The Concise Guide to the Syria Situation

Feb 5, 2012
Jake Quade

Syrian Uprising - shamsnn

The media is currently ablaze with footage from Syria, where it's the people vs the government. This is the concise guide to the Syria situation.

All media forms worldwide are currently ablaze with the political and social uproar occurring in Syria, where protestors are continuing to rally against prime minister Bashar al-Assad. This war between the government and its people has been ongoing for over a year, and since its beginning blood has been spilled in the crudest of forms, with attacks occurring instantaneously and anywhere possible, from sports grounds to entire cities, and what's worse is that the end is not in sight yet. From raids to revenge, corrupted military to 13-year-old boys, this is a concise, chronological guide to the continuing struggle in Syria.

May 2011

These power plays between protestors and the government have existed for years, however in May 2011 the attacks rapidly became more frequent, furious and devastating than in the past. During the siege of Talkalakh, on the 14th of May 2011, the government banned food being sent to the city of Daraa, in an intentional effort to starve protestors out of their uprising against the leader of their country, Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian military had, at this point, been shelling and bombing cities known to house a high population of protestors, particularly the city of Homs, each attack ending in a consecutively higher civilian death count.

Another exemplar of the insensitive acts of violence enforced upon the people by al-Assad arose on the 21st of May, when security forces in Homs fired on a funeral procession, killing 22 mourners. Though these people were merely burying their deceased, the security force members were required to carry out their orders, as the punishment for a soldier refusing to do so, was execution. Corruption continued within the political system, and soon it surfaced again, this time toward a 13- year-old boy.

The 28th of May 2011 parallels recent events in symbolizing the struggle of the Syrian people, when a 13-year-old boy was dragged to his parents by military soldiers. However, it was solely for burial, as his body was riddled with bullets, his kneecaps, jaw and neck were broken, and his genitals mutilated. This young boy had been taken into custody a month earlier, on the 29th of April, and had not been released. Footage of the lifeless boy had been captured by someone present at the time, and within moments it was viewed by millions of people on the popular video streaming website YouTube.com, sparking worldwide support on social networks such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, which dedicates a fan-page to this young boy.

2012 Riots

International attention was gained yet again on the 3rd of February, 2012, when a riot between protestors broke out during a soccer match in Egypt, killing 79 people. Police were called to subdue the crowd, yet over 200 policeman were also injured. This riot incited attacks within Syria from the activists aimed at the government, as those close to the Syrian spectators that were both attacking and attacked that day grew restless, given no support had been given to those wounded in the riot. Lack of security and the current state of unrest lead to this attack, which ended almost as quickly as it had began, however the government soon had it's revenge.

That same day the Syrian military took to Homs with bombs and shells, this time in a punishing response to the riot caused by the people at the soccer match, however the 79 killed at the soccer riot paled in comparison to the alleged 400 dead and 700 injured during the bombing of Homs by the soldiers. They also closed the roadways to and from the city, preventing access to food, water and hospitals. This meant the wounded were being assisted by local doctors in makeshift tents, however most of those with head or chest wounds died from the trauma. It's no surprise that Omar Shakir, an activist, claims that "Assad has lost control of this city and became mad".He is further backed up by the head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman, who confirmed that "from the 19th of March till now, this is the bloodiest day in Syria".

International Recognition Grows

With the global coverage of the Syrian situation many protestors outside of the country have also showed signs of revolt against the nations leader, with seven embassies across the planet having been damaged by Syrian supporters, including the Syrian embassy in Canberra, Australia, which was attacked by up to 40 men. This event parallels an identical storming on the 6th of April 1992, when 10-15 men assaulted staff, set fire to documents and vandalised and destroyed property. Arrests were also made in London and Athens, as well as the embassy in Berlin being attacked by a crowd of 20 people.

UNSC Action and Refusal

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) promptly created a draft resolution to end the conflict in Syria, that the government would be immediately responsible and held accountable for all casualties and harm it has caused and may continue to cause, and urged Bashar al-Assad to step down from his presidency. This resolution was drafted swiftly, that it may immediately be made viable, however Russia and China both vetoed the draft, canceling out its power. The following quote is taken directly from the responding Syrian National Council (SNC) press release:

"The Syrian National Council (SNC), which participated in the UNSC deliberations all week, condemns the governments of Moscow and Beijing for obstructing the passage of the draft resolution. The SNC holds both governments accountable for the escalation of killings and genocide, and considers this irresponsible step a license for the Syrian regime to kill without being held accountable."

No End in Sight

Government corruption, lack of an efficient, working constitution and the reign of a totalitarian system all started, and continue to fuel this feud. Fighting helplessly for their own rights and the downfall of a corrupted government regime, the suffering people of Syria have currently been vetoed out of any support made available to them, and whilst the UNSC have made every effort to provide support to these people, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged the veto's power, saying the Security Council "lost an opportunity to take unified action". Hard times for the Syrian people are looking to become a lot harder very quickly.