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The following is a timeline of theSyrian Civil War from September to December 2018. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found atCasualties of the Syrian Civil War.

• The French Foreign Minister,Jean-Yves Le Drian indicated in radio channel that "Assad won the war, we have to state this. But he hasn't won the peace."^[1]

• TheNetherlands halts funding of theSyrian opposition and police forces, saying the chances of them winning the war are "extremely limited". Dutch support for theWhite Helmets is also expected to end in December 2018.^[2]

• Russia andTurkeyannounced a demilitarized zone in Syria'sIdlib Governorate and ruled out any military operations.^[3]
• Severalmissiles are launched from the sea byIsraeli Air Force at the coastal city ofLatakia, some of which are destroyed byair defence systems. ARussian Air ForceIlyushin Il-20 reconnaissance plane with 15 servicemen on board crashes over theMediterranean Sea during the incident. The plane was shot down by Syrianair defense systems trying to target hostile aircraft.^[4][5]

• After being closed for years, theNasib Border Crossing, the main crossing for Syrian exports toJordan and theGCC countries, is officially reopened.^[6]

• Israeli defense ministerAvigdor Lieberman claims Israel will continue conducting strikes into Syria despite the recent arrival of Russia'sS-300 anti-missile system.^{[citation needed]}
• Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad told a little-known Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Shahed that Syria had reached a "major understanding" withArab states after years of hostility over the country's civil war.^[7]

• TheQuneitra border crossing between the Israeli-controlledGolan Heights and Syria reopens forUnited Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) personnel after four years of closure.^[8]

• Turkish forcesbegin shellingKurdish positions in the cities ofKobani andTell Abyad as well as surrounding villages in northern Syria. This escalation forces theSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to halt its anti-ISILoffensive in the MiddleEuphrates River Valley.^[9][10]

• Turkish andU.S. troops begin joint patrols aroundManbij along the front lines of theEuphrates Shieldrebel territory and theManbij Military Council. The joint patrols are seen as part of a "roadmap" for easing tensions between militants in the region and tensions between the twoNATO allies.^[11]

• The SAA clears the entireAl-Safa volcanic field of ISIL resistance, ending the offensive in the pocket with the Army in full control of all of southern Syria for the first time since 2011 – excludingAl-Tanf in the southeast.^[12]

• United States Secretary of DefenseJim Mattis announces the U.S. will set up newobservation posts along the Turkish border in northern Syria in order to reduceskirmishes between Turkish forces and armed Kurdish militants in the region such as the October 31 incident. Mattis affirms it is a co-operational endeavor with Turkey and it will not require additional US troops to be deployed to Syria.^[13][14]

• Influential Syrian radio host and anti-Assad activistRaed Fares and his colleague Hammoud al-Juneid are both gunned down by unidentified gunmen inKafr Nabl in rebel-heldIdlib.^[15][16]

• Syrian government officials accuse Idlib-based rebels of a suspected poison gas attack onAleppo after Syrian state TV aired footage of more than 50 civilians being admitted to a local hospital for breathing problems and blurred vision following alleged shelling.^[17] The rebels would deny the attack, claiming to not possess poison gas nor the ability to launch projectiles of it; instead they accused the government of attempting to undermine the ceasefire.^[18]
• Turkey says the Syrian government and rebels conducted a 20-manprisoner exchange nearal-Bab, calling it the "first important step" of a joint Russia-Iran-Turkey-brokered peace process.^[19]

• The US-led Coalition establishes its first observation post along the Syrian-Turkish border inTal Abyad. Local security sources state that there will be three total posts in Tal Abyad and two in Kobani.^[20]

• The US-led Coalition kills senior ISIL member Abu al-Umarayn in a drone strike in theSyrian Desert.^[21] Al-Umarayn executed American aid worker and formerUS Army RangerPeter Kassig in 2014.^[22]

• The US'sFederal Aviation Administration extends its no-fly rule over Syrian airspace for commercial and private flights by American air carriers until December 2020.^[23]

• The Syrian army general command orders the demobilization of some conscript and reserve officers that have served multiple years during the civil war.^[24]
• TheSyrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a large number of local civilians and tribesmen from theKhasham andNew Akidat area clashed with guards of the US-backedSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and managed to capture several oil wells in the Conoco oil field after SDF personnel allegedly avoided supplying fuel to the village of New Akidat and refugee camps in the region while hoarding fuel for themselves, causing local prices to spike.^[25][26]

• Despite recent apparent attempts by the US to dissuade violence in northern Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced Turkey will launch a new military operation targeting US-backedKurdish territory (DFNS) east of Manbij "in a few days".^[27]

• The SDF, supported by heavy US-led Coalition airstrikes, capture the stronghold ofHajin from theIslamic State, depriving the battered terror group of its last de facto capital within its fledgling pocket of territory in the MiddleEuphrates River Valley.^[28]

• Proclaiming ISIL's defeat, US PresidentDonald Trump orders the deliberate withdrawal of all of the approximately 2,000–2,500 American troops from Syria "within 60–100 days".^[29]Reuters reports the move comes after a phone call between Trump and the Turkish President Erdogan.^[30] French forces are to remain.^[31]

• Following the US announcement to withdraw all troops, Turkey postponed the planned attack on Northern Syria.^[32]

• According to the SOHR, at a meeting in Moscow, the Russians offered to deploy troops of the Syrian government along the border between Turkey and the territory of the DFNS.^[33]

• With the previous announcement of the withdrawal of US troops, Iraq's prime ministerAdil Abdul-Mahdi says Iraqi troops could potentially be deployed to Syria.^[34]

• In the face of the planned withdrawal of US forces and the Turkish preparations to attack the DFNS, the SDF handed over the town ofArima west of Manbij to troops of the Syrian government.^[35]

• TheUnited Arab Emirates re-opens its embassy inDamascus in an effort to restore relations between the two countries.^[36]Bahrain would follow suit the next day.^[37]

• Three days after handing over Arima to the Syrian army amid the continued mobilization of Turkish regular andTurkish-backed Free Syrian Army forces, conflicting reports emerged surrounding the YPG's inviting of Syrian troops to enter Manbij in order to deter the Turks from attacking the city.^[38] SOHR stated Syrian troops had deployed around the Manbij countryside while US-led Coalition officials denied that the SAA had taken Manbij as US forces continued to patrol in and around Manbij with no immediate plans to leave. In a future conflict, the Kurds want the Syrians to control Manbij, not pro-Turkish rebels. Turkey decried that the Kurds have no authority to make decisions on behalf of the region's people.^[39]

• SANA reports that Syrian President Assad authorized Iraqi warplanes and artillery to strike ISIL targets in Syrian territory without having to seek prior approval from Damascus, a sign of improved relations and coordination between the neighboring countries.^[40]

• Syrian government forces and Iran-backed militias intensify their attacks on civilian settlements in Homs and Idlib province's de-escalation zone despite a ceasefire agreement, killing two civilians and wounding six others in a camp for displaced people.^[41]

• Timelines of the Syrian civil war
• 2018 in the Syrian civil war
• 2018 in Syria
• Conflicts in 2018

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