More than 12 million people were expelled from their homes because of the battles between various factions. Background of the syrian civil war more than 350000 people already died in the civil war in syria which is ongoing for almost five years. Sep 18, 2018 the syrian civil war, which has devastated the entire country of syria and its neighbors, is a complex conflict that involves several nations, rebel groups and terrorist organizations what. Feb 10, 2012 mujahedeen were engaged in a guerrilla struggle against the syrian army and its soviet advisers, culminating in the 1982 occupation of the city of hama.
The civil uprising phase of the syrian civil war was an early stage of protests with subsequent violent reaction by the syrian arab republic authorities lasting from march to 28 july 2011. Pdf in the paper the reasons of outbreak of conflict in syria at the background of social and political situation of the arab world at the. April, 17, 2011 syrian protesters shouts slogans calling for president bashar assad to. The syrian army quelled the occupation, killing 20,000 to 30,000. Sectarianism and the battle of narratives in the context of the syrian. Pdf, their international allies, and local collaborators. The uprising, initially demanding democratic reforms, evolved from initially minor protests, beginning as early as january 2011 and transformed into massive protests in. This is clearly a complicated issue with multiple layers. Archeologists have uncovered skeletons and bones of neanderthals that lived in the region during this period ebla. Understanding why the conflict began is only possible when these causes are considered together as a holistic whole rather than as standalone explanations. Historical background from cradle of civilisation to ghost country. As the syrian uprising became more of an ongoing civil war, its changing nature paralleled the changes in the kinds of digital media practices involved. The work is currently being updated, updates will first appear on the site before the pdf, when allah finishes adding. While it has been observed that the syrian uprising, contrary to some arab spring countries, has been an uprising of more marginalised social groups with a strong role played by poorer segments in the society, particularly rural and ruraltourban migrants, the socioeconomic explanation for this is still underdeveloped.
Pdf arab spring as a background of civil war in syria. In the period leading up to the events of 2011, the region had been experiencing an increase in social struggles. A cheat sheet1 1 causes of the syrian civil war discontent with authoritarianism and assad familys long reign of power in syria since the 1970s syria is 74% sunni, but the assad family is part of a shia sect known as the alawites. Yet without taking stock of these driversthe economic growth and developmental model applied since the 1970 coup that brought hafez alassad to power, and the economic liberalization accelerated under the subsequentrule of his son, basharno account of the roots of syria s uprising. Feb 08, 2016 the syrian civil war is said to have created one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. The syrian uprising s transformation to civil war is a result of the assads ruling practices, which embedded sectarianism in social relations. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Syria s uprising and the fracturing of the levant by emile hokayem. The israeli syrian border remains quiet in spite of the syrian uprising against president bashar alassad.
The war is aimed at leaving the middle eastern countries insecure so that they become dependent for security, military weaponry, military training and technology. As the syria conflict persists and the humanitarian crisis in the region worsens. The uprising spread throughout the country, demanding assads resignation and an end to his authoritarian leadership. This common context analysis is one of the outputs of this initiative. The syrian uprising began in march 2011 with antigovernment protests in provincial areas that later spread throughout the country. Response congressional research service 1 background in march 2011, antigovernment protests broke out in syria, which has been ruled by the asad family for more than four decades. After two years, governmental forces had lost power over strategic areas and main infrastructures. Shia militias are being recruited abroad not to fight on behalf of assad, but to defend shia religious sites in syria, emphasizing a sectarian motive for fighting. The syrian government, the opposition rebels, foreign powers and islamic militants are all the architects of the syrian quagmire. Sep 21, 2017 of course, economic factors alone do not suffice to explain the syrian uprising, which was also a reaction to decades of severe, often very bloody political repression. In the southern town of daraa, police arrest some fifteen young boys for spraypainting buildings with the slogan, the people want the downfall of the regime. The conflict drew involvement from a number of international actors and helped precipitate the rise of isil also called isis or islamic state in eastern syria. The syrian uprising started as a reaction to the arab spring, a series of antigovernment protests across the arab world inspired by the fall of the tunisian regime in early 2011.
The syrian civil war, now in its seventh year, continues to present new challenges for u. Tribes and tribalism in the syrian revolution opendemocracy. The uprising, initially demanding democratic reforms, evolved from initially minor protests, beginning as early as january 2011 and. But with technology and the powerful tool called social media. Singularly blaming poor intelligence on the scale of the syrian revolution was by no means wholly convincing. The syrian uprisings transformation to civil war is a result of the assads ruling practices, which embedded sectarianism in social relations.
Historical background presentday syria is only a small portion of the ancient geographical syrian landmass, a region situated at the eastern end of the mediterranean sea from which western powers created the contemporary states of syria, lebanon, jordan, and israel in the postottoman era of the early twentieth century. Historically, syria was not a unified state, it was forged out of the region known as greater syria after wwi when it became part of the french mandate. Syrian uprising that challenged the state starting in early 2011. In the syrian context we have seen the development of a state them in the eyes of opposition groups, placing the regime and its supporters into an othered group. The syrian army recaptured the city of homs in 2014, but fighting continues with rebels in the suburbs between. Sana dispatches january 2016 3 syria s armed opposition.
Issue for congress congressional research service summary as congress exercises oversight and prepares to consider programs for lebanon in the coming year, some observers have expressed fear that syrian instability may negatively affect lebanon. In an effort to win the islamists acquiescence, assad built new mosques, opened koranic schools, and relaxed restrictions on. Both the muslims and the crusaders in syria faced an existential threat in the th century, in the form of the rapidly expanding mongol empire. Beginning on january 26, 2011 with a selfimmolation by a protestor, the syrian uprising marks the beginning of a new era of selfawakening among the syrians.
Libyathe death of dictator first protests in libya started on january 2011 but mass uprisings began in the city of benghazi on 15 february 2011. Series of coups ended in 1963 when the baath party took control over syria. Different warring sides and their supporters on social media began to shoot and distribute horrific videos of killings and torture. Occasional paper understanding irans role in the syrian. What started as a nonviolent protest in 2011 quickly escalated into fullblown warfare. In 2002, the united states accused syria of acquiring weapons of mass destruction and listed the nation as a member of the socalled axis of evil countries. Early insurgency phase of the syrian civil war wikipedia. The oldest human remains found in syria date back to roughly 700,000 years ago. Short background information about the syrian civil war. The syrian uprisings transformation to civil war is a result of the assads. Syrian civil war geneva international centre for justice. This context and the ongoing intersection in syria of multiple. Syrian civil war, armed conflict that began in 2011 with an uprising against the regime of syrian president bashar alassad. Discontent with egyptian domination prompts a group of syrian army officers to seize power in damascus and dissolve the union.
What began as another arab spring uprising against an autocratic ruler has mushroomed into a. On day of rage, small protests against the regime of president bashar alassad. The protests spread, violence escalated primarily but not. Issue for congress congressional research service 4 after a lengthy political impasse, miqati announced a new cabinet on june, 2011. Mar 11, 2016 eight steps to understanding the syrian conflict. In 2019, turkey launched a cross border military operation attempting to expel syrian kurdish u. It sought to draw the united states into a sectarian civil war by attacking shias.
Incentives of violence dynamics and duration of the. A spotlight on the moderates background to the syrian rebellion from peaceful protest to armed rebellion in 2011, syrians massively took to the streets to demand democratic reforms as part of the arab spring. A system of dispersed, authoritarian rule allowed successive regimes to wield power through local intermediates to either coopt or marginalize. In march 2011 antigovernment protests broke out in syria, inspired by a wave of similar demonstrations elsewhere in the middle east and north africa that had begun in december 2010. Syrians relied heavily on the state before the uprising began and many of them had to do so even more during the conflict. The syrian government was also accused of being involved in the assassination of rafic hariri, the lebanese prime minister, in 2005. Syria s syria s modern borders w er e imposed by its former colonisers. Civil uprising phase of the syrian civil war wikipedia. For approximately sixtyfive years, the identity balance did not experience any drastic shift. Tabari he said to his wives, one of you will take charge of a rebellion.
Dear deeply readers, welcome to the archives of syria deeply. The causes and catalysts of the current civil war in syria are many and varied, including narratives that range across religion, poverty, past repression, and ideology. Since the beginning of antigovernment protests in march 2011, syrian authorities have subjected tens of thousands of people to arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, enforced disappearances, illtreatment and torture using an extensive network of detention facilities, an archipelago of torture centers, scattered throughout syria. As of october 2014, the threeyear conflict in syria has displaced nearly 9. Moscow had calculated at the outbreak of the syrian uprising that president barack obama did not have the heart nor will to become embroiled in a military conflict in the runup to his presidential campaign for reelection. Position on the syrian civil war since the syrian uprising against bashar alassad began, the united states sought to minimize its role in the con. Further, some in the global left or antiimperialist camp understand the syrian revolution only through the endgame of geopolitics. Founding of the free syrian army and beginning of armed rebellion.
Hafiz alassad was consistent in his policy of crushing any dissident voices as well as suppressing a free press. Syria joined with egypt and became the united arab republic in 1958, but the union split a few short years later in 1961. The brutal repression of peaceful antigovernment protests pushed the country towards a civil war. Syrias civil war is grinding down the countrys national institu tions while. Syria is in the middle east and is home to about 22 million people. Saudi arabia have taken the syrian conflict as an arena to further spread their power. Tribes and tribalism in the syrian revolution most of the research conducted so far into the syrian uprising is focused on the sectarian element of the conflict, forgetting that there is a tribal. Sparked on april 29th in the town of daraa by a group of year old boys who wrote on the side of their school the government must go. In the garb of the syrian war, the major powers are expanding their sphere of influence in the middle east. Ola rifai arabism, syrianism and islamism are the most longstanding and enduring components of the identity balance in syria. The civil uprising phase of the syrian civil war, or as it was sometimes called by the media, the syrian revolution, was an early stage of protests with subsequent violent reaction by the syrian arab republic lasting from march to 28 july 2011.
Syrian crisis background of syrian civil war syrian civil war began during the arab spring as a peaceful uprising against the countrys president, bashar alassad. Eight years on, the syrian civil war is finally winding down. Response congressional research service summary the popularuprisingturnedarmedrebellion in syria is in its third year, and seems poised to. It has since escalated shattering the lives of syrians, straining global politics, destroying cities, and spurring diplomatic efforts. Response congressional research service 2 emerged as a persistent challenge for u. Designing an innovative multidisciplinary framework and applying it to the syrian case, daoudy uses extensive field research and her own personal background as a syrian scholar to present primary interviews with syrian government officials and citizens, as well as the research of domestic syrian experts, to provide a unique insight into syria s. The 1960s brought more military coups, revolts and riots. More broadly, the 2011 uprisings were rooted in the specific modalities of capitalist production in the middle east and north africa.
The implications of the syrian war for new regional orders. A chronology of key events in the history of syria from the end of ottoman rule to the present day. The uprising, initially demanding democratic reforms, evolved from initially minor protests, beginning as early as january 2011 and transformed into massive protests in march. Digital video output became a battleground and a weapon of war. The pro syria, hezbollahled march 8 coalition4 dominated the cabinet, filling 18 of the 30 seats. Although the protests began in march 2011, the battle for power or internal control in syria is not a fresh issue. Syria was then reshaped by these dynamics, particularly when these forces physically entered the picture militarily and politically to generate allout war and the fracturing of the syrian state.
This background is just a basic outline of the crisis in syria and further exploration of this portal will give the reader more resources to dig deeper and understand some of the media biases that affect the way the world views the crisis. The socioeconomic impact of the syrian civil war maha yahya the unravelling of the syrian uprising and its transformation into a conflict in multiple war zones is of catastrophic consequences for syrian citizens. Stateowned public agencies are the primary providers of essentials like bread, subsidized fuel, healthcare, and education. Jan 14, 2020 the syrian uprising began in march 2011 when security forces of president bashar alassad opened fire on and killed several prodemocracy protesters in the southern syrian city of deraa. Horses graze on the israeli side while the syrian city of quneitra is visible in the background.
Syrian civil war compiled by thomas plofchan march 6, 2011. The syrian civil war, which has devastated the entire country of syria and its neighbors, is a complex conflict that involves several nations, rebel groups and terrorist organizations. While we paused regular publication of the site on may 15, 2018, and transitioned some of our coverage to peacebuilding deeply, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on the syrian conflict. Refugees from cultural orientation resource center. The ilkhanate mongols invaded syria and met fierce resistance from opponents including the egyptian mamluk army, which defeated the mongols soundly at the battle of ayn jalut in 1260. Ottoman rule ended 1918 october arab troops led by emir feisal, and supported by british forces, capture damascus, ending 400 years of ottoman rule. Syrias civil war explained from the beginning news al. Greater syria, as historians and political scientists often refer to this. Assad government might promise to reconcile with them, but the history of such agreements suggests that over time the assad government. The conflict in syria began as an offshoot of the 2011 arab spring uprisings. The foes fought on until 22, but in the meanwhile, the leaders of. However, this is not to deny that some causes and catalysts have been.
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