Charles Lister is a terrorism and insurgency analyst in London who focuses on Syria’s anti-government insurgency. Phillip Smyth is a researcher at the University of Maryland. He specializes in Shiite militia activity in Syria. https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/contributor/charles-lister-and-phillip-smyth/rss en Government & Pro-Government Forces ISIS Opposition Groups & Rebel Forces Fri, 01 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000 Charles Lister and Phillip Smyth https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2013/11/01/syrias-multipolar-war https://www.newsdeeply.com/syria/community/2013/11/01/syrias-multipolar-war Notwithstanding some speculation, Syria has become an intensely complex conflict. Militarily, the opposition currently consists of more than 1,000 armed opposition groups as well as dozens of alliances, fronts and joint operations rooms, and pro-government forces are similarly multidimensional.