Syria

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==Civil war==
 
==Civil war==
  
The current civil war in Syria began in 2011, during the [[Arab Spring]]. Supporters of the Assad regime include the Alawites and other minorities such as Christians and secularists, who fear retaliation from oppressed Sunnis and extremists.  The opposition support mostly comes from [[ISIL]], the al-Nusra front and other [[Islamist]] elements with both current and former [[Al-Qaeda]] ties,<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-tied-to-al-qaeda-play-key-role-in-war.html</ref> veterans of Chechen Wars with Russia,<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/syria-war-rebels-chechnya-islamic-militants_n_2821197.html</ref>, and U.S. backed "moderate militants".<ref>The so-called "Free Syrian Army"[http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/27/us-usa-syria-rebels-idUSBREA0Q1S320140127][http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/05/12/why-are-fighters-leaving-the-free-syrian-army/]; reports indicate many have defected to ISIL.[http://www.sott.net/article/281788-US-moderate-militant-factions-join-ISIL-in-Syria]</ref> Both the government and rebel groups have been accused of indiscriminate attacks against civilians.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/world/middleeast/syria.html</ref> The government accuses the rebels of [[terrorism]].<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syria-troops-seize-control-key-road-north-18636146</ref>
+
The current civil war in Syria began in 2011, during the [[Arab Spring]]. Supporters of the Assad regime include the Alawites and other minorities such as Christians and secularists, who fear retaliation from oppressed Sunnis and extremists.  The opposition support mostly comes from [[Daesh]] (ISIL), the al-Nusra front and other [[Islamist]] elements with both current and former [[Al-Qaeda]] ties,<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-tied-to-al-qaeda-play-key-role-in-war.html</ref> veterans of Chechen Wars with Russia,<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/syria-war-rebels-chechnya-islamic-militants_n_2821197.html</ref>, and U.S. backed "moderate militants".<ref>The so-called "Free Syrian Army"[http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/27/us-usa-syria-rebels-idUSBREA0Q1S320140127][http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/05/12/why-are-fighters-leaving-the-free-syrian-army/]; reports indicate many have defected to ISIL.[http://www.sott.net/article/281788-US-moderate-militant-factions-join-ISIL-in-Syria]</ref> Both the government and rebel groups have been accused of indiscriminate attacks against civilians.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/world/middleeast/syria.html</ref> The government accuses the rebels of [[terrorism]].<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syria-troops-seize-control-key-road-north-18636146</ref>
  
In 2013 [[Amnesty International]] reported extensive attacks on civilian areas from shooting demonstrators to aerial bombardments, ballistic missile attacks and chemical weapons.<ref>http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/009/2013/en</ref>  By mid-August 2014, the international community removed and destroyed Syrian chemical weapons stocks. As part of a diplomatic solution based on a joint U.S.-Russian proposal, the Obama administration withdrew the threat of military force and the Assad regime agreed to give up its chemical weapons and join the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
+
In 2013 [[Amnesty International]] reported extensive attacks on civilian areas from shooting demonstrators to aerial bombardments, ballistic missile attacks and chemical weapons.<ref>http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/009/2013/en</ref>  By mid-August 2014, the international community removed and destroyed Syrian chemical weapons stocks. As part of a diplomatic solution based on a joint U.S.-Russian proposal, the Obama administration withdrew the threat of military force and the Assad regime agreed to give up its chemical weapons and join the international Chemical Weapons Convention.<ref>[ttp://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33487.pdf Armed Conflict in Syria:
 +
Overview and U.S. Response], ''CRS'', September 17, 2014, p. 17.</ref>
 +
 
 +
As the Islamic State terror group occupied large portions of northern and eastern Syria, it came in competition with other Islamist extremists, notably al Qaeda (including the beheading of several al Qaeda leaders) and slowed its advance on Damascus. It was reported by Agence France Presse that Daesh had been re-selling oil from occupied lands to the Assad regime at blackmarket prices.<ref>http://www.arabnews.com/news/594531</ref>
  
 
As of August 2014, the United Nations estimated nearly 191,000 have died in the civil war,<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/22/world/meast/syria-conflict/index.html?hpt=imi_c2</ref> with 3 million refugees in neighbouring countries and 6.5 million internally displaced.<ref>http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e486a76&submit=GO</ref>
 
As of August 2014, the United Nations estimated nearly 191,000 have died in the civil war,<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/22/world/meast/syria-conflict/index.html?hpt=imi_c2</ref> with 3 million refugees in neighbouring countries and 6.5 million internally displaced.<ref>http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e486a76&submit=GO</ref>

Revision as of 03:49, 9 October 2014

The other Syrian flag (the rebels one)

Syria is a country in the Middle East, located between Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon.

Contents

History

Syria was inhabited thousands of years before Creation Week.[1] It has been part of numerous empires, including the Egyptian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Hittite, Persian, Roman, Ottoman, and French ones. It was once briefly united with Egypt as the United Arab Republic from 1958-1961. After that the Baathists took over, and they later split into the Iraqi faction (eventually led by Saddam Hussein), and the Syrian faction led by Bashar al-Assad today.

Syria was part of the New World Order during the Gulf War.[2]

In Classical times Syria was a wealthy, populous province of the Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire. Saul was on his way to Damascus, Syria to arrest Christians when he fell off his ass and became one himself. Christian, that is.

Today Syria is predominantly Muslim.

Relations with Israel

Like many Arab counties, Syria has got its ass kicked by Israel numerous times. In 1948 Syria was part of the Arab coalition that failed to wipe out Israel. In the 1967 Six-Day war[wp], Israel chased Syrian troops deep into Syrian territory and kept and occupied the Golan Heights. Israel bombed an alleged "terrorist training camp" in Syria in 2003 and bombed an alleged nuclear reactor research station in 2007. Syria in turn funds and arms groups in Lebanon that fight against Israel.[3]

Relations with Lebanon

With its capitol and largest city, Damascus, having lost its ancient direct links to the Mediterranean in Beirut and Tripoli, Syria has long depended on and used Lebanon as an economic resource. Syria invaded Lebanon in 1976 and occupied it until 2006. Syria is frequently accused of being behind political assassinations in Lebanon.[4][5]

Religion

There are many diverse religious groups in Syria, complicating politics and giving the government an excuse to keep a tight lid on everyone.

  • Sunnis are the majority, about 74% of the population.
  • Shi'as are about 13% of the population, most of whom are Alawis, a sect that most of the ruling class belongs to.
  • Druze are about 3% of the population; they are an ethnic group with their own offshoot of Isma'ili Shi'a.[6]
  • Christians make up about 10% of the population.
  • There are also ten thousand Yazidi in Syria, whose religion consists of a "Gnostic core belief structure with other elements of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam," and who are often persecuted for the unintentional (but mythologically related) resemblance of their object of worship, the Peacock Angel, to Satan in Christianity and Iblis in Islam. [7]

There are hardly any Jews left.

Civil war

The current civil war in Syria began in 2011, during the Arab Spring. Supporters of the Assad regime include the Alawites and other minorities such as Christians and secularists, who fear retaliation from oppressed Sunnis and extremists. The opposition support mostly comes from Daesh (ISIL), the al-Nusra front and other Islamist elements with both current and former Al-Qaeda ties,[8] veterans of Chechen Wars with Russia,[9], and U.S. backed "moderate militants".[10] Both the government and rebel groups have been accused of indiscriminate attacks against civilians.[11] The government accuses the rebels of terrorism.[12]

In 2013 Amnesty International reported extensive attacks on civilian areas from shooting demonstrators to aerial bombardments, ballistic missile attacks and chemical weapons.[13] By mid-August 2014, the international community removed and destroyed Syrian chemical weapons stocks. As part of a diplomatic solution based on a joint U.S.-Russian proposal, the Obama administration withdrew the threat of military force and the Assad regime agreed to give up its chemical weapons and join the international Chemical Weapons Convention.[14]

As the Islamic State terror group occupied large portions of northern and eastern Syria, it came in competition with other Islamist extremists, notably al Qaeda (including the beheading of several al Qaeda leaders) and slowed its advance on Damascus. It was reported by Agence France Presse that Daesh had been re-selling oil from occupied lands to the Assad regime at blackmarket prices.[15]

As of August 2014, the United Nations estimated nearly 191,000 have died in the civil war,[16] with 3 million refugees in neighbouring countries and 6.5 million internally displaced.[17]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/photos/12-oldest-continuously-inhabited-cities/damascus-syria
  2. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/world/middleeast/victory-over-iraq-in-1991-was-swift-but-flawed.html?pagewanted=all
  3. http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/middle-east-and-north-africa/the-enduring-iran-syria-hezbollah-axis/
  4. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/20/us-lebanon-explosion-idUSBRE89I0N620121020
  5. http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-10-19/world/35498397_1_sassine-square-beirut-assassination-anti-syrian
  6. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/172195/Druze
  7. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/religion-yazidi.htm
  8. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-tied-to-al-qaeda-play-key-role-in-war.html
  9. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/syria-war-rebels-chechnya-islamic-militants_n_2821197.html
  10. The so-called "Free Syrian Army"[1][2]; reports indicate many have defected to ISIL.[3]
  11. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/world/middleeast/syria.html
  12. http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syria-troops-seize-control-key-road-north-18636146
  13. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE24/009/2013/en
  14. [ttp://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33487.pdf Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response], CRS, September 17, 2014, p. 17.
  15. http://www.arabnews.com/news/594531
  16. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/22/world/meast/syria-conflict/index.html?hpt=imi_c2
  17. http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e486a76&submit=GO
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