Syrian Civil War
The Syrian Civil War all started with the Arab Spring in 2011, when Tunisia and Egypt successfully overthrew their oppressive governments. This gave hope to pro-democratic Syrians and protests began against their president, Bashar al-Assad. Al-Assad and the Syrian military would respond violently, killing hundreds of people and putting even more in prison. This aggressive response to protests caused even more unrest among the Syrian people. A few short months after that people that had split off from the Syrian military created their own rebel group known as the Free Syrian Army. This group was directly opposed to the Syrian government and the civil war began. There were three major actors in this civil war and they were, the Syrian government, the rebel groups, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Between these three groups there was a race for land and resources leaving most Syrian people without simple needs and with no freedom.
Three Main Actors
Syrian GovernmentFor most of the civil war the Syrian government's main stronghold was Damascus, the capitol of Syria. Bashar al-Assad is the head of state for Syria and has been under question by the UN several times about humans rights violations against his own people. The Syrian government has backing from multiple powerful nations, but the most important nation being Russia.
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Rebel GroupsDuring the civil war there were a lot of different rebel groups throughout the country. This issue with this is that the opposition to the Syrian government was spread out too thin and all the rebel groups did not get along mostly because of cultural differences. The most recognized rebel group is the Free Syrian Army, but even then at UN peacekeeping talks the Syrian government would not recognize them as a legitimate entity.
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Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantISIL role in this war is a little different from the other two because they did not care about the reasoning behind the war, but they saw this civil war as an opportunity to grow. Most of ISIL was located in Eastern Syria, where most of Syria's natural oil is. Through this conflict ISIL grew in numbers and in wealth, while also leaving a path of carnage along their way.
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What is the Arab Spring?
The Arab Spring was a series of pro-democracy uprisings in multiple majority Muslim countries. Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Bahrain all were a part of this movement. This resulted in regime change for Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Even in the some of the nations that succeed, governments responded to these pro-democracy movements violently, including Syria.
“From Arab Spring to Chemical Attacks: A Timeline of the Syrian Conflict and the U.S. Response.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arab-spring-chemical-attacks-timeline-syrian-conflict-n865961.
“Who's Who in Syria's Civil War.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/whos-who-syrias-civil-war.
“Why Is There a War in Syria?” BBC News, BBC, 25 Feb. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229.
“Who's Who in Syria's Civil War.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/whos-who-syrias-civil-war.
“Why Is There a War in Syria?” BBC News, BBC, 25 Feb. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229.