Syrian war, rumbling into 10th year, still has global impact

Even before the coronavirus outbreak took over the daily lives around the globe, the conflict which began in early 2011 had largely fallen off the world’s collective radars. As the Syrian war entered its tenth year, the war which gave rise to the Islamic State group and triggered the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st century has shown it is still creating new tragedies that can have an outsized impact on global politics.