SYRIA

Current conflict in Syria

The current uprising in Syria is part of a series of demonstrations for democratic reform known as the 'Arab Spring' in the Middle East. Syria has long been governed by a Sunni dictatorship. Although not religious in nature, "the Assads and much of the nation's elite, especially the military, belong to the Alawite sect, a minority in a mostly Sunni country" (Syria news, 2012, The New York Times). The president Bashar al-Assad inherited his current position from his father. At first, it was hoped that he would be more lenient than his father. He lifted the country's state of emergency, which had existed for decades and given the government the ability to exercise a heavy hand over the liberties of the people. However, when the state of emergency ended and the population began to grow more fractious, he began a series of crackdowns.

The opposition...
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