Quick facts about Syria crisis

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.