THE Syria war or as it is also known, the syrian civil war, which has devastated the entire country of Syria and its neighbors, is a complex conflict involving various nations, rebel groups and terrorist organizations.
What started as a non-violent protest in 2011 quickly turned into all-out war. Since the fighting began, more than 470,000 people have been killed, with more than 1 million injured and millions more forced to flee their homes and live as refugees.
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While many complicated reasons led to Syria's civil war, one event, known as the Arab Spring, stands out as perhaps the most significant trigger for the conflict.
The Arab Spring was the spark that unleashed the civil war
In early 2011, a series of political and economic protests in Egypt and Tunisia broke out. These successful uprisings, dubbed the Arab Spring, served as an inspiration for pro-democracy activists in Syria.
However, in March of that year, 15 Syrian students were arrested and tortured for writing graffiti inspired by the Arab Spring. One of the boys was killed.
The arrests sparked outrage and demonstrations across Syria. Citizens demanded the release of the remaining children, along with greater freedoms for everyone in the country.
But the government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded by killing and arresting hundreds of protesters. Shock and anger began to spread across Syria, and many demanded that Assad resign. When he refused, war broke out between his supporters and his opponents.
“The Syrian government must stop shooting protesters and allow peaceful protests; release political prisoners and prevent unfair detentions; allowing human rights monitors access to cities like Dara’a; and start a serious dialogue to promote a democratic transition,” US President Barack Obama said in a 2011 speech.
“Otherwise, President Assad and his regime will continue to be challenged from within and isolated abroad,” Obama said. In July 2011, Syrian rebels formed the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and a civil war was imminent.
Assad's crackdown is just one of several problems plaguing Syria.
Even before the Arab Spring-inspired incident, many Syrian citizens were dissatisfied with the incompetence of the government, the lack of freedom of the people and the general conditions of life in its parents.
Assad became president in 2000 after his father's death. Several human rights groups accused the leader of routinely torturing and killing political opponents during his presidency.
A backward economy, high unemployment, government corruption and a severe drought were other issues that generated frustration among people under Assad's government.
Another problem was a tense religious atmosphere in the country: most Syrians are Sunni Muslims, but Syria's government is dominated by members of the Shiite Alawite sect. Tension between the two groups is an ongoing problem across Syria and other Middle Eastern nations.
Since the beginning of the war, the situation in Syria has become much more complicated as other countries and organized fighters have entered the scene.
Essentially, the main supporters of the Syrian government are Russia, Iran and Hezbollah (a group of militias based in Lebanon). The United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and other Western countries are described as supporters of moderate rebel groups. Many newer rebel groups have emerged since the beginning of the war.
The ongoing conflict has also encouraged terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qaeda to participate in the chaos. These groups are mainly composed of Sunni militants.
The rebels and Assad's forces fought in separate battles against the Islamic State, while waging war with each other. To further complicate the dynamic, the United States has also led an international bombing campaign against ISIS targets since 2014.
In April 2017 and 2018, the United States launched military attacks against chemical weapons sites in Syria. Assad's office spoke out against the 2017 attacks and said in a statement: “What America has done is nothing but a foolish and irresponsible behavior, which only reveals their lack of vision and political and military blindness in relation to reality".
After the 2018 attack, US President Donald Trump told the press: “The goal of our actions today is to establish a strong impediment against the production, dissemination and use of weapons chemical. Establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the United States.” The combination of the American, British and French responses to these atrocities will integrate all the instruments of our national power – military, economic and diplomatic”.
The conflict has generated a humanitarian and refugee crisis of gigantic proportions.
Experts estimate that 13.1 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, such as medicine or food. Nearly 3 million of these people live in hard-to-reach areas.
More than 5.6 million refugees have fled the country and another 6.1 million are displaced within Syria. Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are responsible for sheltering Syrian refugees.
Syrians walk among the rubble of buildings destroyed after air strikes by regime forces in the rebel-held area of Douma on 30 August 2015.
By September 2018, Assad's forces had regained control of most of the country's largest cities, although parts of the country were still held by rebel groups and jihadists and by the SDF alliance, led by Kurds. The last remaining rebel stronghold was the northwestern province of Idlib. The ISIS presence in Syria, however, has been greatly diminished.
Since 2014, the United Nations has held nine rounds of mediated peace talks, known as the Geneva II process. Despite this intervention, little progress has been made.
After negotiations broke down in 2014, UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi apologized to the Syrian people in a statement, saying: “Unfortunately, the government refused, which raises the suspicion of the opposition that, in fact, the government does not want to discuss the subject matter". (transitional administrative body) at all,” he said.
Both the Syrian government and the rebels seem unwilling to agree to the terms of peace. If nothing changes, this war-torn area of the world is likely to be the site of most violence and instability.
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