“Syrian Civil War” (March 2011 – Present)

1. 20th Century Assignment
{Current Ongoing War}
From-
SudhanshuMalewar
SYMBIOSIS CENTRE FOR LIBERAL ARTS

2. 1
“Syrian Civil War”
(March 2011 – Present)
Introduction:
The Syrian Civil War is an ongoing multisided armed conflict in Syria fought between
Ba’athist Syrian Arab Republic led by President Bashar al-Assad along with allies opposing
both government and each other in varying combinations.
How the War Started:
Before 2011, many Syrians peoples 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. (Arab Spring
also referred to as Arab Revolution, it was a wave of both violent and non-violent
demonstration, protests, riots, and civil war in North Africa and the Middle East.)
When the government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests demanding
the president's resignation. The allies includes Sunni Arab Rebel groups, Syrian Democratic
forces (SDF), Salafi Jihadist groups, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Mr.Assad called it "foreign-backed terrorism". The violence rapidly escalated and
the country descended into civil war.
What is this War?
In this Battle, many groups and countries each with their own agendas are involved, making
the situation far more complex and prolonging the fighting.
They have been accused of encouraging hatred between Syria's religious groups, pitching
the Sunni Muslim majority against the president's Shia Alawite sect.
Such divisions have led both sides to commit cruelty, torn communities apart and
dimmed hopes of peace. They have also allowed the jihadist groups Islamic State (IS) and al-
Qaeda to flourish.
Syria's Kurds, who added another dimension to the conflict, want the right of self-
government but didn’t fought Mr Assad's forces.

3. 2
Parties involved in:
The government's key supporters are Russia and Iran, while the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia
back the rebels.
 Russia - which already had military bases in Syria. Russia launched an air campaign in
support of Mr Assad in 2015 which played an important role in turning the tide of
the war in the government's favour. The Russian military said they targeted
"terrorists" but activists said they killed mainstream rebels and civilians.
 Iran helped by deploying hundreds of troops and spent billions of dollars to help Mr
Assad. Thousands of Shia Muslim militiamen armed, trained and financed by Iran,
but also Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen - have also fought alongside the Syrian army.
 The US, UK, France and other Western countries have provided moderate level of
support. They 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.
 Turkey- supported the rebels but it has focused on using them to contain the Kurdish
militia that dominates the SDF, accusing it of being an extension of a banned Kurdish
rebel group in Turkey.
 Saudi Arabia- which is keen to counter Iranian influence, has also armed and
financed the rebels.
 Israel in Syria has conducted air strikes.
Efforts to End War:
1. The Trump Administration should support United Nations Decision-making,
international Law and diplomacy instead of military forces.
2. Arab Initiative- In 2012, Arab reached an agreement with Syria to end fighting and
withdraw troops from cities but President Assad government formally rejected the
plan and determined to crush rebellion.
3. On 14th sept.2013, Russia and United States agree to dismantle Syria’s Chemical
Arsenal after an attack held.
4. On 30th oct.2015, Russia, the United States and first time Iran meet in Vienna for
talks. The regime and opposition are absent from talks, which breakup disagreement
over Assad’s fate.
5. On 27 feb.2016, US-Russia brokered “cessation of hostilities” comes into force.
Accepted by regime, the opposition and Syrian Kurdish forces, it excludes main
jihadist factions.

4. 3
6. On 8th oct.2016, Russia vetoes a UN draft resolution demanding an end to the
bombing of Aleppo. It’s the fifth time Russia has used its veto to block UN action on
war.
7. On 4th may2017, Russia, Iran and Turkey signed an agreement to create four “de-
escalation zones” in Syria. The deal was rejected by some rebel and democratic
union party saying that ceasefire zones are “dividing Syria upon a sectarian basis”.
8. On 6th dec.2017, Russia government declared Syria to have been “completely
liberated” from ISIL; on 11th December, Vladimir Putin ordered partial withdrawal of
forces deployed to Syria.
Impact of War:
1) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, had
documented the deaths of 353,900 people by March 2018, including 106,000
civilians.
2) The war has left 1.5 million people with permanent disabilities, including 86,000 who
have lost limbs.
3) At least 6.1 million Syrians are internally displaced, while another 5.6 million have
migrated abroad.
4) All of the country's six UNESCO World Heritage sites have been damaged
significantly.
5) Entire neighbourhoods have been levelled across the country.
6) According to World Health Organisation (WHO) 50 per cent of hospitals have been
completely destroyed.
7) Disagreement with West relations with both Russia and China have increased.
8) Rise of ISIS and other extremist organisation.
9) Adverse impact on Global Oil Market.