To understand the current events in Syria, it is necessary to go back to early 2011.
Pro-democracy individuals led peaceful marches and protests, but it all changed once some teenagers were arrested and tortured for pro-democracy graffiti they painted on the wall of their school. Protests erupted, and at one of these protests, Syrian government forces opened fire and killed several people. This triggered mass unrest, causing the people to demand the resignation of President Assad.
By July 2011, hundreds of thousands of people were actively rebelling against Assad and the government. The people who demanded Assad’s resignation became the Free Syrian Army, and the uprising became a civil war.
Meanwhile, extremists (like members of Al-Qaeda) from and around Syria started moving to join the rebel group. In January 2012, Al-Qaeda formed a branch in Syria called Al-Nusra, a Sunni Islamist terrorist group. The Alawites, a minority Shiite group, were pitted against the Sunni population in Syria, only complicating the event in Syria even more. Generally, the Sunni population supports the rebels and the Shi’a population supports Assad.
Around the same time, Syrian Kurdish groups seceded from President Assad and his control. The goal of the Kurdish group was not to overthrow Assad, but to acquire land and self-governance. The Kurds faced difficulties gaining territory because of ISIS, who had taken over 50% of Syrian territory.
Later in 2012, Iran started to support Assad and his power. The Gulf States (Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc.) began to provide the rebels with money and weapons. Iran then sent Hezbollah – a Shi’a, Islamist, militant group – to Syria to aid Assad’s forces. In retaliation, the Gulf States sent more money and weapons to the rebel group.
You’re probably wondering why Russia and Iran got involved in the first place. Russia has a naval base in Tartus, a Syrian city near the Mediterranean. This was Russia’s only naval foothold in the Mediterranean, and without Assad, they were at risk of losing it. Russia also was not doing well economically (thanks to low oil prices), so selling arms to Assad was something that would help boost their economy significantly. Iran is team Assad because Saudi Arabia is currently backing the rebels, Iran’s greatest rival. If the rebels are victorious, this would be bad news for Iran.
By the end of 2012, the fighting had reached both Aleppo (the city that Gary Johnson forgot existed) and Damascus, Syria’s capital. This brings us to 2013.
Obama okayed the CIA to train rebels, but asked the Gulf States to stop funding the extremists within the rebel group. However, this request was not acknowledged. This program was not incredibly successful, and therefore lost a lot of momentum. By June 2013, the death toll in Syria was up to 90,000.
On August 21, 2013, Assad used chemical weapons against civilians in opposition-controlled Ghouta. This was what led to the U.S.’s total intervention. President Obama addressed the nation on September 10, 2013, explaining the severity of the situation and why the U.S. should get involved at all. Russia began to back Assad. This led to a great power dispute between the U.S (team rebels) and Russia (team Assad).
In February 2014, a branch of the Al-Qaeda affiliated group Al-Nusra broke off and became the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. ISIS generally fought the Kurds and the members of Al-Nusra, but had spread widespread terror all over the world. ISIS has orchestrated many of the bombings and shootings that have occurred worldwide. ISIS has specifically attacked major cities and countries such as Paris, Iraq, Belgium and Orlando. However, a lot of the tragedies that have struck have been done “in the name of ISIS,” as in not done by official members of ISIS, but people who believe in their cause.
ISIS formed an Islamic mini-state (or caliphate) in Syria and marched across Iraq, ruthlessly seizing territory. The group has severely punished those who refuse to accept their rule. Public beheadings, amputations and cruelty are weapons that ISIS used -and still uses- heavily. Because of this, the U.S. initiated airstrikes against ISIS.
The Pentagon created its own program to train rebels to fight only ISIS, unlike the CIA’s program, which trained rebels to fight Assad and his affiliates. This bold move made by the U.S. showed that America opposed ISIS more than it opposed Assad.
In August 2014, Turkey, unlike the U.S., started bombing the Kurds in Iraq, and did not bomb ISIS. This led to tension between the U.S. and Turkey. Turkey and the U.S., who were both clearly on the rebel’s side, confused people on which is more important: fighting ISIS or fighting Assad.
Then, in September 2015, Russia intervened on Assad’s behalf. Russia said it was going to bomb ISIS, but then started bombing the anti-Assad groups. This, of course, led to an ongoing dispute with the U.S., which is still currently a major issue between the two great powers.
Overall, over 4.5 million people have left Syria since the start of the conflict back in 2011 and over 450,000 people have died, 50,000 of this total being children. Countries all over the world, from Belgium to America, have been accepting some of these refugees. However, so many people are still internally displaced.
The different conflicts within Syria make it hard to see an end in sight. It is incredibly complicated and confusing. There are numerous groups; some with different goals, some with the same. But if the inner and outer conflicts continue to press on, the result will be more unnecessary death and destruction.