Syria’s civil war

Islamist groups, including the al-Qaeda-allied al-Nusra Front, captured the northern Syrian town of Jisr ash-Shughur on April 25. This was the largest town still held by government forces in the Idlib Governorate, on the border with Turkey. 

The UN estimates that since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011, more than 200,000 people have been killed and nine million displaced.

The US Department of State warns that no part of Syria should be considered safe from violence and that indiscriminate attacks, including attacks with chemical weapons, continue to occur in civilian locations.