| Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, this document has been reviewed and updated. Please consult 'Interim Country Guidance: Syria (2025)' |
A • B • C • D • E • F • G • H • I • J • K • L • M • N • O • P • Q • R • S • T • U • V • W • X • Y • Z
A
| ACLED | Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project |
| Ahrar al-Sham | Sunni Salafist Jihadist armed group active in Syria, particularly Idlib Province; historical ‘partner’ of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in Syria |
| Al-Yarmouk camp | Main refugee camp for Palestinians; located in Damascus |
| APD (Asylum Procedures Directive) | Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection |
B |
|
| Baath Party (Syria) | Arab Socialist Baath Party; the ruling political party in Syria headed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad |
| Badia | Desert located in Central Syria, south of the Euphrates, specifically in the part of rural Homs, eastern Hama, southern Aleppo, southern Raqqa, and western and southern Deir Ez-Zor |
C |
|
| CJEU | Court of Justice of the European Union |
| COI | Country of origin information |
| CoI | Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic |
D |
|
| Defector | A defector is a former member of the SAA who has left the SAA and joined an armed opposition group in Syria. |
| Deserter | A deserter is a former member of the SAA (e.g. a conscript, a non-commissioned officer (corporal or sergeant) or an officer) who has left his post or unit in the SAA without permission. |
| Draft evader | A draft evader is a Syrian male, above the age of 18, who has avoided being drafted into the SAA either by hiding from the Syrian authorities or by fleeing Syria. |
F |
|
| FES | Friedrich Ebert Foundation |
| FSA | Free Syrian Army |
G |
|
| GoS | Government of Syria |
H |
|
| HAD | Hurras al-Din |
| Hezbollah | Lebanese Hezbollah; Lebanese Shia Islamist armed militant group backed by Iran and active on behalf of Assad in Syria |
| HTS | Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham |
I |
|
| ID | Identification documentation |
| Idlib de-escalation area | 'The term ‘Idlib de-escalation area’ or ‘Idlib de-escalation zone’ covers the areas controlled by anti-GoS armed groups in Idlib governorate as well as the adjoining, similar areas in western Aleppo and northern Hama and Latakia governorates.' |
| IDP | Internally displaced person |
| IED | Improvised explosive device |
| IPA | Internal Protection Alternative |
| IRGC | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| ISIL | The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Islamic State, or Daesh |
J |
|
| Jaysh al-Islam | Sunni Salafist Jihadist armed opposition group active in Eastern Ghouta outside Damascus; rival of Faylaq al-Rahman |
K |
|
| KNC | Kurdish National Council |
L |
|
| LGBTIQ |
LGBTIQ people are people:
who are attracted to others of their own gender (lesbian, gay) or any gender (bisexual);
whose gender identity and/or expression does not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth (trans, non-binary);
who are born with sex characteristics that do not fit the typical definition of male or female (intersex); and
whose identity does not fit into a binary classification of sexuality and/or gender (queer).
|
M |
|
| Military service | ‘Military service’ is used broadly to cover both military service and reserve service in the SAA. |
| Mukhtar | ‘Mayor or chief of a village/neighbourhood |
N |
|
| NDF | National Defence Forces, Quwat al Difa al Watani |
| NGO | Non-governmental organisation |
| NLF | National Liberation Front |
P |
|
| PKK | Kurdistan Worker’s Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê) |
| PYD | Popular Mobilisation Forces |
Q |
|
| QD (Qualification Directive) | Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted |
R |
|
| Reservist | A reservist is a Syrian man who has previously completed his mandatory military service in Syria and can still be called up for reserve service in the Syrian Arab Forces |
S |
|
| SAA | Syrian Arab Army |
| SDF | Syrian Democratic Forces |
| Sharia | The religious law of Islam, Islamic canonical law |
| SNA | Syrian National Army |
| SNHR | Syrian Network for Human Rights |
| Suqour al-Sahara | Desert Hawks; former irregular armed group supportive of Assad in Syria backed by wealthy Syrian Alawites |
T |
|
| Taqrir | A report |
| Taswiyat al-Wad´ | The process of regulating one’s status |
U |
|
| UN | United Nations |
| UNCOI | Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic |
| UNHCR | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
| UNICEF | United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund |
| UNOCHA | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
| UNPFA | United Nations Population Fund |
| UNRWA | The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East |
| US | United States of America |
| USDOS | United States Department of State |
| UXO | Unexploded ordnance |
W |
|
| Wasta | Networks of support based on patronage |
| WFP | UN World Food Programme |
Y |
|
| YPG | Kurdish People’s Protection Units |
| YPJ | Kurdish Women’s Protection Units |