Why Is Syria Still a Hotspot after Assad’s Fall?

Even though Bashar al-Assad's regime is gone, Syria is far from peaceful. There are several reasons why foreign powers are still involved. Turkey wants to take out Kurdish militants. Israel is striking at Syria’s military to keep weapons out of extremist hands. The US is nervously eyeing ISIS, making sure it doesn’t gain ground. Each country has its own interests to protect. Turkey has always kept a close eye on Syria. Before Assad fell, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wanted to launch a ground operation into northern Syria. He had an enemy in mind: the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that both Turkey and the US consider terrorist. When Assad lost power, Turkey saw an opportunity. It sent the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) to fight Kurdish militants. Turks worry that Kurdish groups might become too powerful.

Israel welcomed the fall of Assad. Israel has struck many Syrian military targets, claiming it wants to stop weapons falling into extremist hands. Israel also pushed deeper into Syria, even grabbing the highest peak, Mount Hermon. This mountain overlooks Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Israel fears what might happen if radical Islamists take control of Syria. The US still has soldiers in Syria. These soldiers work with Kurdish-led forces to fight ISIS. The US wants to make sure ISIS doesn’t come back. There's been lots of fighting between US-allied groups and Turkey-backed militants. This isn’t helping. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, even visited Turkey to talk about this.

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