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)