Five years ago civil war erupted in Syria between government powers and the Syrian people who oppose president Bashar Al Assad. Rebel brigades were formed to fight to battle government forces, and today the fighting has only gotten worse, as other jihadist groups like the Islamic State have capitalized on the chaos to take over parts of Syria. So far, over 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict, and half of Syria’s population has been displaced.

More than four million people have fled Syria since the beginning of the conflict, most of them being women and children. This has been the largest refugee exodus in recent history. 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced, which brings the total number of people forced to flee their homes around 11 million. About 5 million of those people are children according to the United Nations.

A report released by the UN in March of 2015 detailed that 4 out of every 5 Syrians is now living in poverty. Numerous war crimes have also taken place by all of the parties involved in the conflict. The government and rebel forces are accused of civilian suffering which includes blocking off access to food, water and health services.

The Islamic State is also accused of terror in Syria. They are known for administering harsh punishment on those who don’t accept their rule, which includes attacks on civilians.

The brutality inflicted from the rise of these jihadist groups has caused other countries from around the world to get involved in an attempt to stop eliminate the crisis. In 2014 the United States led air strikes in an attempt to ultimately destroy the Islamic State.

Russia is Al Assad’s largest supporter, and has led continued support in supplying the Syrian government’s military efforts with weapons despite international criticism. In September 2015 Russia started to launch its own air strikes against the rebel forces.

Despite help from other foreign powers, the violence in Syria still continues, and other conflict is now arising in countries where refugees are fleeing to, as they face a lot of tension from the citizens of these countries, and it does not appear that there is going to be an end to this crisis anytime soon.