The Syrian civil war is an ongoing conflict in Syria that began with the Syrian Revolution in March 2011 when popular discontent with the Ba'athist regime ruled by Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria, as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. The Assad regime responded to protests with lethal force, sparking a civil war that culminated in the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. All revolutionary factions united into the Syrian caretaker government by 12 March 2025.