Syrian Conflict
We´re just living on the edge of life. We´re always nervous. We´re always afraid.¨ |
What is the Syrian Civil War?
The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided, armed conflict, primarily fought between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and his allies on one side and various forces opposing him.
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Why has the Syrian conflict gone on for so long?
Most civil wars end when one side loses. Either it is defeated militarily, or it exhausts its weapons or loses popular support and has to give up. About a quarter of civil wars end in a peace deal, often because both sides are exhausted. That might have happened in Syria: The core combatants — the government and the rebels who began fighting it in 2011 — are quite weak and, on their own, cannot sustain the fight for long. But they are not on their own. Each side is backed by foreign powers — including the United States, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and now Turkey — whose interventions have suspended the usual laws of nature. Forces that would normally slow the conflict’s inertia are absent, allowing it to continue far longer than it otherwise would.
How many people died?
Estimates of deaths in the Syrian Civil War, per opposition activist groups, vary between 321,358 and 470,000. On 23 April 2016, the United Nations and Arab League Envoy to Syria put out an estimate of 400,000 that had died in the war.
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If you have outside intervention on both sides, duration is significantly greater.” |