More than 470,000 people have been killed and about 12 million people fled from their homeland or displaced within Syria in 5 years armed conflict which was initiated in a form of anti-government protest but later turned into large scale civil war. The forces of the Syria are loyal to their President Mr. Bashar-al-Assad and those who are against the government would have to fight with so forces and as are they doing. This situations involved many non-state actors as well, out of which ISIS is top of the list.
Protest Turned Violent:
The Syrian forces caught and tortured few teenagers who were painting revolutionary slogans on the school wall against presidency of Mr. Bashar-al-Assad. After so arrest and torture, the people of Deraa City came out to streets for democratic protest on March 2011. However the forces opened straight fires on protestors caused numerous casualties and resultantly more people came out to the streets. The protests spread throughout the nation and hundreds of thousands people joined the protests in order to demand resignation of President. Initially they begun to take up arms for defense, later they got offensive towards forces to expel them from their areas.
Violence Turned into Civil War:
The violence turned into civil war when the armed-protestors stood up against forces to take control over cities, towns and countryside. The battle between forces and protestors first reached the capital Damascus and then City of Aleppo in 2012. According to United Nations 90,000 people had been killed by June 2013 which escalated to 250,000 by August 2015 however the latest figure of casualties given by UN is about 470,000 in result of civil war.
Sectarianism:
Now the battle is no longer between government and opposition/protester only. This civil war has got the flame of sectarianism. Now this is not only the opposition for Presidency but for the Sect of President i.e. Shia Alawite Sect. The Sunni Majority of Syria is fighting against the Shia president in order to take up power and hold over the country. This situation got many non-state actors involved in the picture like Islamic State. I.S fought against the forces and occupied many Syrian areas e.g. Raqqa.
Since the civil war acquired the sectarian overtone, it is reported that the Iran (Shia majority country) had been supporting the government in order to maintain control over the area. Contrarily Saudi Arabia, despite of being autocratic country, took stance against the President Bashar-al-Assad and reportedly supported rebellions to fight against autocracy in Syria.
Refugees & Humanitarian Crisis:
According to the UN high commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 4.8 million have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, and 6.6 million are internally displaced within Syria. Meanwhile about one million have requested asylum to Europe. According to UN it would cost about $3.2 billion to help 13.5 million people including about 6 million children who are required humanitarian assistance in 2016. A big number of people are living without access of drinking water, food for survival and living in poverty.
Rebels and ISIS:
The armed rebellions have been evolved since the inception of civil war. This is because western and middle east support. Howsoever the rebellions have been outnumbered by Islamists and Jihadists in Syria whose brutal tactics and massacre have caused global outrage. The Islamic States have capitalized chaos in order to rule over Iraq and Syria and they have somehow succeeded in their mission and have occupied many areas of Iraq and Syria. They are involved in a “war within a war” against rebels, governments and Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadist organization “Nusra Front”, which is fighting against government. The I.S brutally kills the groups who refuse to accept their rule or decline their offer to fight for their objective. In 2014 the United States and Russia launched air strikes to destroy the I.S but so attacks were caused causalities of civilian and hence stopped immediately.
UN & Peace Efforts:
The UN Security Council has called for the implementation of the 2012 Geneva Communique, which envisages a transitional governing body with full executive powers formed on the basis of mutual consent. Talks in early 2014, known as Geneva II, broke down after only two rounds, with then-UN special envoy Lakhdar Brihimi blaming the Syrian government’s refusal to discuss opposition’s demands.
Moscow Declaration:
Russia, Turkey, and Iran adopted a declaration on the immediate steps to promote the settlement of the Syrian Crisis. The three countries agreed to take on the role of guarantors to facilitate the process preserving the territorial integrity of Syria and spreading the cessation of hostilities to all parts of the country. Russia, Iran and Turkey will fight together Islamic State, Nusra Front and other extremist groups. The parties are ready to mediate a deal between the Syrian Government and opposition. Other states are welcome to join. The declaration is just a start, the efforts by the three parties will continue. The document was signed by the three countries' foreign and defense chief at the December 20 2016 meeting in Moscow.
Moscow Declaration:
Russia, Turkey, and Iran adopted a declaration on the immediate steps to promote the settlement of the Syrian Crisis. The three countries agreed to take on the role of guarantors to facilitate the process preserving the territorial integrity of Syria and spreading the cessation of hostilities to all parts of the country. Russia, Iran and Turkey will fight together Islamic State, Nusra Front and other extremist groups. The parties are ready to mediate a deal between the Syrian Government and opposition. Other states are welcome to join. The declaration is just a start, the efforts by the three parties will continue. The document was signed by the three countries' foreign and defense chief at the December 20 2016 meeting in Moscow.
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