Syria’s devastating civil war, responsible for more than 300,000 deaths, was never officially resolved. Lightning gains by rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad were opportunistic, but also indicated years of patient preparations.

Syria's civil war has exploded back into life after Islamist rebels launched a lightning offensive on the northern city of Aleppo.

The Lebanese Hezbollah movement, which played a crucial role in defending the Syrian government throughout the neighboring country's civil war, has told Newsweek that the redeployment of its fighters would not be necessary in the face of a new large-scale rebel offensive.