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Syrian Civil War

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SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
Gen
1. The Syrian civil war also commonly known as the Syrian uprising is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Baath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were part of the wider Middle Eastern protest movement known as the Arab Spring. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held the presidency in Syria since 1971, as well as the end to over four decades of Baath Party rule. In April 2011, the Syrian Army was deployed to quell the uprising. After months of military sieges, the protests evolved into an armed rebellion.
Background
2. The Ba'ath Party government came to power in 1964 after a coup on 1966, another coup overthrew the traditional leaders of the party, Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. In 1970, the Defence Minister Hafez al-Assad seized power and declared himself President, a position he would hold until his death in 2000.
3. In 1982, at the height of a six-year Islamist armed insurgency throughout the country, Hafez al-Assad conducted a scorched earth policy against Islamist-held quarters inside the town of Hama to quell an uprising by the Sunni Islamist community, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists and others. This ruthless crackdown became known as the Hama massacre, which left tens of thousands dead.
4. The issue of President Hafez al-Assad's succession prompted the 1999 Latakia protests, when violent protests and armed clashes erupted following the 1998 Syrian People's Assembly elections. The violent events were an explosion of a long-running feud between Hafez al-Assad and his influential younger brother Rifaat. Hafez al-Assad died one year later, from pulmonary

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