Syrian Civil War

                                                             Introduction

Also called Syrian uprising, the Syrian civil war is the current armed clash happening in Syria whose catalyst is attached to various theories. One theory says that this war has been catalyzed following the jailing of some kids who painted anti-regime graffiti on the 6th of March 2011. At the context of this arrest, this situation led to the killing of some children (Cooper, 2014). The results of the killing of these teenagers were public protests throughout Syria following the failure by the government to act upon the perpetrators of these innocent deaths (Starr, 2012). 

 The second theory attributes this civil war to the firing by the Syrian army to demonstrators in April 2011 which has led to a full-scale rebellion. As per effaceable sources, the Syrian civil war, however, involves a heated conflict between the forces steadfast to the Syrian Baath Party government and those against it. This conflict is marked to have begun on the 15th March 2011, catalyzed by demonstrations that had augmented countrywide by April the same year. Apparently, these demonstrations were identified to be part and stake of the wider Middle Eastern protest that went by the name Arab Spring. The protesters were demanding the stepping down of President Bashar al-Assad, following an extensive reign of his family in Syrian presidency since 1971. The protest also demanded the end of the reign of the Baath Party which had ruled Syria over four decades (Starr, 2012).

Background

The Ba'ath Party acquired the governance of Syria in 1964. A coup led to the overthrow of the party’s traditional leadership by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. It was in 1970 that the then minister of defense Hafez al-Assad snatched the power of the ruling party declaring himself the president, a docket he held until his death in the year 2000 (Erlich, 2014).

In 1982, during the rise of a six-year Islamist armed insurgency in the country, Hafez al-Assad led a scorched earth policy whose intent was all against the Islamist-held quarters inside the town of Hama.  This move was to a higher degree meant to suppress the uprising Islamic communities in Syria including the Sunni, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Salafists among others. The crackdown of this movement was called the Hama massacre, which led to the death of tens of thousands of people (Cooper, 2014).

In 1999, the issue of President Hafez al-Assad's succession prompted the Latakia protests. This protest was violent and involved explosions between Hafez al-Assad and his influential younger brother Rifaat (Starr, 2012). Following this feud, Hafez al-Assad died a year later, from pulmonary fibrosis. A successor was sought out of his family lineage, and his son Bashar al-Assad was found fit for the position. Since a person required to be 40 to be the president, a constitutional amendment was quickly conducted which lowered this age requirement for President to 34 the then age of n age of Bashar al-Assad. That was not likable to some people who sought to protest but were quieted (Erlich, 2014).

World Opinion

Many countries sent showed their concerns of the frequent protests in Syria due to poor governance and diversion from integrity on the part of the government. To cite but a few, the European Union, Arab League, Arab States, United States, the Persian Gulf, and other nations condemned and aired their concerns about the government’s use of violence against protesters.

To aid ease the already volatile situation in Syria and attempt to resolve further crises, Kofi Annan was appointed as a special convoy to try to restore peace and orderliness in Syria (Pollack, 2013).

Current Situation

A study by the United Nations on the Syrian condition completed on the 2nd day of January 2013 found that the war's death toll was over 60,000. An updated figure was produced on 12th February and found to be exceeding 70,000. With reference to various sources, the number of casualties of this civil war ranged from 62,550 and 74,470 people where up to a half of these were civilians. This figure also included 30,520 armed combatants consisting from both sides (the Syrian Army and rebel forces). Besides, up to 2,715 were protesters officials while 1,000 constituted of government officials (Starr, 2012). By October 2012, more than 28,000 people had been reported missing. This figure comprised of civilians who had been reportedly abducted by government troops and security forces. Statistics by the UN stated that about 1.2 million Syrians had by the date been displaced within Syria. As many as 1 million Syrian refugees had been forced to escape the violence by fleeing to neighboring countries (Pollack, 2013).

By 11th January 2013, powerful Islamist groups like the Jabhat al-Nusra had taken full control of the strategic sceneries like the Taftanaz Air Base following a two weeks win in fighting. This air base is said to be often used by the Syrian military in carrying out their helicopter raids and delivering of supplies (McHugo, 2014). In February 2013, rebels took control of the Al-Thawrah town as well as the nearby Tabqa Dam. This dam was Syria's largest and was a key source of hydroelectricity. Within the same month, Islamic rebel forces captured Jarrah air base (Starr, 2012).

Following this capturing, a retaliation of the Syrian army led to an intense clash with the rebels in the nick of March 2013 at the north-central city of Raqqa. This clash is reported to have resulted in very many deaths of individuals from both sides. Apparently, the rebels had overrun Raqqa's central prison, freeing hundreds of prisoners that led to a very tasking situation for the Syrian army and another military to contain (McHugo, 2014).

Implications

Many countries acknowledge Syria as a very important country though they warn that any protracted internal conflict will impact not only the internal peace but also the regional stability of the country as well. Peace and stability are viewed as one of the important riches of a nation as it leads to economical, social and political stabilities. It is the internal calmness of a country that as attracts tourists and investors who add up to the economic augmentation of a nation. As such, many countries continue to wish that Syrians ends their crises in a peaceful manner and ensure the human rights of the people are realized (Erlich, 2014).Some countries like India are supporting on military solutions to the conflict saying that the threat to the use of force is detrimental to the territorial integrity of Syria. The Indian President is among the good-wishers of peace prevalence in Syria and as could be seen by his visit to the country among other presidents all over the world to help ease the turmoil (Cooper, 2014).

                                                             References

Cooper, T. (2014). Syrian conflagration: The Syrian Civil War, 2011-13. Solihull: Helion

Erlich, W. (2014). Inside Syria: The Back-Story of Syrian Civil War and What The World Can Expect. New York: Prometheus Books

McHugo, J. (2014). Syria: From the Great War to the civil war. London: Saqi Books

Pollack, K. (2013). Breaking the stalemate: The military dynamics of the Syrian Civil War and options for limited U.S. intervention.

Starr, S. (2012). Revolt: Eye-witness to the Syrian uprising. London: Hurst.

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in legitimate paper writing services if you need a similar paper you can place your order from best custom research papers.