The conflict-turned-civil war in Syria has been fought since early 2011, were a myriad of factors sparked massive civil unrest.
A Brief History of Syria Leading to Bashar al-Assad’s Rise to Power
Syria rose as its own independent state after the Second World War in 1946. After a series of military coups, a 1954 uprising saw the army transfer power to the people of Syria. A brief union with Egypt (1958-1961) replaced the parliamentary system with a centralized presidential regime. The Secular Ba’ath Syrian Regional Branch performed a successful coup d’état in 1963, only to be overthrown by another military coup.
In November 1970 then-Minister of Defense General Hafez al-Assad, a Shia-Alawite, seized power in the “Corrective Movement” and declared himself president. General al-Assad held the position until his death in 2000, when he was succeeded by his son, the current president Bashar al-Assad. The Secular Syrian Regional Branch party was the main political authority until 2012, when first democratic election was held by the People’s Council of Syria.
The regime survived numerous armed revolts by opposition groups, namely the Muslim Brotherhood and various Sunni Islamists. When Bashar al-Assad rose to presidency in 2000, it was expected that his new government would bring democratic change and reform, himself being married to a British-born Sunni. However, his time as president has been marked by multiple arrests of activists and failure to deliver on promises.
Unrest Before the War
Former president Hafez al-Assad instituted free market policies that drastically widened the socio-economic inequality in the country. These accelerated after his son, the current leader of the Assad regime, took his place. (Associated Press) These policies benefitted a minority of Syria’s population, especially those with ties to the government. Like many other nations, Syria faced extremely high youth unemployment. In addition to politically-driven discontent among the people, the worst drought ever recorded struck the country from 2007-2010. The widespread crop failure caused food prices to skyrocket and families that had been farmers for generations were forced to migrate to cities to find work. In this same time period, 1.5 million Iraqi refugees fled the civil war in their home country, seeking shelter in nearby Syria. (New York Times)
By 2011, the mass influx of people to cities coupled with the drought, ever-climbing grain prices, and ever-present political discontent with the decades-long Assad regime led to demonstrations in the streets. These grew in size as time went on and more people were affected by the falling standard of living.
In March of that year, anti-regime protests erupted in the city of Deraa after the arrest and torture of several teenagers who wrote revolutionary slogans on the walls of their school. Government security forces fired on the demonstrators, killing several and wounding many more.
This event is regarded by many as the catalyst for the widespread protests demanding President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets, and by July of 2011, some began to take up arms to defend themselves against the increasingly violent government security forces, and later to push the regime’s troops out of the areas where the demonstrations were taking place. By August of 2012, the violence had escalated, reaching the major cities of Aleppo and the capital, Damscus. The rebel (Opposition) forces had formed formal brigades to battle government forces; the country had descended in to civil war. (BBC)
The United Nations estimated that approximately 90,000 had been killed by the summer of 2012. One year later, chemical attacks were launched on the suburbs of Damascus, killing hundreds more. Rebel and Assad forces blamed each other. Facing US military intervention for the UN-designated war crime, President Bashar al-Assad agreed to dismantle all regime stores of chemical weapons. Still, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found that chlorine was used in attacks on rebel-held bases, and reported that extremist militants had been using home-made chemical weapons including mustard gas and other sulphur-based compounds.
By August of 2015, it was estimated that 250,000 had been killed in the ongoing conflict.
Syria’s Allies and Enemies
The war in Syria is now considered to be a proxy war between regional and world powers, with sectarian overtones. The supporters of the current Assad regime include Iran and Russia, as well as the Lebanese Hezbollah movement. According to multiple sources, Russia and Iran propped up the Alawite-led regime, and have steadily increased their support in protecting their own interests in Syria.
Iran is the regional Shia power, and as such Syria is its main transportation point to supply weapons to Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon. Regime forces have received ground-support from Hezbollah fighters since 2013. Tehran is believed to be a major supporter of the regime, providing military advisors, subsidized weapons, lines of credit and oil transfers to the Syrian government.
According to the BBC, “Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most important international backers and the survival of the regime is critical to maintaining Russian interests in the country.” The Russian Federation has blocked resolutions critical of al-Assad at UN Security Council meetings, and has continued to supply weapons to the Regime forces despite heavy international criticism. Two critical locations keep Russian interest staunchly on the Regime’s side: Moscow leases a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartous, which is the sole Mediterranean base for its Black Sea fleet, and there are Russian Armed Forces stationed at a Latakia airbase located in the Shia-Alawite heartland.
Supporters of the official Opposition include many of the regional Sunni powers, such as Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, as well as international backing from the US, UK, and France. Turkey has agreed to lead the assault on terrorist groups in the region, with continued ground and air support from the US.
In February, the United States and the Russian Federation, as co-chairs of the International Syrian Support Group, issued a joint statement outlining the terms of a cessation of hostilities by the officially recognized sides of the war. Peace talks have been intermittent and tenuous, however the recent agreement will hold until the next round of peace talks tentatively slated for mid-March in Switzerland.
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