backer

Assad's departure has shifted the delicate balance of power between conflicting groups in Syria, and their various international backers, including Turkey, Iran and the US.

Trump’s election and empowerment of fossil fuel backers preceded a disappointing United Nations climate change conference.

Hezbollah and its backer, Iran, were close allies of Assad, helping him to prop him up in office during the long civil war in Syria.

But he has also managed to attract wealthy backers in the past, such as insurance tycoon Arron Banks, who bankrolled his Brexit campaign.

Now Assad's powerful backers, Iran and Russia, are no longer acting as a brake on IS, many here are worried about a resurgence.