<P> In mid-November 2015, in the wake of the 13 November Paris terror attacks, France, citing self - defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, significantly intensified its air strikes in Syria, closely coordinating with the U.S. military . </P> <P> Also mid November, France drafted a UN Security Council resolution urging UN members to "take all necessary measures" in the fight against Islamic State and al - Nusra Front . The following day the French - drafted resolution was co-sponsored by the UK . On 20 November 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously passed the French - British drafted - sponsored resolution . Also on 20 November, France dismissed Russia ′ s suggestions that the French air strikes against oil installations in Syria were illegal, saying they were "an appropriate and necessary riposte" to attacks by Islamic State . </P> <P> As on 3 December 2015 the UK had started air strikes against ISIL in Syria, France welcomed that UK military action . </P> <P> The government of Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance ′ s second largest army, had had a relatively friendly relationship with Syria over a decade prior to the start of the civil unrest in Syria in 2011; Turkey, while joining calls for the Syrian government to end the violence, initially objected to the demand voiced in August 2011 by the U.S that Bashar Assad resign . Until September 2014, Turkey did not overtly participate in the international airstrikes against ISIS . Turkey trained defectors from the Syrian Army on its territory, and in July 2011 a group of them announced the birth of the Free Syrian Army under the supervision of Turkish military intelligence . In October 2011, Turkey began sheltering the Free Syrian Army, offering the group a safe zone and a base of operation . Together with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Turkey has also provided the rebels with arms and other military equipment . Tensions between Syria and Turkey significantly worsened after Syrian forces shot down a Turkish fighter jet in June 2012 and border clashes in October 2012 . In early February 2016, Reuters referred to Turkey as" a major sponsor of the insurgency against President Bashar al - Assad". Turkey provided refuge for Syrian dissidents from early days of the Syrian conflict . In early June 2011, Syrian opposition activists convened in Istanbul to discuss regime change, and Turkey hosted the head of the Free Syrian Army, Colonel Riad al - Asaad . Turkey became increasingly hostile to the Assad government's policies and came to encourage reconciliation among dissident factions . Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has tried to "cultivate a favorable relationship with whatever government would take the place of Assad ." Since May 2012, Syrian opposition forces have been receiving arms and training from Turkey and the United States . The Islamic Front and Ahrar ash - Sham in particular have received weapons and / or healthcare services from Turkey and Saudi Arabia . Turkey ′ s involvement in the conflict has been widely seen as going beyond combating ISIL and supporting moderate rebels: Turkey has been accused of fighting against Kurdish forces in Syria, as well as in Iraq, including intelligence collaborations with ISIL in some cases . The conclusion of a highly classified assessment made by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2013 was that Turkey had effectively transformed the secret U.S. arms program in support of moderate rebels, who in effect no longer existed, into an indiscriminate program to provide technical and logistical support to all elements of the opposition, including Jabhat al - Nusra and Islamic State . Turkey's subsequent arrangements with Russia and Iran (from early 2017) caused a rift in its relationship with the Syrian opposition, as the opposition leaders criticized Russia ′ s plan to create safe zones in Syria as threatening the country's territorial integrity . </P>

Who is involved in the syrian civil war