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Source: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/ethnic-cleansing-threatens-syrias-unity
Assad Still Controls Most of Syria's Population
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Fabrice Balanche - Mainstream media report that the Syrian army controls less than 17% of the country, and IS over 50%. Yet the Assad regime controls the largest share of Syria's residential areas: 10.1 million people live in the government zone (63%). The areas controlled by the Kurds, IS, and other rebels have about 2 million each. The large-scale population movements have not been a simple byproduct of war. Rather, they represent conscious strategies of ethnic cleansing by each faction. Despite the departure of disproportionately Christian and Sunni Arab refugees, Syria's current population is 61% Sunni. The writer is an associate professor and research director at the University of Lyon 2.