On Saturday, April 13, 2013, Syrian government troops ambushed a rebel checkpoint, killing twelve opposition leaders. Goverment troops killed and wounded Syrian opposition leaders as they were trying to capture a miliary base located right outside the Syrian town of Maaret al-Numan, north of Damascus, the capital of Syria. These violent attacks have been ongoing ever since demonstrations began in March 2011. Protestors opposing Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad protested in various cities around Syria, demanding his resignation. These demonstrations caused the Syrian army to fire on demonstrators and prevent them from uprising. After months of protests, the political instability in Syria has escelated. Armed rebels opposing al-Assad have formed larger military groups and are now fighting against the Syrian government, led by al-Assad. As a result of this ongoing conflict, over sixty thousand innocent civilians have been killed and about one million refugees have fled to Syria’s neighboring countries including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Although the United Nations, as well as the Arab League and the European Union have tried to end this continious violence, the political situation in Syria continues to worsen.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mt Holyoke chapter.