What, when and how of the Syrian civil war

The seven-year old Syrian civil war which has displaced 12 million people, killed half a million more and left over a million injured entered a fresh phase with the United States choosing to bomb a Syrian air base on Thursday. Here is a guide for those who have not followed the conflict.

When and how did the Syrian Civil war start?

The Syrian civil war has its roots in the Arab Spring that swept large parts of the Arab World in 2010. In 2011, this grew into an armed conflict after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government violently repressed protests demanding his removal.

On the other side is a loose alliance of Sunni Arab rebel groups, Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, Salafi jihadist groups, Islamic State of Iraq, Free Syrian Army, and the Levant Front. These Syrian opposition groups seized control of various areas such as Aleppo, Palmyra, another Unesco World Heritage site, Idlib, Qaryatayn, and parts of southern Syria.

According to Al Jazeera, the death in March 2011 of a 13-year old boy who was part of a group of 15 which was tortured by Assad’s security forces was the immediate trigger of the Syrian Civil War. The group had reportedly painted graffiti supportive of the Arab Spring.

How many have died in the civil war so far?

A UN report released in 2014, claimed that “at least 1,91369 people had died in the Syrian conflict.” Thereafter, the UN stopped collecting statistics. A study by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research, published in February 2016, put the death toll at 4,70,000, with 1.9 million wounded. 12 million residents have been forced to flee their home and become refugees.

Is it a Shia-Sunni conflict?

According to Al Jazeera, the death in March 2011 of a 13-year old boy who was part of a group of 15 which was tortured by Assad’s security forces was the immediate trigger of the Syrian Civil War. The group had reportedly painted graffiti supportive of the Arab Spring. It got complicated with Iran, with a predominantly Shia population, sided with Assad while Saudi Arabia, with a predominantly Sunni population, supported the opposition

Would the removal of the Assad regime help IS?

Terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has benefitted from the Syrian war. It senses an opportunity in the fighting between Assad’s forces and the Free Syrian Army, as it mobilised radical Sunni fighters and launched its separate offensive in a bid to create its own state. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that by June 2014, IS was in control of large chunks of territory in both Syria and Iraq, and declared their caliphate. In fact, the fear is that the removal or weakening of the Assad regime would only make the IS very powerful.

When did Russia get involved?

In September 2016, Russia began air raids during nights on rebel-held parts of Aleppo. Russia’s ruthlessness to destroy Aleppo from the air to bring about a decisive end to the conflict, even at the cost of huge civilian casualties, led to the fall of Allepo to the Syrian government in December 2016.

The fall of Alleppo is seen as the “turning point” in Syria’s civil war, with Syrian President Assad to call it “historic.” On the other hand, the brutal battle has evoked widespread criticism.

According to sources quoted by The Guardian, Russian officials were present at the Syrian airbase before planes loaded with chemical weapons took off and gassed civilians in nearby rebel-held areas.

Why did the US bomb Syria now?

The US President Donald Trump justified Thursday’s bombing of the al-Shayrat airbase by claiming that it was used to carry out air missions to drop the chemical weapons, reported The Guardian. The US strike comprised 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from US naval ships stationed in the Mediterranean Sea.

The recent strikes mark a departure from Washington’s earlier position of not getting directly involved in the strife-torn country. The US has been treading a cautious line on Syria since 2011, not wanting to get involved in another foreign conflict after Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Trump justified the strikes as being “vital” to the national security interests of the US. "Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children,” Trump reportedly said from his holiday home in Florida, where he was hosting visiting Chinese President Xi Jingping in what was their first face-to-face meeting.

"It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."

Is the American response a message to China?

News website Vox noted that America’s response was a very calculated one intended to send out a strong message against the use of banned chemical weapons, which were last used during the first World War.

What are the repercussions of America’s strikes?

Russia is warning that American strikes on Syria would damage bilateral relations. According to AP reports in The Guardian, the Russian military says it will help Syria strengthen its air defences after the US strike on a Syrian air base.

What is India’s stand in the Syrian conflict?

Traditionally, India has been more supportive of the Bashar al-Assad who it sees as a bulwark against the Islamic State. The Syrian autocrat visited India in 2008, and several high-level Syrian officials have visited New Delhi since the start of the civil war to lobby India for a more active role in the conflict, according to a news website War on Rocks report in April 2016.

New Delhi had reportedly expressed support for the Russian air strikes against IS. However, India’s official stand is also encouraging of UN-led peace talks to end the Syrian crisis, which New Delhi believes cannot be solved militarily.

War on Rocks noted that India’s position on Syria had been rather “contradictory.”

Compiled by Dhairya Maheshwari