign colonialism and home-grown atheist dictatorships. Nevertheless i hope,that the new islamic rulers in Damascus won´t blow up train stations in Europe etc...Sascha,Germany 79.233.37.91 08:47, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Hama and northern provinces

UPDATE

Sunni-arab rebels seized the small towns of Morek (Hama province) and Al-Shabanan (Raqqa-province) this morning. both towns not on the map.Heavy fighting in Hasakah-city,Deir Ezzor and Aleppo. Sascha J.,Military Expert,Germany, 79.233.37.91 12:53, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

The sunni-arab rebels/mujahideen have seized two more small towns in the Raqqa-province today.Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.91 19:38, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

UPDATE!!! SUNNI-ARAB REBEL-MUJAHIDEEN SEIZE AL-THAWRAH IN RAQQA-PROVINCE WITHOUT ANY RESISTANCE THIS EVENING!! 95% OF RAQQA-PROVINCE UNDER REBEL-CONTROL THIS EVENING. ONLY THE CITY OF RAQQA STILL UNDER ASSAD´S CONTROL,BUT LARGELY ENCIRCLED BY THE REBELS!!!! Sascha,Military Expert,Germany.79.233.37.91 21:23, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

By the way: I am only telling the truth here,no propaganda. Only 100%-confirmed reports are being posted by myself. The fall of Raqqa-city can be expected until the weekend. Heavy clashes in Hasakah. Meanwhile many sunni-rebel-troops are nearing Qamishli. After the failed negotiations with the PYD the mujahideen want to take the whole country even without kurdish assistance. After months of negotiations patience has run out. Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.91 21:23, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Can you provide links to the sources that are reporting these clashes? I haven't found any news reporting fighting in Hasakah or rebel control over al-Thawrah. I've seen sources reporting clashes in Hasakah province, but not Hasakah city. --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 03:47, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

hello,yes it is confirmed,by Ugarit News,Al Furqan,Rozalina Chomsky and other trustworty sources on Twitter. While Assad´s forces have regained strength in the Hama-province,the Raqqa-province,including the town of Al-Thawrah (which is not so big) has been overrun by the rebels in recent 48 hours without big clashes. 95% of the province is now free,only Raqqa-city is under Assad´s control.The city will fall as well soon,Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.143 08:53, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

Update: According to many trustworthy Twitter-sources the city of Raqqa is largely under control of the rebels and Assad´s artillery is heavily shelling the whole town since early morning. The artillery is shelling from some Aleppo-bases as well as the long-range artillery from the "17th division" in Qamishli. It looks like Assad has no ground forces left in the Raqqa-province. Let´s recall,that large numbers of refugees are stationed in Raqqa.Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.143 08:58, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

RAQQA UNDER REBEL-CONTROL! HEAVY SHELLING,DOZENS OF CIVILIANS KILLED!

Last night the rebel-mujahideen seized the city of Raqqa without a fight,because there were almost no Assad-forces left on the ground. From the early morning on Assad´s artillery is heavily shelling the whole city. Dozens of civilians have been massacred so far. Artillery is shelling from the Aleppo-province and from Assad´s forces,who are stationed in Qamishli.

https://twitter.com/search?q=raqqa&src=typd http://yallasouriya.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/raqqa-tens-of-martyrs-and-wounded-were-reported/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9iOIjT5TP0&feature=youtu.be Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.143 11:04, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

I think you're getting Raqqa city and Raqqa province confused. The reports said that the village of Qahtania, west of Raqqa city was bombarded [12]. I haven't seen anything about rebels fighting in Raqqa city or Al-Thawarah.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 16:26, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

no my friend,i am an expert and not confusing anything, :) The media are confusing things,because their journalists have no idea. Qhatania is a part of raqqa-city on the outskirts. Al Thawrah is completely under rebel-control for 40 hours now,there were even no clashes. There are heavy clashes in Raqqa since early morning yesterday,but the city is already under rebel-control to a 80%-degree. You will hear pleasant news soon,even officially. Sascha,Germany, 79.233.37.72 10:16, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Well, Qahtaniyah isn't quite part of the city itself, but it's indeed very close to it. I'd wait before making any changes until these things are picked up by the media. Remember we had Qamishlo which was supposed to be free of govt troops who turned out to have never left the city at all. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:52, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

Busra al Harir

Rebels "liberated" Busra al Harir. I did not find any link in English about this, but in Spanish [13] (google translation]--83.36.158.112 22:51, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

Good job, the source is legit.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.40.254.40 (talk • contribs)

No, fighting is still going on there (AP). --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 01:07, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

UPDATE!! Following changes must be done:

Al Thawrah and Dayr Hafir are under sunni-arab rebel control

Izra and Al-Sanamayn are under Assad´s control.

Raqqa is largely liberated,but western media do not get up to it. However there are some besieged bases inside the city,which are left for Assad.Sascha,Germany, 79.233.11.206 10:23, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

Opposition seems to be making progress in Raqqa province according to Stratfor, [14], Sascha is usually ahead for the curve so expect news reports in the next few days confirming take over/fighting in cities in the area.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.40.254.114 (talk • contribs)

I haven't seen any news reports about Al Thawrah, Dayr Hafir. But yeah, the rebels are making gains in Raqqa province.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 16:11, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

hello i have never written these things about Raqqa. Raqqa and most parts of the Raqqa-district,including Al-Thawrah are still under Assad´s-control. A troll has written posts in my name,sorry for this. Sascha,Germany— Preceding unsigned comment added by ‎79.233.21.196 (talk • contribs)

A troll within your exact IP address range and the same writing style.... best to not let friends use your computer then ;) ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 22:14, 20 January 2013 (UTC)

Should the edit by Deonis 2012 be reverted? The user has been banned for vandalism 80.193.70.130 09:44, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

He's indefinitely blocked (not the same as a ban) on en-wp for disruption, including repeated copyright violations and sustained sockpuppetry. He is (as of the moment) a free man on Commons, however. At any rate, Darayya is indeed fiercely contested and has been for a while now. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 17:41, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

why are you removing my post? it´s disgusting!!! Ariha is under control of Assad´s troops,you can read it everywhere.Sascha,Germany, 79.233.36.89 09:25, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Palmyra disputed, should be blue

Rebels attacked intelligence branch buildings.'Many killed' in Syria car bombings http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132695511608916.html.

 Done - I also changed Sfeira to rebel control per [15] and Jisr al-Shughur to besieged per [16].--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:16, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Palmyra and Safeia should be reverted; both are still, more or less, regime controlled; in Saferia you have a fair amount of attacks on convoys and checkpoints, so you can change it to besieged; in Palmyra it's regime controlled, which is why you have suicide bombings rather than sustained assaults. Note, its very easy to confuse "town" with "Nahiya"; FSA control a lot of the area around Saferia but not the main city itself, where the chemical weapons facilities are stored.

See also : http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=7217

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 39.48.245.31 (talk • contribs)

As regards Safira, I really don't think the weapons are in the "city itself"—more likely in one of the military bases outside the city:[17] [18] [19]. Fighting is probably around the bases, which the rebels may well be attacking from the city.

The blast in Palmyra was followed by ground combat between rebels and the army, which is why it went to blue. That said, it will almost certainly be short-lived, as the government has maintained a tight grip on the city for most of the war and will likely continue doing so—the airbase there is used by the Russians, it's near major oil pipelines, and there are some important phosphate mines nearby. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 22:52, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

My analysis of the situation in Safira seems to be correct, according to this report [20]. Fighting is at the bases on the outskirts, while Nusra controls the city proper. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 00:39, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Thawra (Tabaqa)

I've found this source, which looks decently reliable upon first glance, describing fighting in and around the town of al-Thawra (referred to by its old name of Tabaqa) on the Euphrates. Should be blue. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:26, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

 Done --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:14, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Damascus to blue?

Fighting has been ongoing in the city proper for a while now: rebels coming from the north have pushed as far as between Qaboun district Abbasin Square [21] and coming from the south as far as the main train station in Qadam district [22]. Fighting has moved from the suburbs to the city proper, and I think it may be time to make Damascus blue, or at least greatly thicken the blue ring. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:45, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

If the clashes continue there, then maybe. The vast majority of Damascus is still under government control. I'm confident that Assad will be able to defend his capital for at least another 6 months.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:06, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Anyways, I made the ring bigger.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:14, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Futuretrillionare is right that the regime will hold out in Damascus for at least a few more months, even if Assad's days are now clearly numbered. Although would it be possible to edit the enlarged blue ring to a crescent from the north going clock-wise to the south-east, to accurately show the extent of the Oppositon assault upon the city?

Really futuretrillionaire ,I believe maybe only for weeks— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.0.209.65 (talk • contribs)

Thawrah

FOLLOWING CHANGES: ARIHA AND AL-THAWRAH

According to mediareports from today,the rebels seized complete control of the city of Al-Thwarah (Al-Tabqa).Confirmed on Twitter,including many videos.

At the same time there is still fighting in Ariha (Idlib-province). Assad´s troops are carrying out house-to-house searches and fighting continues.

So all in all we must change Ariha to blue and AlThwarah finally to brown.

https://twitter.com/search?q=raqqa&src=typd

AL-THAWRAH COMPLETELY SEIZED BY SYRIAN REBELS!!!

https://twitter.com/search?q=ariha&src=typd

And here the proof,that there is fighting in Ariha,no rebel control so far! Please make the changes,thank you— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.14.95 (talk • contribs)

Those Ariha tweets are saying that 1) Ariha has been surrounded and 2) that govt troops are present in the west of the city. Still waiting for mentions of it in the mainstream news though. It's a big enough town to get noticed at some point. As for Tabqa, the latest is that rebels have seized control of the big Furat dam and at least part of the city [23], but even the tweets are showing that there is still fighting. Probably won't be long before it goes to the rebels, but till then blue is the best. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 23:19, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

Al-THAWRAH OFFICFIALLY LIBERATED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCCImclrP4&feature=youtu.be

THIS IS THE VIDEO AND HERE IS ALSO THE LINK ON TWITTER

https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky

2h Rozalina Chomsky Rozalina Chomsky ‏@rozalinachomsky

an official statement on the liberation of al-tabqa city in al-raqqah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCCImclrP4&feature=youtu.be #syria

NO DOUBT,Al-Thawrah has fallen,we also have dozens of videos on youtube!! Time to change it to brown. And there is fighting in Ariha,so we must change it to blue. When there is fighting in a city,we cannot let it brown,friends. "house-to house-searches" by Assad´s troops are a clear proof,that the city is not under complete rebel-control!!

HERE IS THE MAINSTREAM-MEDIA-REPORT,THAT THAWRAH HAS FALLEN

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-12/206090-rebels-overrun-military-airport-in-north-syria-activists.ashx#ixzz2Kfu1yQx0

Nevertheless you should sometimes also trust som twitter-reports,not all rumours are wrong— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.14.95 (talk • contribs)

Yep, Tabqa/Thawra has been overrun. And it's not that I think all tweets are wrong, it's just best to wait for better sources to cover it. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:03, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

WHAT THE HELL???? Lothar,i respect you,but please don´t be a Hardcore-bureaucrat!!! Tabqa is under complete rebel-control for more than 48 hours now,you have your official media reports,numerous Twitter-confirmations and numerous videos,as well as an official rebel-statement via video!!! What else are you waiting for??? Not all media cover it,it´s a small town and most global media are incompetent,you know it!! Please make the changes,as well a with Ariha.Thank you— Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.233.14.95 (talk • contribs)

The Daily Star source says nothing about the town being taken over. It just says the air base close to the town was taken over.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 22:00, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Oh nvm [24] --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 22:12, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Forget the "Daily Star". The proofs for Al-Thawrah are numerous!!!! Most journalists on our planet are not very competitive today,journalism is getting more and more miserable!

Rebel fighters completely seized the town of Al-Shidadi,40 kilometers south of Hasakah!!!

Furthermore you should change Ariha to blue,fighting in the town is continuing and according to all available sources, the largest part of the town is actually under control of Assad´s troops. Assad-forces also control Idlib-city and Jish-Ash-Shugur! The Idlib-province is still far from being liberated,to be honest.Official media-reports suggest,that the Idlib-province is a "rebel-stronghold". well,but only the border to Turkey!!

Uhhh, calm down and check the map. Thawra has been changed already.

The map shows that govt forces control Idlib and Jisr ash-Shughur. But the province is still mostly under rebel control—you forget about Maarat al-Numan, Kafranbel, and other towns in the south, as well as the loss of the Taftanaz helicopter base in the east. Govt forces control a narrow belt from Jisr ash-Shughur to Idlib and its suburbs, Khan Sheikhun, and maybe still the Abu Zuhur airbase in the extreme east. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:31, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

I went through SOHR's daily releases up to late January, and found nothing saying that Ariha had even been entered, only some things from late January talking about how Nusra & friends seized some checkpoints on the roads between it and other cities. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:33, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

Khan Shaykhun to blue?

February 15th, observatory reports regime tank shelling of khan shaykhun, via AJE, http://m.aljazeera.com/story/2013215141241632276 indicating at least contested status

72.33.94.114 17:02, 15 February 2013 (UTC)Mango

Rebels also claimed to have shot down a fighter jet above Khan Shaykun. That can only be possible if they are in or close the town. And the regime only uses fighter jets against rebel held area's. So blue indeed ...

Qamishli 2

According to this recent Stratfor map[25], Qamishli is under Kurdish control.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 19:07, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Never seen any sources for government withdrawal, even in Kurdish media. All reports I've seen indicate joint PYD/govt control (e.g. [26]). ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 19:21, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Daara to Blue

In recent days there has been ongoing fighting in Daara, with rebels taking checkpoints and even declaring one neighbourhood "liberated". This has led to several airstrikes inside the city and at least 18 have been killed by the airstrikes. [27] [28] Major media is reporting on the situation and aren't these reliable sources?

URGENT! ARIHA UNDER ASSAD-CONTROL

https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky

Rozalina Chomsky´s sources are trustworthy. She reports today,that Assad´s troops have imposed a curfew in Ariha. My former reports,that Ariha is again under complete Assad-control,have been confirmed.Please change the town to green!

Meanwhile the rebel-mujahideen are marching towards the towns of Raqqa,Hasakah and Qamishli,furthermore every day the rebels seize new territory in Deir-Ezzour! There are also more and more clashes in Palmyra.It looks like they plan to seize the whole Northeast and East in the coming days and weeks,something which i personally proposed the rebels to do even months ago!

Most I've found is this, saying that there is heavy fighting in the town. Blue might be the way to go. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 14:50, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

 Done --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 15:23, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

WRT Daraa (the original subject of the thread), apparently there was a govt airstrike within the city on a rebel field hospital [29], which leads me to conclude that the city is indeed contested—without commenting on other internet chatter saying the same. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:46, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Reports say they've captured Tall Hamis (source, location), which I think is too small to be noted on this map. Qamishli is still quiet with the exception of regular protests by Kurdish groups inside the town (most recent reported on 22 Feb [30]).

Given the long history of anti-Kurd policies by the Baathist (=Arab nationalist) government, I don't think many Kurds have really ever supported Assad. Interviews with YPG fighters and even leaders invariably show that they have no love for Assad. And given the fact that the army bombed the PYD/YPG-controlled districts in Aleppo only a few days ago [31], the feeling is mutual. The only reason why anybody claims that Kurds, specifically the PYD/YPG, "support" Assad in any way is due to some tenuous connections between the movement's founders and the Syrian government and—more importantly—because the PYD/YPG has no real interest in cooperating with the (Turkish-supported) Arab opposition, which tends to hold a depressingly hostile (and Baathist-tainted!) attitude towards Kurdish autonomy (evidenced by rebel C-in-C Salim Idris's flat rejection of the peace accord between rebels and YPG in Ras al-Ayn/Serekaniye, which actually goes so far as to propose battlefield cooperation between FSA and YPG forces [32]). Nevertheless, Kurdish opposition groups like the KNC remain vocal advocates of supporting the SNC, though they don't wield much real power in Syrian Kurdistan. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 09:01, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

You are right, Kurdish factions do not 'support' Assad, rather they are stuck between a rock and a hard place politically. Tolerance of Assad seems to be based on a perverse trade off where he would support anti-Turkish Kurdish militants, while at the sane time denying Kurds the right to exist domestically i.e no Syrian citizenship, no kurds holding political office, the presdient must be Arab (although the notion that anyone other than an Assad could hope to be president was a complete joke) etc.

Raqqa to blue

BBC: Syria: Fierce clashes in provincial capital Raqqa, CNN: Rebels fight for key Damascus suburb.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.197.127.155 (talk • contribs)

 Done--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:54, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

Situation in Raqqa seems to have shaped into a key opposition victory: Syrian rebels capture most of northern city.

only some pockets with Assad-troops remain in the city,but they will be overwhelmed soon. I think,in 24 hours Raqqa will be fully liberated,then we can change it to "brown"

Yes, it is clear now that regime forces collapsed like a cheap tent after only a day or two of fighing, a pattern that is forming throughout northern and eastern Syria: Al Jazeera, Syria rebels capture northern Raqqa city & The New York Times Syrian Rebels Reported to Take Key City After Heavy Fighting

Raqqa 2

SOHR director Rami Abdul-Rahman said fierce fighting was taking place around the intelligence building and other areas, and that some of Raqqa was still under government control, the Associated Press news agency reported.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21666913

The governor's palace has been taken and also, remarkably, the governor himself has been captured: Syria crisis: Raqqa governor held by rebels 'as city falls'. This is a game changing victory.

RAQQA COMPLETELY LIBERATED!!!

https://twitter.com/rozalinachomsky

Rozalina Chomsky confirms,that the whole city of Raqqa is finally liberated now!! the two last points of resistance,the political security branch and the military intelligence compound,have been taken by the rebels in the afternoon!!!

She also tells,that in the Raqqa-province only three Assad-strongholds remain: Tabqa-military airport,Brigade 93 and Division 17. All places are located in the open countryside,miles away from the cities Raqqa and Tabqa!!! 79.233.37.208 17:39, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

 Done - http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/06/syrian-activists-say-rebels-seize-security-buildings-in-raqqa-declare-it-1st/ --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:56, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

DEIR EZZOR CLOSE TO FALL!!

According to many reports 95% of Deir Ezzor are now under rebel-control. Today three city-districts and the main army-base were seized. Only one district and the airport remain contested. Final fall of Deir Ezzor expected in the coming days! People already celebrate in most parts of the city,this video is from this evening,brandnew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoC6JQ1qljE&feature=youtu.be

79.233.4.141 22:43, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

I must already update!!

DEIR EZZOR HAS FALLEN! I REPEAT,DEIR EZZOR HAS FALLEN! The last neighbourhood was also seized. The city is under total rebel-control this evening,there are celebrations everywhere and cars are honking their horns. There is only fighting at the airport several miles outside the city. But the city itself has completely fallen,no resistance left from Assad´s troops! Official confirmation soon,let´s wait with changing the map until official confirmation,but the city has fallen this evening!!! 79.233.4.141 22:53, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

YES I CONFIRM IT! DEIR EZZOR LIBERATED THIS EVENING BY THE MUJAHIDEEN! OFFICIAL STATEMENT SOON!! NOW THE MARCH ON HASAKAH AND QAMISHLI WILL BEGIN,THEN PALMYRA!!!

Interesting. I had been under the impression that most of the city itself was under rebel control anyway and that the bulk of govt resistance was coming from the airport/airbase (which is very close to the city itself). If this is the case, then red with blue circle would be best.

I think we'll see a march on Hasakah and Qamishli next before any serious attacks on Palmyra. Palmyra is surrounded by open, airstrike-friendly desert and is a big garrison town—plus the Russians reportedly operate airbase facilities there. With the fall of Raqqa (and, if it's confirmed, Deir ez-Zor), the rebels control the entire length of the Euphrates in Syria, and have thus cut Syria in two. Govt troops in Hasakah are caught in a shrinking pocket—YPG fighters hem them in without firing a shot from the north and east, while Nusra has been aggressively driving up from the south. Maliki's Iraq is their only land route for escape, and rebels are determined to cut that last little escape route off at Yaaribiyah. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 01:50, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

First, 3 districts and an army base taken by the rebels. Then the last district later in the evening ... who's your source, 79.233.4.141?

UPDATE!!! I have made contact with Rozalina Chomsky. Following parts of Deir Ezzor (circa 5%) are still under Assad´s control. The airport,a military base on the outskirts and a neighbourhood leading to the airport!!! Deir Ezzor not completely liberated so far!! But yesterday the biggest military base and three neighbourhoods were seized by the mujahideen 79.233.11.63 09:08, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

HMMM ... but still no source? How about if i tell you that my contact at Reuters tells me that Assad had retaken Rastan?

If everything Rozalina Chomsky 'reported' was accurate, the regime would be losing 10 tanks, 15 checkpoints and 100 men every day and the war would have been over a long time ago. Provide something with credibility or some sort of actual evidence. 68.149.163.72 21:18, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Too many towns

The map is a damn eyesore. I tried removing some tiny towns to make it look better But Lothar reverted it, accusing me of POV. LOL What? If I really was interested in POV-pushing, I'd made all of Damascus blue by now. I don't give a damn who controls what town, so let's talk. Which towns do you suggest we remove? --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 20:44, 11 March 2013 (UTC)

Latakia and Tartus (two of the smallest and least populated provinces in all of Syria) are certainly overly represented. I don't think that is unfair to say.

Of the three that you removed, Haffa and Dayr Hafir (should probably be blue though) should be retained because the map should seek to show the spread of territorial control as best as possible. Mukharram is probably non-critical. Qardaha should be kept if only because it's Assad's hometown. Either Atarib or Ad-Dana should go. Tartus could be thinned a little, maybe Duraykish or Safita.

As an aside, Salkhad and Shahba in Suwayda should go to green. Jebel Druze remains as placid a pro-government stronghold as the Alawi coast. Additionally, I haven't seen any evidence that Palmyra remains contested after that bombing and brief clashes a couple weeks back. Talkalakh needs a blue ring as well. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 17:32, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

 Done --Futuretrillionaire (talk) 17:27, 29 March 2013 (UTC)

NYT map

Not sure if this helps, but here's a recent map from the NYT about the situation in Syria.--Futuretrillionaire (talk) 22:15, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

Some inaccuracies. Hasakah city is a government stronghold, so is about half of Qamishli, and I haven't heard if rebels ended up capturing Yaaribiyah. More of that province should be yellow, if not green. Government forces control a band of territory in Idlib from Jisr ash-Shughur to Mahmbel to Idlib city to Kafraya and al-Fu'ah—not just Idlib city as the map suggests. It's also missing the rebel pockets in Homs and Hama countryside. Also somewhat irritating that Kurds are lumped in with rebels. It's an ok map, but I wouldn't take it at face value. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 16:18, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Hatay

Why does hatay have different boundry lines than other Turkish cities. From this image, Someone can sense that hatay is a part of syria.

176.33.55.164 21:21, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

https://twitter.com/search?q=tal%20brak&src=typd

Tal Brak is under complete rebel-control!! Please change to brown! Furthermore i do not agree with the flood of new towns on the map! this is too much! 79.233.38.7 16:29, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

new map

this looks fantastic http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syrian_civil_war.png

I PROPOSE,THAT TINY TOWNS LIKE AL-HAFFA AND QARDAHA WILL ALSO BE REMOVED FROM THE MAP!! THE NUMEROUS SMALL TOWNS ALONG THE COAST ARE NOT NECESSARY! THEY ARE SO SMALL,THAT EYES ARE HURTING;WHEN I WATCH THE MAP :) 79.233.15.122 07:22, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Damascus to blue? 2

Is Damascus city contested? Recent news reports tend to suggest that the rebels have a militarily significant presence within certain neighborhoods in Damascus proper. I don't pretend to be sufficiently knowledgeable to have an opinion on this, but will anyone more informed comment on this?

Might be. Rebels advanced into the Jobar district of the city, and have a presence in Quaboon and Barzeh in the northwest. Also, in the south, they have infiltrated Kafr Soussah from were they are firing mortarts into central Damascus. Yarmouk has also seen heavy fighting and shelling. So there is surely an increase in fighting and shelling in Damascus proper....

ATTENTION!!!

Hello, i propose following actual changes on the map,my friends.

1) Please remove Qardaha and Al-Haffa from the map. These villages are too small and "hurt the eyes"!!!

2) The rebels are active in Palmyra,they are launching guerilla-attacks inside the city. Therefore please change Palmyra from green to blue!! no open fighting,yes,but guerilla-war is also a war!

3)Please change Ariha to brown. The town is under complete rebel-control again,Assad´s troops are besieging the town,but the town itself is under rebel-control

4)Please change Talkalakh from brown to blue. Recent reports confirm,that parts of the town are under control of the Assad-troops!! The town is divided and fighting is continuing!

5)Please change Quneitra from white to blue. There is fighting in the town and in the whole district.

by the way,i confirm,that the city of Hasakah is still under complete control of the Assad-troops.the rebels are encircling the city from all sides more and more,but the city itself is still under government-control,there are even no guerilla-attacks.

Thank you in advance for the changes! Sascha, 79.233.28.188 07:42, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Sasha, please provide your sources for the above. I'll suggest that frequent guerrilla raids into Palmyra, by themselves, calls for a blue circle only.

And i propose to show Damascus solid blue. The thick blue circle is now outdated. The rebels moved into Yarmouk in December 2012 and I am not aware of any reports that they were ever dislodged ... at most, the district is contested but the rebels (including their armed Palestinian allies) have held some ground for four months now. In more recent weeks and days, the rebels have pushed into Jobar, Barzeh, Kafr Soussah, and Qaboun. I am not talking about raids or mortar fire: (http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/02/syrian-forces-pound-rebel-held-areas-of-damascus-with-air-strikes/). And this article reports the south-eastern neighborhoods of Yalda, Jaramana and Babbila are rebel held (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4364337,00.html). The frontline now runs through districts of Damascus proper ... though the army controls the central areas of the city, the rebels control much of the eastern and southern neighbourhoods. These are areas of Damascus city that the Syrian army cannot be said to control. And crucially, with the rebels now having firm control of some of the Damascus suburbs and countryside, it is not a given that the Syrian army will completely wrest control of these districts from the rebels any time soon. The current state of control in Damascus is comparable to Homs or, in reverse, to Deir Ezzor.

To be honest,i don´t have the nerves right now to search all the articles,but you can trust me and find the reports yourself,especially news-links on Twitter. There is fighting in Talkalakh and Paylmyra (thus blue),while Ariha is under rebel-control (thus brown) and surrounded.And please remove Qardaha and Al-Haffa,it´s eye-hurting,because too small!!!We don´t need so many tiny towns on the coastline. And Quneitra should also be blue. At the moment Quneitra has no colour at all.Sascha, 79.233.28.188 10:15, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Agree,we have only three cities in Syria today,where no guerilla-war takes place and where Assad is still in total control. Hasakah,Latakia and Tartus. But there is fighting around Hasakah and Latakia. The rebels are not far away! By the way,yesterday evening first clashes between Kurds and assad-troops in Qamishli! The "Pseudo-peace" between Assad and Kurds in Qamishli is over!

ATTENTION! BATTLE FOR HASAKAH HAS STARTED

https://www.facebook.com/syriaohr?fref=ts

First district o the city under complete kurdish rebel-control. Please change Hasakah to blue! And please change also Palmyra and Talkalakh to blue,Ariha to brown and remove Al-Haffa and Qardaha from the map because these are villages and no towns!!Furthermore change Quneitra to blue!! Sascha,Germany

Hasakah has been under the same pattern of control as Qamishli for months now: PYD controls Kurdish districts, government controls Arab districts. In fact, there were clashes in the city between an Arab insurgent group and the YPG the other day. As far as I can tell, the clashes in Qamishli a few days ago have not translated into a full battle yet, just raised tensions.

Quneitra has been a ghost town ever since the Israelis systematically demolished it in 1974. No sense in changing it to anything. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 04:50, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

al-Qusayr

Al-Qusayr needs to be marked as fully blue. Major new outlets and the SOHR are reporting heavy fighting in the town itself for the past two days: (http://www.newser.com/article/da6569vo0/syrian-troops-push-into-strategic-town-on-highway-to-jordan-as-internet-outage-engulfs-country.html). 68.149.173.125 20:04, 8 May 2013 (UTC)

Said the same thing, nothing changed...Ctejerina

Nope. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 12:58, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

Khirbet Ghazaleh

http://news.yahoo.com/assads-forces-capture-strategic-town-southern-syria-034605544.html

Assad's forces capture strategic town in southern Syria.

As a strategic city, and it is, because it's on the border with Jordan, it should be marked on the map.

"Khirbet Ghazaleh, situated in the Hauran Plain on the highway to Jordan"

More sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/syria-khirbet-ghazaleh_n_3237434.html?utm_hp_ref=world

For those who say PressTV is reporting "too much": http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/08/302430/syrian-army-captures-strategic-town/

They did the same report...

Att. Ctejerina

It's miles from border with Jordan, and this map is not updated with every town that each side captures/loses. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 13:06, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

Most of the medias are reporting that the whole city has been captured by regime force but in fact they only managed to push rebels from northern part (Al Ktaibeh) with rebels controlling southern part (Khirbet Galazeh. And at the moment no convoy has reached Daraa as I know --78.232.100.63 16:10, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

Dayr Hafir

Lothar, I think we should turn Dayr to blue or at least a blue border because it is very close to the besieged Kweires airbase which means the rebels have a presence there. It would be logic --Amedjay (talk) 10:34, 12 May 2013 (UTC)

List of some cities to add

I think we should add these towns on the map:

-Khirbet Galazeh (Strategic town east of Dael but I think you know it) in blue

-Abil (Also a strageic town between Qusayr and Homs) in blue

-Helfaya (East from Mhardeh and very close)

-Khanasser (Stragegic town from where convoys to Safira and Aleppo are coming from south of Safira approximately 20 miles away from Safira) in green with a blue circle around

-Dumayr (East of Adra with an important airbase) in blue

Thanks. --Amedjay (talk) 10:54, 12 May 2013 (UTC)

-Khirbet Galazeh taken by army - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/syria-troops-khirbet-ghazaleh_n_3265565.html?utm_hp_ref=syria

Well it has been taken, lost and retaken by army. But there are still fights on the outskirts of the city and on the highway --78.232.100.63 15:25, 14 May 2013 (UTC)

Hatay, revisited

Since the question above in March wasn't answered, I'd like to point out that putting the former Sanjak of Alexandretta as disputed territory is rather odd. Though Syria does claim that the territory was annexed illegally, so far as I'm aware, it's not something that the Syrian government has actively pursued in its recent history, as it does with the Golan Heights (or as say Argentina does with the Falklands and Venezuela with Western Guyana). It's not even clear that the Syrian claim is still active; the en:wp article suggests that the Syrians appear to have quietly dropped their claim.

Showing it as the status of the Falklands would seem to only confuse the issue. Further although the Commons doesn't have policies on using either reliable sources or on undue weight, the English Wikipedia does, and I'd argue that it's inappropriate to use a file that violates both policies on en:wp articles. Though I can of course create a new file specifically to adhere to en:wp standards, I'd first like to discuss the matter with Spesh, since the optimal solution would be to change this map (keeping the name and maintaining only one to be updated). I can't think of any really compelling argument to include Hatay, while including it seems to unnecessarily confuse the issue, the subject at hand being the Syrian Civil War. —Quintucket (talk) 03:49, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

I agree pretty much agree with everything Quintucket says. Showing Hatay as disputed territory? No, it is not by any international standards. --Jun.rhee (talk) 11:19, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

 Done --FutureTrillionaire (talk) 13:33, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Also I would like to point that on "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria%E2%80%93Turkey_relations#Hatay_annexation" this page says that syria recognized the decision of hatay to join turkey.

Zabadani

At least one media reports that Zabadani has been retaken by the government with Hezbollah help. Maybe mark it on the map ? - Tourbillon 18:06, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Doesn't say that at all, only that Hizbullah is planning on halting its intervention in Syria after taking the town. It even says that rockets are still being fired into Lebanon from the area. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 18:52, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Misread, my bad. - Tourbillon 07:30, 9 June 2013 (UTC)

Deir Hafir

Today I was reading about Operation Northern Storm by the Syrian Army and Hezbollah. SOHR and activists have claimed that loyalist forcess shelled the rebel held city of Deir Hafir, which is still green on this map. It's logic that this town is under rebel command, since it's close to the besieged Kweiris airport. The rebels had to take the city to tighten the noose around Kweiris. So, Deir Hafir to red?

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/06/11/Syria-army-launches-attack-on-Aleppo-airbase-.html

I made this change to the map, but marked the borders blue due to the vicinity of the fighting. Susurri (talk) 21:28, 12 June 2013 (UTC)

Talkalakh

Patrick Cockburn of the Independent confirmed himself today that the town is back in the SAA's hands: [33]. As he is a reliable and unbiased source Talkalakh should be changed to solid green. 68.149.173.125 23:29, 25 June 2013 (UTC)

 Done. - Tourbillon 16:01, 26 June 2013 (UTC)

Rebels in Palmyra

"To the east, rebels maintain a presence in a handful of areas, among them Palmyra in the eastern desert." [34] 76.99.183.101 14:09, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Two-sides map should become three-sides map

en.Wikipedia seperated involved parties from 2 to 3 sides: Rebels, Government, Kurds.

I suppose that is more appropriate since rebels are figththing against Kurds also. So i suggest one more color would be appropriate for representing Kurds - yellow perhaps.

--Mile (talk) 15:57, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

I'm inclined to agree, but it's better to have broad consensus for it. It is also worth discussing the possibility to make Nusra-held areas in a different colour as well, maybe black. After all, Hollande urged rebels to retake areas taken by extremists. - Tourbillon 20:00, 29 June 2013 (UTC)

This map is pretty much obsolete at this point, but FWIW I do agree that Kurds should be marked differently, and have advocated thusly for some time now. I don't think that jihadis should be given a different colour, though. Simply because Hollande asked the "FSA" to attack JN/ISIS/etc. doesn't mean that they will, or that they even have a desire to. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 22:42, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

You could propose changes, I think of showing the Kurdish settlements in yellow anyway. Personally I think there's no need of the blue ring around Damascus anymore, or it should be made thinner at least. Rebels there are universally on the defensive. - Tourbillon 06:40, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

I agree that both the blue circle around Damascus should be removed and that the Kurds should be given their own colour. 68.149.173.125 20:20, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

I've been "proposing changes" for almost a year now, but I'm too technologically inept to make any changes.

Rebels are still present in some force in the northern districts of the city (Jubar, Qabun, Barzeh) as well as in the south (Qadam), so the ring is yet warranted. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 22:37, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Used goldenrod (#DAA520) for Kurdish areas and made the ring around Damascus thinner, do tell if there's anything else needed. Also, most media reported that the Army has "airlifted troops to an area in Ifrin", I assume they're talking about Nubl and Zahraa ? - Tourbillon 06:52, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

As regards the additional colour for Islamists I am inclined to agree with Lothar above. I think the map should be representing the info provided in the infobox. If there is agreement to add another column with Al-Nusra or they start fighting against the rest of the rebels we can consider adding a further colour. Isn't Ras-al-Ayn contested between rebels and Kurds though? (the more detailed map seems to indicate so). In this case it should be blue

Right, thanks for noticing. - Tourbillon 05:58, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Hama province

Right now Mhardeh and al-Suqaylabiyah are marked as besieged by the opposition. I've heard no reports of fighting in these towns or in western Hama province at all for at least six months now. Can we remove the blue circles from these? 68.149.173.125 21:05, 6 July 2013 (UTC)

Wrong. This map gives a fake impression. Rebels control large parts of western Hama. As off the summer of 2012 they have controlled a large part of the al-Ghab plain north of al-Suqaylabiyah. Towns there like Ma'arat al-Madiq are under FSA control. Rebels also control at least Hish, Kafr Zita, Latamneh and Tayibat al-Imam near the highyway running north from Hama to Aleppo. In the eastern countryside, rebels controle some ground along the border with Idlib province. I think we should take the besieged mark away from Mhardeh, but add some rebel towns to make this map more reliable. I also have the same problem in northeastern Latakia (Salma, Qastal Maaf and areas east of Haffah are rebel controlled).

Homs - Government offensive

As en.Wiki stated, before latest offensive 80 % of city was in Government hands, in these days of offensive they managed to capture some more parts of Rebel districts. en.Wiki stated Rebels are "abandoning" Homs.

Homs to green with blue circle ?

--Mile (talk) 16:07, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

Green with blue circle would mean that the rebels are besieging Homs, which is not the case at all. Blue with green circle has been proposed, but honestly it will likely change to fully green in a few days or weeks, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 03:07, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

You are right. I suppose Homs will go green in a week-two. --Mile (talk) 13:05, 15 July 2013 (UTC)

Nawa (mostly) rebel controlled

Movement today in Nawa, which for some reason is labeled as "Narwa," moving increasingly in rebel hands. We should correct the spelling and keep an eye on it if it needs to change in the next 24 hours.-- Patrick, _oѺ^∞ 19:18, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

Pro-government Kurds

It appears that PYD units have actively begun fighting Nusra insurgents and they're now described as pro-government. Do we know which cities are PYD-controlled and if it would be appropriate to mark them as government-held ? - Tourbillon 16:43, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Absolutely not. Poor journalism based on pro-rebel propaganda is not a reason to change anything. The PYD has fought Nusra on and off since last fall, and has been killing loyalists in Aleppo city only a few days ago [35]. They're even working on setting up a new, autonomous government for liberated Kurdish regions [36]—not bringing Damascene rule back. The Kurds were, are, and will foreseeably remain a third force. ~~ Lothar von Richthofen (talk) 21:07, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Yes, I was a bit surprised to read about the Kurds from such a perspective myself. Just asking for opinions. - Tourbillon 07:36, 20 July 2013 (UTC)

Btw I think someone can now change Ras-Al-Ayn to yellow

Tal Abyad

Kurdish-Islamist fighting has spread to this town in the north of ar-Raqqa province: [1]. There are conflicting reports about whether or not a ceasefire has since been declared but given how events are unfolding in the rest of Syrian Kurdistan I think it's safe to mark the town as contested.

Homs update

Seeing as Old Homs is the only place where the loyalists and rebels are still fighting (Syrian army crushes key rebel stronghold in Homs), I think it would be a good idea to put a thick green ring around the city. --84.41.86.38 09:57, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Moving talk page to Wikipedia?

Would anyone oppose moving this talk page to the file talk page at Wikipedia? I don't think many Wikipedia users use Commons often, and moving this page to Wikipedia allows users to keep it in their Wikipedia watchlist. This has already been done for File:Battle of Aleppo map.svg, and that page has considerably more activity than this one.--FutureTrillionaire (talk) 13:53, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

I support the move, it will be easier to observe if it's in wiki. - Tourbillon 10:33, 10 August 2013 (UTC)

Done.--FutureTrillionaire (talk) 03:27, 18 August 2013 (UTC)