Friday, April 19, 2013
Prognosis
The civil war in Syria has everyone wondering who will be in control of Syria within the next few years. President Bashar al-Assed is likely to either resign or be overthrown. The new governemnt would likely be someone of the Baath party and/or someone from the Free Syrian Army rebel group. There is also mounts of destruction throughout the country. It will take years to recover from the civil war. It will also take many years for Syria to find the right form of a stable government. From this, we can conclude that in the upcoming years, Syria will either still be in a civil war, or be trying to recuperate from the devastation and corrupt governments of the past.
Current Conflict
In April 2011, there was an uprising in Syria in the capitol of Damascus and another city, Derra. The people wanted political prisoners to be released. They wanted the current president, Bashar Hafez al-Assad, to resign and have four decades of Baath rule instead. The people also wanted political prisoners to be released. The uprising was part of the Arab Spring, a protest movement in the Middle East. The uprising became violent with shooting. The government has used tanks, gunfire, and mass arrests to stop the anti-government movements.
Syria is currently a republic under an authoritarian regime with a mixed legal system including civil and Islamic law. The country is in the midst of civil war putting government forces against the rebels. The predominant rebel group is the Free Syrian Army.
By the end of February 2013, about 70,000 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in the war, 700,000 people fled the country. Syria has been accused of backing up terrorist groups as well as being in possession of chemical weapons such as mustard gas and the highly toxic nerve agent sarin.Their human rights are lacking as well.
Aleppo, a city in Syria, is in very poor condition. The people living there are experiencing a lack in food, electricity, and running water. There is also little humanitarian assistance and the Dar el-Shifa hospital in Aleppo was bombed in the fall of 2012. The government is continually bombing Aleppo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q23i8ien92M (00:16 - 00:50)
Syria is currently a republic under an authoritarian regime with a mixed legal system including civil and Islamic law. The country is in the midst of civil war putting government forces against the rebels. The predominant rebel group is the Free Syrian Army.
By the end of February 2013, about 70,000 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in the war, 700,000 people fled the country. Syria has been accused of backing up terrorist groups as well as being in possession of chemical weapons such as mustard gas and the highly toxic nerve agent sarin.Their human rights are lacking as well.
Aleppo, a city in Syria, is in very poor condition. The people living there are experiencing a lack in food, electricity, and running water. There is also little humanitarian assistance and the Dar el-Shifa hospital in Aleppo was bombed in the fall of 2012. The government is continually bombing Aleppo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q23i8ien92M (00:16 - 00:50)
Key Leaders
- Hafez al-Assad: president of Syria from 1971 - 2000
- Bashar Hafez al-Assad: son of above, president of Syria from 2000 - present day
History Synopsis
The government in Syria has changed a lot in the past. Syria gained independence from the League of Nations mandate under French administration on April 17, 1946. The country has been a republic since the March of 1963. The Alawite-controlled pan-Arab nationalist Baath (Renaissance) party took control in 1963. In 1966 Salah Jadid lead an internal coup against the civilian Baath leadership, overthrowing Amin al-Hafez. In 1967 Israeli forces seize the Golan Heights from Syria and destroy much of Syria's air force in the Six Day War with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Hafez al-Assad overthrew the president, Salah Jadid, and became president himself, until his son, Bashar al-Assad came into power.
Maps
- Syria lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Lebanon and Israel on the west, Turkey on the north, Iraq on the east, and Jordan on the south.
- Capitol City: Damascus
Society
- Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian (widely understood); French, English (somewhat understood)
- Ethnicities: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
- Religions: Sunni Muslim (Islam - official) 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
- Literacy Rate: 79.6%
- Population: 22.5 million
- Education: Free, required for ages 6 - 12
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