civil war. The conflict has left more than 350,000 people dead, devastated cities and drawn in
other countries.
How did the Syrian war start? Even before the conflict began, many Syrians were complaining
about high unemployment, corruption and a lack of political freedom under President Bashar al-
Assad, who succeeded his late father Hafez in 2000.
In March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by
the "Arab Spring" in neighbouring countries. When the government used deadly force to crush
the dissent, protests demanding the president's resignation erupted nationwide. The unrest
spread and the crackdown intensified. Opposition supporters took up arms, first to defend
themselves and later to rid their areas of security forces. Mr Assad vowed to crush what he
called "foreign-backed terrorism". The violence rapidly escalated and the country descended
into civil war.
It is now more than a battle between those for or against Mr Assad. Many groups and countries
- each with their own agendas - are involved, making the situation far more complex and
prolonging the fighting. The government's key supporters are Russia and Iran, while the US,
Turkey and Saudi Arabia back the rebels.
Syria's Kurds, who want the right of self-government but have not fought Mr Assad's forces.
The US, UK, France and other Western countries have provided varying degrees of support for what they consider "moderate" rebels.
A global coalition they lead has also carried out air strikes on IS militants in Syria since 2014
and helped an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
capture territory from the jihadists. The government has regained control of Syria's biggest
cities but large parts of the country are still held by rebel groups and the Kurdish-led SDF
alliance.
At least 6.1 million Syrians are internally displaced, while another 5.6 million have fled abroad.
Neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, where 92% of them now live, have struggled to cope
with one of the largest refugee exoduses in recent history.
Much of Syria's rich cultural heritage has also been destroyed. All six of the country's six
Unesco World Heritage sites have been damaged significantly. President Assad has appeared increasingly unwilling to negotiate with the opposition. The rebels still insist he must step down as part of any settlement.
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FACEBOOK COMMENTS
Johnson Ahile
That is one thing about the western world i like. They hate genocide. Asad and his forces will soon bow
Endy Edeson
That is true even if they always feel untouchable and "HOLY", the west is trying her best in making the world a safer place