Syrian civil war drags on

Syria continued to be in the international spotlight in 2018, with its civil war dragging into its eighth year.

The Syrian government has regained around 60 percent of the country's territory, but the situation is still hard to predict.

In April, the US and its allies accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons on civilians. The US then launched missile attacks on Syria. In November, Russia attacked the chemical weapons field controlled by rebels.

On Dec 19, US President Donald Trump said he had decided to pull all 2,000 US troops out of Syria after he declared victory over the Islamic State, paving the way for Turkish involvement.