If you are not familiar with geographical facts about Syria, let’s explore some basic and important facts about Syria. It’s a country that was hacked by French and Briton from the cadaver of the Ottoman Empire. But after the World War II, the country succeeded in winning its independence. However, it is sad to see how raging fight in a country can lead to an massacre.
Syria is surrounded by the states of Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. It is the home to diverse religious and ethnic groups including Armenians, Kurds, Assyrians, Druze, Christians, Arab Sunnis and Alawite Shias. The Sunnis and Shias make the majority of Muslim population in the country.
How did the country enter this condition of discrepancy and militancy? It was March 15, 2011 when the wave of Arab unrest reached Syria. This wave was influenced by the Tunisian revolution. It was the day when some residents from the southern cities took over the streets to protest against the government for torturing young students, who had been dressed in an anti-government graffiti. In response to these peaceful protests, government reacted with heavy force. Such a brutal response urged people all over the country to stand against the government. Within few days, demonstrations spread across the geographical boundaries of Syria. President Bashar al-Assad, who was currently leading the country, is a British trained doctor who inherited dictatorship from Hafez al-Assad. He first tried for some reforms but failing to do so, in the month of April, 2011; he set off withering crackdowns against demonstrators by sending armed forces that opened fire on the civilians. It transformed these peaceful demonstrators into violent respondents. The condition continued and in the summer 2011, thousands of armed soldiers revolted against the government. These conditions allowed United Nations to call Syria as the on the verge of civil war. In the time until 2013, some agreements were signed, National coalition was formed but it could not bring peace to the country. By the end of 2012, United States called it as an “overly sectarian” conflict that has become reason to attract fighters from North Africa and Middle East. It was approximated in the start of 2013 that more than sixty thousand people have lost their life and tens of thousands civilians had been arrested. Thousands of refugees had migrated to neighboring countries and millions need aid in the country. According to estimates, about 1.2 million people are displaced domestically.
United States is set silent on all these happenings and it looks that Mr. Obama’s policy of coming up for the bushfire in Syria to blaze itself out is fading. It seems that now, it is the time to act rather than waiting for the things to deteriorate further. He should aim at preserving the left over Syria. It means that USA’s policy makers should convince Mr. Assad and family to stop violence against rebels. Moreover, they should be convinced for talks with the rebels.
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