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Syria
GeographySlightly larger than North Dakota, Syria lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Lebanon and Israel on the west, Turkey on the north, Iraq on the east, and Jordan on the south. Coastal Syria is a narrow plain, in back of which is a range of coastal mountains, and still farther inland a steppe area. In the east is the Syrian Desert and in the south is the Jebel Druze Range. The highest point in Syria is Mount Hermon (9,232 ft; 2,814 m) on the Lebanese border. GovernmentRepublic under a military regime since March 1963. HistoryAncient Syria was conquered by Egypt about 1500 B.C., and after that by Hebrews, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, and Alexander the Great of Macedonia. From 64 B.C. until the Arab conquest in A.D. 636, it was part of the Roman Empire except during brief periods. The Arabs made it a trade center for their extensive empire, but it suffered severely from the Mongol invasion in 1260 and fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1516. Syria remained a Turkish province until World War I. A secret Anglo-French pact of 1916 put Syria in the French zone of influence. The League of Nations gave France a mandate over Syria after World War I, but the French were forced to put down several nationalist uprisings. In 1930, France recognized Syria as an independent republic but still subject to the mandate. After nationalist demonstrations in 1939, the French high commissioner suspended the Syrian constitution. In 1941, British and Free French forces invaded Syria to eliminate Vichy control. During the rest of World War II, Syria was an Allied base. Again in 1945, nationalist demonstrations broke into actual fighting, and British troops had to restore order. Syrian forces met a series of reverses while participating in the Arab invasion of Palestine in 1948. In 1958, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic, with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt as president. However, Syria became independent again on Sept. 29, 1961, following a revolution. In the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, Israel quickly vanquished the Syrian army. Before acceding to the UN cease-fire, the Israeli forces took control of the fortified Golan Heights. Syria joined Egypt in attacking Israel in Oct. 1973 in the fourth Arab-Israeli War, but was pushed back from initial successes on the Golan Heights and ended up losing more land. However, in the settlement worked out by U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger in 1974, the Syrians recovered all the territory lost in 1973. In the mid-1970s Syria sent some 20,000 troops to support Muslim Lebanese in their armed conflict with Christian militants supported by Israel during the civil war in Lebanon. Syrian troops frequently clashed with Israeli troops during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and remained thereafter as occupiers of large portions of Lebanon. Regional Conflicts Continue Through the End of the CenturyIn 1990, President Assad ruled out any possibility of legalizing opposition political parties. In Dec. 1991 voters approved a fourth term for Assad, giving him 99.98% of the vote. In the 1990s, the slowdown in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was echoed in the lack of progress in Israeli-Syrian relations. Confronted with a steadily strengthening strategic partnership between Israel and Turkey, Syria took steps to construct a countervailing alliance by improving relations with Iraq, strengthening ties with Iran, and collaborating more closely with Saudi Arabia. In Dec. 1999, Israeli-Syrian talks resumed after a nearly four-year hiatus, but they soon broke down over discussions about the Golan Heights. On June 10, 2000, President Hafez al-Assad died. He had ruled with an iron fist since taking power in a military coup in 1970. His son, Bashar al-Assad, an ophthalmologist by training, succeeded him. He has emulated his father's autocratic rule. In the summer of 2001, Syria withdrew nearly all of its 25,000 troops from Beirut. Syrian soldiers, however, remained in the Lebanese countryside. Syria is Repeatedly Accused of Supporting Terrorist GroupsThe U.S. imposed economic sanctions on the country in May, accusing it of continuing to support terrorism. In Sept. 2004, a UN Security Council resolution asked Syria to withdraw its 15,000 remaining troops from Lebanon. Syria responded by moving about 3,000 troops from the vicinity of Beirut to eastern Lebanon, a gesture viewed by many as merely cosmetic. On Feb. 14, 2004, Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated. Many implicated Syria in the death of the popular and independent leader, who staunchly opposed Syrian involvement in Lebanon. Huge Lebanese protests called for Syria's withdrawal from the country, a demand backed by the U.S., EU, and UN. In addition to the anti-Syrian demonstrations, however, there were a number of massive pro-Syrian rallies in Lebanon sponsored by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. By the end of April, Syria had withdrawn all its troops, ending a 29-year occupation. In October, the UN released a damning report on Hariri's slaying, concluding that the assassination was carefully organized by Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials, including Syria's military intelligence chief, Asef Shawkat, who is the brother-in-law of President Assad. Syria vehemently denied the charges. In July 2006, during the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict in Lebanon, Syria was strongly suspected of aiding Hezbollah. Israeli jets fired on targets deep inside Syria in September 2007. American and Israeli intelligence analysts later said that Israel had attacked a partially built nuclear reactor. Several officials wondered aloud if North Korea had played a role in the development of the nuclear plant. Syria denied that any such facilities exist and protested to the United Nations, calling the attack a "violation of sovereignty." After the attack, Syria destroyed the building that had been targeted. In January 2008, satellite photographs revealed that another, similar building was under construction on the same site.Syria and Israel Begin Negotiating, but Terrorism and Conflict ContinueFor the first time in eight years, Syria and Israel returned to the bargaining table in May 2008. Syria wants to regain control over the Golan Heights, which was taken by Israel in 1967, and Israel hopes an agreement will distance Iran from Syria and diminish some sway Iran holds over the Middle East. Syria also reached out to the West, meeting with French president Nicolas Sarkozy in July. A powerful bomb, made of more than 400 pounds of explosives, exploded near a Shiite shrine in Damascus in September, killing 16 people. It was Syria's worst attack in more than 20 years. Terrorism was suspected, but no one claimed responsibility. In October, American Special Operations Forces launched an air attack into Syria, killing a leader of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia near the Iraqi border. U.S. officials say the militant, Abu Ghadiya, smuggled weapons, money, and fighters into Iraq from Syria. The Syrian government accused the Americans of committing a war crime, saying that eight civilians, including a woman and three children, had been killed in the attack. Relations between the U.S. and Syria thawed in December 2010 when President Barack Obama appointed diplomat Robert Ford as the ambassador to Syria. It was a recess appointment as Ford's confirmation was held up in the Senate. The U.S. hasn't had an ambassador to Syria since the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Ford was quickly confronted with Government Forces Crack Down on ProtestersThe anti-government protest movement that swept through the Middle East in early 2011 also engulfed Syria. Syria, however, was spared the unrest until mid-March, when the arrest of about a dozen school-age children for painting anti-government graffiti in the southeast town of Dara'a sparked outrage, prompting citizens to take to the streets in protest. Demonstrations broke out throughout the country, with protesters calling for the release of political prisoners, an end to pervasive corruption, the lifting of the emergency law that has stood since 1963, and broader civil rights. On March 25, the government reneged on a promise not to use force against the protesters, opening fire on demonstrators in the south. As many as 60 people were killed.The political crisis deepened in the following days, and on March 29, President Assad's cabinet resigned. Massive protests and the crackdown by police continued, and by April 18 as many as 200 protestors had been killed. As the opposition movement gained strength, President Assad tried to balance suppression and compromise, offering some reform and lifting the emergence law while forbidding protests "under any banner whatsoever." Assad in fact did attempt to thwart protests, deploying troops to several cities across Syria and brutally cracking down on protesters. By late May about 850 protesters had been killed by forces. The continued suppression led the Obama administration to impose sanctions on Assad and six other high-ranking officials. Assad intensified the attacks on protesters in early August, unleashing tanks, armored vehicles, and snipers on the restive city of Hama, historically a breeding ground for anti-government sentiment. By the end of the siege, casualties reached about 1,700. The particularly brutal assaults prompted widespread international condemnation, even from Syria's Arab neighbors. Indeed, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait removed their ambassadors from Damascus. In mid-August, Obama issued a statement demanding that Assad resign and increased sanctions against Syria, freezing all Syrian assets held under U.S. jurisdiction and banning U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with the Syrian government. In addition, the UN released a report accusing Syria of crimes against humanity. As international condemnation of Assad intensified, the opposition, which had previously lacked organization, in October formed the Syrian National Council, a diverse group of dissidents and opposition leaders who had the shared goal of ousting Assad. Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, endorsed the council and allowed members of the Free Syrian Army, a militia of army deserters, to set up camp within its borders. On Nov. 2, Assad agreed to a deal brokered by the Arab League to stop killing civilians, begin talks with the opposition, and withdraw forces from the streets. But Assad flouted the agreement and actually increased the attacks. In response, the Arab League suspended Syria's membership and later imposed sanctions on Syria, which included a travel ban on several high-ranking officials, the freezing of Syrian government assets in other Arab nations, and a halt on all commercial transactions with the Syrian government and central bank. It was the first time the group has taken such action against a member. In addition, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called for Assad to step down. Diplomatic Effort to End Violence Stymied by Security Council VetoesAs the fighting dragged on, several thousand soldiers defected and joined the Free Syrian Army, which was intensifying its attacks on government forces. The UN warned in December that Syria was on the brink of a civil war. "The Syrian authorities' continual ruthless repression, if not stopped now, can drive the country into a full-fledged civil war," said Navi Pillay, the UN commissioner for human rights. Arab League observers entered Syria in January to try to persuade Assad to stop attacking civilians, withdraw tanks from towns, and begin talks with the opposition. Despite their presence, the killing continued. On Feb. 6, 2012, the U.S. government closed its embassy and withdrew personnel from Syria. Also in early February, Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that called for an end to the violence, for Assad to hand power to his vice president, and the creation of a unity government. The vetoes were a clear blow to the diplomatic effort to stem the increasing violence. Days later, however, the UN General Assembly voted 137-12, in favor of a resolution that condemned Assad and urged him to step down. While the resolution was non-binding, it nevertheless was an embarrassment for the Syrian president. On the same day as the UN Security Council vote, Syrian forces unleashed a vicious assault on Homs, killing hundreds. The assault on Homs continued throughout the month, and after a vicious 27-day bombardment, the insurgents withdrew from Homs. In late February, a UN panel accused the government of ordering "gross human rights violations" against civilians. The panel said the atrocities qualified as crimes against humanity. It also found that members of the Free Syrian Army were also guilty of using excessive violence, but their acts were "not comparable in scale and organization to those carried out by the state." On Feb. 26, a referendum on a new constitution, which set presidential term limits to two seven-year terms, passed with nearly 90% support. Outside observers called the referendum a farce. By the end of March, the UN estimated that about 9,000 people had been killed in the fighting. On March 21, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement backing a plan outlined by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that largely mirrored the proposal brokered in Nov. 2011 by the Arab League, which called on the government to stop killing civilians, engage in talks with the opposition, withdraw forces from the streets, and "begin a transition to a democratic, political system." Russia and China, which had previously vetoed resolutions condemning Assad, endorsed the document. Assad accepted the statement and agreed to a cease-fire. He later said he would withdraw troops from cities by April 10. Many observers were skeptical, however, that he would make good on his promises. That doubt was justified in May, when about 110 people—including 49 children and 34 women—were killed in the village of Houla. UN observers blamed many of the deaths on government tanks and artillery and said many of the victims were executed in their homes. Assad, however, claimed terrorists carried out the attack. In response, 11 nations, including the U.S., expelled Syrian diplomats, and the UN Security Council unanimously criticized the "outrageous use of force" against residents and the government's role in the attack. Russia, typically protective of Syria and reluctant to criticize the government, signed on to the UN statement. Syria Sinks into Civil WarThe situation in Syria continued to deteriorate in the summer of 2012, with ongoing attacks against civilians—about 80 people were massacred in early June near Hama—and increased fighting between government troops and the opposition. In June, UN monitors abandoned their fact-finding mission after being attacked, and a UN official declared that Syria is in a state of civil war. In late June, Syria confirmed that its military forces shot down a Turkish military jet. The incident increased tension between the two countries. Turkey, a former ally of Syria, has thrown its support behind the Syrian rebels, and dozens of Syrian soldiers defected to Turkey. Assad's regime suffered a withering blow on July 18, when a bomb went off at a meeting of senior ministers and security officials at the country's national security headquarters in Damascus, killing the defense minister and Assad's brother-in-law, a powerful member of the government. Several reports said the attack was an inside job, suggesting weaknesses in Assad's grip on power. Later in July, rebels and government troops battled for control of Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's largest city. Fighting was particularly brutal in Aleppo, as the government troops surrounded the city with tanks and fired on rebels from fighter jets and helicopters. As many as 200,000 people fled the embattled city. The government showed signs of strain as it attempted to fight the rebels in two major cities. While the government troops were criticized for their brutal tactics, the opposition also came under fire for reportedly torturing prisoners. Muslim jihadists and members of Al Qaeda began to join the fight in the summer, backing the rebels with weapons and financing. The development prompted concern that the opposition would become dominated by extremists, pitting Sunnis against Shiites and the ruling Alawite minority. Kofi Annan resigned as UN special envoy to Syria in August, citing the Syrian government's refusal to implement his peace plan, intensifying violence by rebels, and discord within the Security Council. He said "without serious, purposeful and united international pressure, including from the powers of the region, it is impossible for me, or anyone, to compel the Syrian government in the first place, and also the opposition, to take the steps necessary to begin a political process." He also said it is imperative that President Assad step down. On August 6, Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab and at least two other ministers defected to Jordan and announced that they would support the opposition. They were the highest-level defections to date and were signs that Assad's hold on power was dwindling. Assad held fast, however, and stepped up attacks on the rebels and citizens. In one week in early August, residents of Daraya, a suburb of Damascus that is home to a large rebel population, said the military closed off the city, pounded it with gunfire and killed more than 600 residents. By the end of the summer, the violence in Syria had claimed about 30,000 people, mostly civilians, about 250,000 people had fled the country, and some 1.2 million were internally displaced. Neither the rebels or the Assad regime were clearly winning the war. The rebels controlled wide swaths of the countryside, while the government maintained its grip on the country's biggest cities. President Barack Obama has resisted calls for U.S. intervention, saying he will not take military action unless Assad unleashes biological or chemical weapons. In October 2012, the war in Syria was beginning to threaten the stability of other countries in the region. Militants from Lebanon-based Hezbollah were reportedly starting to help Assad fight the rebels, and relations between Syria and Turkey, former allies, deteriorated in October after a cross-border mortar attack from Syria killed five Turkish civilians. Turkey launched retaliatory attacks on targets in Syria. The Turkish Parliament then passed a motion that authorized military action as long as Syria continued to shell Turkey. If the fighting persists, NATO may intervene to protect Turkey, a member nation. The Turkish government, however said it did not want to go to war with Syria, but it would protect its borders as necessary militarily. In addition, weapons sent to Syrian rebels from Saudi Arabia and Qatar had fallen into the hands of radical Islamic militants rather than the secular opposition—the intended recipients. The opposition began to lose support within Syria and in the international community as its attacks grew increasingly brutal and gratuitous and the emergence of the jihadists resulted lack of leadership and infighting among the rebels. Opposition Forms New Governing BodyIn November 2012, Syria's opposition groups agreed to form a new governing body that will unify the many rebel groups under one umbrella. The 50-person body, the Syrian National Coalition, will replace the Syrian National Council, which has come under fire for being largely ineffective and having few leaders living in Syria. The new organization will include younger leaders and will have strong representation inside the country. It will also oversee the opposition's military and will manage the distribution of weapons and funds. The group's leader, Sheikh Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, a Sunni preacher who has said he is willing to negotiate with Assad, said he hoped the new body would be viewed with legitimacy and receive financial assistance and weapons from the international community. France and Turkey were the first countries to officially recognize the new coalition. The U.S. gave its imprimatur in December. The military started to show signs of weakening in November and December. The opposition began using surface-to-air missiles to shoot down military planes and had taken over important military bases, and the military started to fire Scud missiles at the rebel fighters. Nevertheless, Assad dug in his heels and refused to budge. Some observers speculated that he had few—if any—options for survival. If he fled or stepped down, the Alawites feeling betrayed might turn on him, and by remaining in power he risked being killed by rebel fighters. While most nations have refrained from sending troops to back the opposition, several, including the U.S. have sent financial and humanitarian aid. The U.S. has resisted direct involvement in the war to avoid giving Iran—a close ally of Syria—reason to intervene. In December, amid growing concern that Assad was preparing to unleash chemical weapons on the opposition, President Barack Obama said he would not allow such a move. In a speech in early January, Assad repeated that he would not negotiate with the rebels, who he labeled "terrorists," and that he had no intention of stepping down. By the end of February 2013, about 70,000 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in the war, 700,000 people fled the country, and some 2 million people declared themselves internally displaced by the war. The U.S. immersed itself more deeply in the war at the end of February, when U.S. secretary of state John Kerry traveled to Syria and announced an additional $60 million in aid to the opposition Free Syrian Army. The assistance will not come in the form of weapons but will include food aid, medical supplies, and materials to help beef up security and infrastructure. In March, the opposition coalition elected Ghassan Hitto, a Syrian-born American computer executive who until recently lived in Texas. He returned to the Middle East, working out of Turkey, to help improve the flow of humanitarian aid to the rebels. He faces the daunting tasks of forming a cabinet to run the rebel-held regions, organizing the rebel groups, and distributing the aid to those groups. Many members of the coalition, however, opposed the election of Hitto, and Sheikh Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib resigned as president of the Syrian National Coalition. The turn of events left many wondering if the opposition coalition would survive the political turmoil. Despite the dissonance within the opposition, the Syrian National Coalition took Syria's seat at the summit meeting of the Arab League in March, with Khatib as its representative. See also Encyclopedia: Syria. Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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