After six years, Assad now secure but his country carved up as war thunders on

FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Yahoo News in this handout picture provided by SANA on February 10, 2017, Syria. SANA/Handout/File via REUTERS

Six years since the start of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, he is winning on the battlefield but Syria's civil war is far from over, with his once stable country broken into fiefdoms ruled by rebels and warlords.

While few non-partisan observers think the conflict will end soon, fewer still believe Assad can retake the whole country. But since all outside players now seem to have adjusted to his staying, no one expects a peace deal either.

Many foresee, at best, a ceasefire observed much of the time over much of a territory that will be effectively partitioned between competing forces. Read more...