CIA programme to topple Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has been deemed a failure

Syrian regime denies responsibility for strike in Idlib province that killed more than 50

Bodies regularly dumped in two mass graves on outskirts of Damascus, says new report

Russian ambassador to UN hopes council will vote on proposed ceasefire resolution

Three powers, including Iran, prioritise end to hostilities and preserving Syria as a state

Attitudes to the government’s victory are very different in the city’s east and west

Buses bound for besieged villages torched by jihadis opposed to evacuation deal

Islamic State recapture of ancient city demonstrates that regime military is overstretched

Civilians pay heavy cost to protect their homes, lands and businesses

Analysis: Defeat of the terror group could lead to the return of al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq

At least 20 killed in Russian-backed offensive and four hospitals hit, says opposition

Analysis: Turkish intervention complicates two-stage offensive by Kurdish-Arab SDF

Damascus and Moscow are concerned about the foreign policy of next US president

Five-year-old conflict that has killed 300,000 to date may continue for years, experts warn

City’s recapture would put 70% of population back under Damascus government control

Kremlin demands that US press Syrian opposition groups to also abide by ceasefire deal

Incursion prevents Kurds from uniting and pushes jihadists from border areas

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura says no convoys have reached certain cities for 110 days

Analysis: Fundamentalist faction is less under threat than its rival Islamic State

Leader of group deemed ‘terrorist’ by Isis appears in video to announce new name

Isis targets civilians and tries to stir sectarian strife amid onslaught in Syria and Iraq

Thirteen years after the US-British invasion, we are still reaping a whirlwind of violence

Preoccupation of Damascus, Moscow and Washington withn battle against Islamic State has allowed ceasefire to break down

Neither Russian military nor Syria’s coastal enclave is secure from attack

International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna, but little hope of political settlement

Unicef and other groups in Damascus slowly win the trust of people who need their help

Paris says air strikes in Damascus were intended to terrorise and undermine peace efforts

Decision eases concern about boycott of UN-mediated talks to end five-year conflict

Families in the Netherlands of fighters in Syria attempt to verify reports of executions

Opposition representing 100 armed factions says it will observe two-week truce

Vladimir Putin says all parties expected to take part in a ceasefire are ready to do so

Truce due to start Saturday but Assad opponents expect government to press on

Near simultaneous explosions occurred at a marketplace near three primary schools

Assad regime says it will comply with ceasefire if attacks on Isis can continue

Formulation of Syrian peace plan frustrated by task of defining terrorist factions

Turkey was furious when Russian warplanes bombed areas Turkmens live in

Analysis: US co-operation means humanitarian aid can be delivered, and ceasefires may hold

The west has to do much more to make bearable the conditions of refugees in Syria’s neighbouring states

UN announces three-week pause in Geneva as Russian-backed forces make major gains

Analysis: Crisis might have been resolved in 2011 if US president had not intervened