Quick facts about Syria crisis and its civil war
Officially Syria is
known as ‘Syrian Arab Republic’ situated in Western Asia. Syrian territory
borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north,
Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. Syria has a
mixed culture; the region is diverse, home of Alawites, Sunnis, Armenians,
Kurds, Christians, Assyrians, Palestinians and Jews.
Syrian
Civil War
Syria is facing one of the
biggest crises in its history, known as Syrian civil war. Syrian Conflict is
not like most other Civil Wars in history; it is a multi-polar war involving
several players with widely different ideologies and goals. This makes it all
the more complex for the international community to understand, and all the
more difficult for mediators to find common ground.
It is not easy to understand
humanitarian loss, the economic consequences, the political implications and
the geostrategic importance of the conflict.
Brief
history of Syria (Modern)
Syria got its independence from
France in 1946. Syria has faced much instability
driven by conflicting interests of various groups. A union with Egypt in 1958
was invalidated by a military coup in 1961. In 1963 a coup brought the Ba’ath
Party to power.
President,
Bashar al-Assad
The current President, Bashar
al-Assad, son of former President Hafez al-Assad, has been in power since 2000,
and belongs to the Ba’ath Party. The Assad regime has been criticized for being
authoritarian and involved in several human rights violations. The government
has a history of violent suppression of domestic opposition, curbing free
speech and a strongly anti-Western foreign policy – especially since the 1967
war with Israel which saw Syria lose the Golan Heights.
Arab
Spring and its impact on Syria
Public anger over the
Government’s repressive rule and failure to reform the State-dominated economy
erupted in 2011. After protests broke out in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in what
would go down in history as the Arab Spring, Syrians took to the streets to
voice their disillusion. Protests against President Bashar al-Assad broke out
in March 2011. Similar to other Arab spring movements, they peacefully demanded
removal of an autocratic ruler and greater freedoms. The rebellion began in
March 2011.
The Government responded to
peaceful protests with brute military might, imprisoning and killing hundreds
of protestors. This action of government has escalated the rebellion. Street
protests quickly turned into an armed rebellion, with a loose coalition of
groups initially fighting to bring down the Assad regime under banner of free
Syrian army.
Free
Syrian Army
Free Syrian Army (FSA) was
formed in July 2011. Initially it comprised of deserters from the Syrian Army,
local tribesmen and militias. As it was ill-equipped and undermanned, the FSA
grew to include Jihadists and extremists. But these Jihadists and extremists
have different intentions for Syria.
FSA is the chief opposition
against Government forces, but it is highly divided along ideological and
ethnic lines.
Complicated
War
Early on, most were ordinary
Syrians who abandoned their normal lives to take up arms. Most were moderate
Muslims. They repeatedly appealed for military aid from the West.
By mid-2012, significant
numbers of Sunni jihadist fighters from the Arab world and European countries
including Britain began arriving.
The war become more complicated
with the involvement of the Al-Nusra front, a militant Islamist organization
linked to al-Qaeda. Later militant group Hezbollah involved in the War. There
is a conflict between the mostly Alawite/Shia pro-government groups against
mostly Sunni rebel groups. The rise of ISIS has altered the course of the War,
with the Islamic State having made rapid gains in Syria this year.
This conflict should be viewed
in the angle of historic rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a rivalry which
is the backbone of the Middle-east crisis.
Syria
crisis and its International importance
Iran and Russia are supporting
the Assad Government, while Western nations have been outspoken against Assad.
The Combined Joint Task Force formed in 2014 has authorized airstrikes in Syria
and neighboring ISIS-controlled territories. The Task Force is comprised of US
and 30 other nations – including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey.
Death toll has reached more
than 310,000 (April, 2015). Syria has witnessed a lot of Human rights
violations. Half of the Syrian population has been forced to leave their homes
resulted to refugee crisis, particularly in Europe. Refugees entered European Union borders. The
UN estimates that there could be 4.27 million Syrian refugees by the end of
2015 – one of the biggest exoduses in history.
Syrian
future
No one knows how the Civil War
will play out in the future. Over the past two months, Assad has made notable
territorial gains and is said to be poised to launch major offensive on Aleppo,
the commercial centre. Several attacks using nerve gas were reported.
The rebels have received some
weapons from Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but are struggling to hold their own.
France and Britain led the way on humanitarian assistance, but have long been
arguing for more assistance to moderate rebels.
After this entire crisis when
Syria will finally get out of this civil war, it will face numerous challenges
– like rehabilitation of Syrian refugees, economic recovery, and poverty
alleviation.
The Syrian people have suffered
enough, and they are looking towards world to rehabilitate and rebuild.
Image Source: Wikipedia, Wikiphoto.