Syria’s Overview

Syria has now been at war for eight years, and if anything it is getting worse. Peaceful protests turned into a civil war, which has now turned to a conflict of global dimensions playing out in Syria.

The main players

First of all, it is crucial to understand who is involved and in which way. On top of all we have got the forces of President Bashar al Assad, whose allies are: Russia, Iran, Hezbollah (Lebanese Shia movement) and Shia Muslism Militias. On the other hand we have got the rebels and their allies: Turkey, USA, Jordan and Gulf Arab States (Qatar, Saudi Arabia). Up in the North are the Kurds, an ethnic group spread across the region. They are not exactly a part of this war as they are fighting for the autonomy against Islamic State.

How did the Syrian war start?

Now let’s take a closer look to how everything began. In 2011, successful insurrections, known as the Arab Spring, toppled Tunisia’s and Egypt’s presidents, which gave hope to Syrian pro-democracy activists for a better future. A little later peaceful protest erupted in Syria as well, after 15 boys were detained and tortured for writing graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded to the protests by killing and imprisoning demonstrators. In July 2011, the Free Syrian Army was formed. It was basically a rebel group aiming to overthrow the government. At this point Syria began to slide into a civil war. Today, after eight years of displacement and destruction, Syria’s crisis has impacted the world in many ways and has created serious as well as complicated issues.

Syria’s now-Humanitarian crisis

When it comes to the impacts of Syria’s crisis to the world, this conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. Over half of the country’s pre-war population, which means more than 12 million people, have been killed or forced to leave their homes. Life expectancy rates have fallen more than 20 years and there is a 60% unemployment rate. At the same time 80% of families are living in miserable poverty and are partially surviving on financial support from relatives abroad. Others are trying to make a new home in neighbouring countries. Children in danger and distress, violence and collapsed infrastructure, are some of the main reasons Syrians are leaving their country. The majority of Syria’s refugees have across borders to neighbouring countries but remain in the Middle East.

The war has had outsized influence on global politics. Here are the most significant ways it has made an impact.

The rise of Isis

The Islamic State, or ISIS is a militant organization that emerged as an offshoot of Al Qaeda in 2014. It took advantage of growing instability in Iraq and Syria to carry out attacks and bolster its ranks. It quickly took control of large parts in those countries, raising its black flag in victory and declaring the creation of a caliphate and imposing strict Islamic rule. The expansion went largely unchecked by the Syrian government, busy fighting opponents in its more populated regions closer to the Mediterranean coast.

IS has sparked deep anxieties in the region and around the world by slaughtering minorities, institutionalizing sex slavery, vanquishing state armies, and executing opponents in gruesome spectacles of violence. It destroyed heritage sites, such as temples in the ancient city of Palmyra, and fueled the global antiquities trade. The group has waged terror attacks from France to Yemen and has established a beachhead in northern Libya that could outlast its so-called “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq. Perhaps most confounding, thousands of young men and women from Europe — not all of Muslim origin — have flocked to join it.

Resurgent Russia

According to Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, “There is one man on this planet who can end the civil war in Syria by making a phone call and that’s Mr.Putin “

Russian President Vladimir Putin has established a renewed Middle East foothold after watching for years as the United States called shots in the region. On September 2016, after showering arms, advisers, and economic assistance on President Bashar Assad to insufficient effect, Putin sent his air force to pound the Syrian government’s opponents. The recent ebb in violence is largely because Russia dictated it. Russia’s designs for Syria are still veiled, but whoever leads Syria next will largely owe their chair to Putin. Before Syria, there was Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, precursors to the current intervention, where Putin was unafraid to show the lengths he would go to protect perceived Russian interests. Now, Russia is positioned as a major broker in the region with significant oil and gas wealth.

Europe destabilized

In 2015, thousands of people have died trying to cross by sea, posing a moral challenge for the continent. The stream, which continues unabated, has brought on both generosity and xenophobia, ultimately shaking the open-border arrangement to the core.

Europeans are now erecting barriers along the migrants’ Balkan route from Greece to Germany, after initially allowing entry to hundreds of thousands. Multitudes fester in squalid conditions in southeastern Europe. Many face legal limbo around the continent, waiting for asylum applications to be processed or residing without permits. Europe is now exploring a deal to send all migrants arriving in Greece back to Turkey, in exchange for admitting pre-selected refugees from Syria. On top of its currency crisis, the mass migration has strained Europe’s unity to the limit.

Syria’s civil war has indisputably become the great tragedy of this century. It began during the Arab Spring in 2011 as a peaceful uprising against the country’s president, Bashar al-Assad and it has since escalated, shattering the lives of Syrians, destroying cities, straining global politics, and spurring diplomatic efforts that are constantly questioned as the world witnesses the horrors of ongoing warfare. All we can hope for is peace in Syria.

Betty Tsakarestou Georgia Staikou Arviola Skempi @NikosKontomitros Anastasia Papathanasiou Lida.Charitonidis