In 2014, the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) greatly intensified the complexities of the ongoing war in Syria. ISIS, a militant jihadist group, took advantage of the chaos and power vacuum created by the Syrian civil war to seize control of large swaths of territory in both Syria and Iraq. Their brutal tactics, extreme ideology, and territorial gains further fragmented an already complicated conflict, drawing the involvement of multiple international actors and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region. The emergence of ISIS added a new dimension to the conflict, leading to increased violence, displacement, and suffering for the Syrian people.
