{{short description|Revolution in Syria (2011–2024)}} {{Other uses|Syrian revolution (disambiguation)}} {{pp-sock|small=yes}} {{Update|part=between 2012 and 2025|date=March 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox civil conflict | title = Syrian revolution | partof = the Syrian civil war, First Arab Spring, Arab Winter, and the Second Arab Spring | image = frameless|upright=1.2 | caption = Demonstration in Homs against the Syrian government, 18 April 2011 | place = Ba'athist Syria | coordinates = | date = {{start date|df=yes|2011|03|15}} – {{end date|df=yes|2024|12|08}}<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=03|day1=15|year1=2011|month2=12|day2=08|year2=2024}}) | time = | timezone = | status = | methods = * Civil resistance * Insurgency * Riots * Demonstrations * Army defections | causes = * Government corruption<ref>{{cite news |author=Oliver, Christin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/interactive/2010/oct/26/corruption-index-2010-countries-world |title=Corruption Index 2010: The Most Corrupt Countries in the World – Global Development | website=The Guardian |date=26 October 2010 |access-date=10 April 2011 |location=London | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917120738/http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/interactive/2010/oct/26/corruption-index-2010-countries-world |archive-date=17 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> * Unemployment * Aftermath of 1970s Islamist uprising in Syria and 1982 Hama massacre * Totalitarian rule * Political repression * State sponsored sectarianism<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24523162 |year=2015 |first1=Christopher |last1=Phillips |title=Sectarianism and conflict in Syria |journal=Third World Quarterly |publisher=Taylor & Francus |pages=357–376 |quote=The greatest responsibility for sectarianising the conflict lies with the regime |volume=36 |issue=2 |doi=10.1080/01436597.2015.1015788 |jstor=24523162 |s2cid=144558644 |access-date=20 October 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021082818/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24523162 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43698560 |year=2014 |first1=Vincent |last1=Droz- , Philippe |title="State of Barbary" (Take Two): From the Arab Spring to the Return of Violence in Syria |journal=Middle East Journal |publisher=Middle East Institute |pages=33–58 |quote=The use and abuse of sectarianism has been a foundational feature of Assad family rule since November 1970. |volume=68 |issue=1 |doi=10.3751/68.1.12 |jstor=43698560 |s2cid=143177306 |access-date=20 October 2023 |archive-date=6 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106061339/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43698560 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sectarian Violence in Syria's Civil War|publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|pages=2, 4, 9|first1=Frederic, Alex |last1=C. Hof, Simon |quote=Alawites, in the service of a family-based regime trying desperately to save itself, have played a central role in violations of human rights and international law that include indiscriminate artillery and aerial bombardments of villages, summary executions, and massacres of civilians. Sunni Arabs.. have inevitably borne the overwhelming brunt of this abuse..This period has witnessed.. the rise to power of an Alawite-dominated regime whose forty-year reign preached secularism only to deepen sectarian fault-lines when challenged, laying the groundwork for a civil war that has torn Syria's complex ethno-religious tapestry... the 1963 coup was accompanied by a dramatic surge of Alawite power in the military leadership. This trend of Alawite consolidation was accelerated by systematic discrimination against Sunnis among the Ba'ath's military adherents, as Alawites sought to further enhance their control.}}</ref> * Clampdown on Damascus Spring * Nepotism of ruling elites * Discrimination of ethnic minorities * Torture and death of children in one of Daraa's prisons * Killing and mutilation of Hamza Ali al-Khateeb | goals = * Overthrow of Bashar al-Assad<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8574780/content/65292887-syria-s-president-bashar-al-assad-meets-danish-foreign-minister-lene-espersen-in-damascus |title=The Assad Poison |publisher=AllVoices |date=24 March 2011 |first=Saad |last=Zafar |access-date=20 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511184554/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8574780/content/65292887-syria-s-president-bashar-al-assad-meets-danish-foreign-minister-lene-espersen-in-damascus |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/18/bashar-assad-resignation-syria-protest_n_850657.html|title=Bashar Assad Resignation Called For By Syria Sit-In Activists|last=Mroue|first=Bassem|date=18 June 2011|website=The Huffington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231305/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/18/bashar-assad-resignation-syria-protest_n_850657.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=9 February 2017}}</ref> * Democratic reforms<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110408|title=Pro-democracy protests sweep Syria, 22 killed|last1=Oweis|first1=Khaled|date=8 April 2011|newspaper=Reuters|access-date=8 August 2011|last2=al-Khalidi|first2=Suleiman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305054417/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110408|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> * Regime change<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3174120.htm|title=Syrian protestors want a regime change|last=Colvin|first=Mark|date=25 March 2011|website=ABC News|access-date=5 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429090000/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3174120.htm|archive-date=29 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> * Expanded civil rights<ref name="violence-syria">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/violence-erupts-syria-jordan-anti-government-protestors-shot-stoned-article-1.119741|title=Violence erupts in Syria, Jordan; anti-government protestors shot, stoned|last=McShane|first=Larry|date=25 March 2011|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=25 March 2011|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102223518/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/violence-erupts-syria-jordan-anti-government-protestors-shot-stoned-article-1.119741|archive-date=2 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> * Abolition of the Supreme State Security Court * Lifting of the emergency law<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011419135036463804.html|title=Syria to lift decades-old emergency law|date=19 April 2011|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=25 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122061122/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011419135036463804.html|archive-date=22 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> * Equal rights for Kurds among other minorities | result = Syrian opposition victory {{blist | Outbreak of full-scale civil war (2012) | Fall of the Assad regime (2024) }} | side1 = {{ubl | {{flagicon|Syria|1980}} Syrian government | {{flagicon image|Flag of the Ba'ath Party.svg}} Ba'ath Party | Shabiha{{sfnp|Cooper|2015|p=21}} }} | side2 = {{tree list}} * {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syrian opposition{{Ref|opposition|a}} ** {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Syrian_Salvation_Government.svg}} Syrian Salvation Government ** {{flagicon|Syrian opposition}} Syrian Interim Government {{tree list/end}} | leadfigures1 = {{flagicon|Syria|1980}} Bashar al-Assad<br>{{flagicon|Syria|1980}} Maher al-Assad<br>{{flagicon|Syria|1980}} Ali Abdullah Ayyoub | leadfigures2 = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Syrian_Salvation_Government.svg}} Ahmed al-Sharaa<br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Syrian_Salvation_Government.svg}} Mohammed al-Bashir <br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Moaz al-Khatib<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Hadi al-Bahra | casualties3 = '''During the protest'''<br>Over 12,617 arrested; 3,000 civilians forcibly disappeared (by 28 July)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/archive/almost_3000_missing_in_syria_crackdown_ngo_says#ixzz1TTNgLD2t|title=Almost 3,000 missing in Syria crackdown, NGO says|date=28 July 2011|newspaper=NOW News|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081018/https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/archive/almost_3000_missing_in_syria_crackdown_ngo_says#ixzz1TTNgLD2t|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><br> 1,800<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hosted2.ap.org/IDMOS/e0478123c3cf489bb836130ffdbd2b5f/Article_2011-08-17-ML-Syria/id-82ee0db281ac4560b43a4aef39d032e0|title=Syrian troops detain dozens, 3 killed in north|first=AP|last=Story|access-date=22 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084209/http://hosted2.ap.org/IDMOS/e0478123c3cf489bb836130ffdbd2b5f/Article_2011-08-17-ML-Syria/id-82ee0db281ac4560b43a4aef39d032e0|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>–2,154 killed<ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/17/syria.unrest/index.html| title=As Syria flares, some U.N.'ers take flight| access-date=17 August 2011| work=CNN| date=18 August 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817170519/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/17/syria.unrest/index.html| archive-date=17 August 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref><br>'''During the civil war'''<br>Around 620,000 killed (by December 2024)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/world/middleeast/syria-civil-war-death-toll.html | title=How Many People Have Died in Syria’s Civil War? | work=The New York Times | date=11 December 2024 | accessdate=22 May 2025}}</ref><br>''(See Casualties of the Syrian civil war for details)'' | notes = {{Note label|opposition|a}} During the civil uprising in the first half of 2011, the Syrian opposition used the same flag of Syria as the Syrian government.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2086062,00.html|title=Syrian Military Attacks Protesters in Hama|magazine=Time |author=Rania Abouzeid|date=1 August 2011|quote=A giant Syrian flag is held by the crowd during a protest against President Bashar Assad in the city center of Hama on July 29, 2011|access-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411125032/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2086062,00.html|archive-date=11 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/world/middleeast/01syria.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all|title=Coalition of Factions From the Streets Fuels a New Opposition in Syria|work=The New York Times |author-link=Anthony Shadid |author=Anthony Shadid|date=30 June 2011|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010071319/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/world/middleeast/01syria.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> | campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Syrian Civil War}} {{Campaignbox civil uprising phase of the Syrian Civil War}} }}
The '''Syrian revolution''' was a series of mass protests and civilian uprisings throughout Syria – with a subsequent violent reaction by the Ba'athist regime – lasting from 2011 to 2024<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrians mark revolution anniversary with roses, songs and tight security |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/15/syrians-mark-revolution-anniversary-with-roses-songs-and-tight-security |date=15 March 2025 |access-date=19 March 2025 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Umar |first=Baba |title=Syria says 'great revolution' triumphed, December 8 is new National Day |url=https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/syria-says-great-revolution-triumphed-december-8-is-new-national-day-18259397 |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Syria says 'great revolution' triumphed, December 8 is new National Day |language=en}}</ref> as part of the greater Arab Spring in the Arab world. The revolution, which demanded the end of the decades-long Assad family rule, began as minor demonstrations during January 2011 and transformed into large nationwide protests in March. The uprising was marked by mass protests against the Ba'athist dictatorship of president Bashar al-Assad meeting police and military violence, massive arrests and a brutal crackdown, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and tens of thousands wounded.{{Efn|Sources: * <ref name="Katerji 2021">{{cite web | last=Katerji | first=Oz | title=Damascus's False Reconciliation Failed in Daraa | website=Foreign Policy | date=2021-08-11 | url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/11/syria-assad-false-reconciliation-failed-daraa/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811193817/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/11/syria-assad-false-reconciliation-failed-daraa/ | archive-date=11 August 2021 |access-date=2023-03-22|quote=More than a decade ago, as protests erupted across the Middle East in a series of democratic uprisings that became known as the Arab Spring, [Daraa] was the first place in Syria to cast off the shackles of 40 years of Ba'athist dictatorship.}}</ref> * <ref name="Laub 2019">{{cite web | last=Laub | first=Zachary | title=Syria's War and the Descent Into Horror | website=Council on Foreign Relations | date=2019-10-15 | url=https://www.cfr.org/article/syrias-civil-war | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307183412/https://www.cfr.org/article/syrias-civil-war | archive-date= 7 March 2023| access-date=2023-03-22|quote=Twelve years after protesters in Syria first demonstrated against the four-decade rule of the Assad family, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed}}</ref> * <ref name="UN News 2011">{{cite web | title=UN human rights office renews call on Syria to end brutal crackdown | website=UN News | date=2011-09-23 | url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/09/388272 | access-date=2023-03-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322135653/https://news.un.org/en/story/2011/09/388272 | archive-date=22 March 2023 |quote="We are extremely alarmed by ongoing reports of the increasingly brutal crackdown by Syrian authorities against protestors in Syria," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).}}</ref> * <ref name="France 24 2011">{{cite web | title=Troops open fire on protests as crackdown continues | website=France 24 | date=2011-06-17 | url=https://www.france24.com/en/20110617-army-troops-crackdown-northern-towns-spreading-protests-syria-sheikhun-banias | access-date=2023-03-22|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110620180915/https://www.france24.com/en/20110617-army-troops-crackdown-northern-towns-spreading-protests-syria-sheikhun-banias| archive-date= 20 June 2011 |quote=The uprising has proven to be the boldest challenge to the Assad family's 40-year dynasty in Syria. [Assad] inherited power in 2000, raising hopes that [he] might transform his late father's stagnant and brutal dictatorship into a modern state... Now, as his regime escalates a brutal crackdown, it seems increasingly unlikely that he will regain any political legitimacy.}}</ref>}} 13 years after the start of the revolution, the Assad regime fell in 2024 after a series of rebel offensives.
The phase of civil uprising created a platform for the emergence of armed opposition movements and massive defections from the Syrian army, which gradually transformed the conflict from a popular uprising/revolution into an armed insurgency, and subsequently a civil war. On 29 July 2011, the Free Syrian Army was formed, marking the beginning of armed operations against the Assad government. Since then, the conflict has taken the form of an armed rebellion, with the civil movement largely ceasing and members of the opposition resorting to armed struggle.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oweis |first=Khaled Yacoub |title=Fear barrier crumbles in Syrian "kingdom of silence" |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-fear-idUSTRE72L3ME20110322 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019110201/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-fear-idUSTRE72L3ME20110322 |archive-date=2018-10-19 |access-date=2026-01-08 |work=U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref>
Despite Assad's attempts to crush the protests with crackdowns, censorship and concessions, the mass protests had become a full-blown revolution by the end of April. The Ba'athist government deployed its ground troops and airforce, ordering them to fight the rebels. The regime's deployment of large-scale violence against protestors and civilians led to international condemnation of the Assad government and support for the protestors. Discontent among soldiers led to massive defections from the Syrian Arab Army, while people began to form opposition militias across the country, gradually transforming the revolution from a civil uprising to an armed rebellion, and later a full-scale civil war. The Free Syrian Army was formed on 29 July 2011, marking the beginning of an armed insurgency.
As the Syrian insurgency progressed in October–December 2011, protests against the government simultaneously strengthened across northern, southern and western Syria. The uprisings were crushed by massive crackdowns, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of casualties, which angered many across the country. The regime also deployed sectarian ''Shabiha'' death squads to attack the protestors. Protests and revolutionary activities by students and the youth continued despite aggressive suppression. As opposition militias began capturing vast swathes of territory throughout 2012, the United Nations officially declared the clashes in Syria as a civil war in June 2012.
On 9 May 2011, the Syrian army entered a new phase, marked by the siege and invasion of Homs, the third largest city in Syria, which had witnessed demonstrations estimated to be attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Simultaneously, areas in the Homs countryside were subjected to military operations, leading to the siege of Talkalakh, followed by the sieges of Rastan and Talbiseh.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-03 |title=سورية: أنباء عن مقتل 34 في محافظة حماه |url=https://www.bbc.com/arabic/middleeast/2011/06/110603_syria_rastan_killing |access-date=2026-01-08 |website=BBC News عربي |language=ar}}</ref>
The unprecedented violence led to global backlash, with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) convening an emergency session on 29 April 2011, and tasking a fact-finding mission to investigate the scale of atrocities in Syria. The investigation by the commission concluded that the Syrian Arab Army, secret police and Ba'athist paramilitaries engaged in massacres, forced disappearances, summary executions, show-trials, torture, assassinations, and persecution and abductions of suspects from hospitals, amongst others, with an official "shoot-to-kill" policy from the government. The UNHRC report published on 18 August stated that the atrocities amounted to crimes against humanity, with High Commissioner Navi Pillai urging Security Council members to prosecute al-Assad in the International Criminal Court. A second emergency session convened by the UNHRC on 22 August 2011 condemned the Assad government's atrocities and called for an immediate cessation of all military operations and engagement in Syrian-led political process, with numerous countries demanding Assad's resignation.
Finally in December 2024, the Syrian revolution achieved its main goal of achieving the fall of the Assad regime after Assad fled to Moscow. The fall of Damascus ended the Assad regime as the Syrian prime minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali handed over power to the revolutionaries and they formed the Syrian transitional government.
== Background == {{see also|Syrian Civil War#Background|Background and causes of the Syrian revolution|label 1=Background of the Syrian civil war}}
At the onset of the Arab Spring, Ba'athist Syria was considered as the most restrictive police state in the Arab World; with a tight system of regulations on the movement of civilians, independent journalists and other unauthorized individuals. Reporters Without Borders listed Syria as the 6th worst country in its 2010 Press Freedom Index.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowen |first=Jeremy |title=The Arab Uprisings: The People Want the Fall of the Regime |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2013 |isbn=9781471129827 |pages=14, 15, 118, 341 |chapter=Prologue: Before the Spring}}</ref><ref name="rsf.org">{{cite web |title=RSF |url=https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2010 |website=RSF: Reporters Without Borders |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-date=3 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503103623/https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Before the uprising in Syria began in mid-March 2011, protests were relatively modest, considering the wave of unrest that was spreading across the Arab world. Until March 2011, for decades Syria had remained superficially tranquil, largely due to fear among the people of the secret police arresting critical citizens.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-fear-idUSTRE72L3ME20110322|title=Fear barrier crumbles in Syrian "kingdom of silence"|last=Yacoub Oweis|first=Khaled|date=22 March 2011|newspaper=Reuters|access-date=10 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080725/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-fear-idUSTRE72L3ME20110322|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> A previous large scale uprising in the country against the rule of Ba'athist President Hafez Al-Assad was brutally crushed, culminating in the 1982 Hama massacre, during which over 40,000 civilians were killed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Conduit |first1=Dara |title=The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the Spectacle of Hama |journal=Middle East Journal |date=2016 |volume=70 |issue=2 |page=211}}</ref>{{sfnp|Lefèvre|2013|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}}}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ou.edu/mideast/Additional%20pages%20-%20non-catagory/Sufism%20in%20Syriawebpage.htm |title=Sufism and Sufi Brotherhoods in Syria and Palestine|work=ou.edu}}</ref>
Following the death of Hafez Al-Assad in 2000, his son Bashar Al-Assad inherited the presidency. This coincided with a brief period of liberalization and debate regarding the country's future, in the form of the Damascus Spring, but hopes of Bashar pursuing a reformist agenda were dashed when his forces arrested many of the leaders of this movement, putting an end to it by late 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/the-fall-of-the-damascus-spring/article1212439/|title=The fall of the Damascus Spring|work=The Globe and Mail|date=10 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/node/10646/section/4#_ftn11|title = No Room to Breathe: State Repression of Human Rights Activism in Syria| journal=Human Rights Watch |date = 16 October 2007}}</ref> After winning the 2007 presidential election in Syria with 99.82% of the declared votes, Bashar al-Assad implemented numerous measures that further intensified political and cultural repression in Syria.<ref name="Flock">{{Cite news |last=Flock |first=Elizabeth |date=15 March 2011 |title=Syria revolution: A revolt brews against Bashar al- Assad's regime |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/post/syria-revolution-revolt-against-bashar-al--assads-regime/2011/03/15/ABrwNEX_blog.html |access-date=17 February 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=11 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511085645/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/post/syria-revolution-revolt-against-bashar-al--assads-regime/2011/03/15/ABrwNEX_blog.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Assad government expanded travel bans against numerous dissidents, intellectuals, authors and artists living in Syria; preventing them and their families from travelling abroad. In September 2010, ''The Economist'' newspaper described the Syrian government as "the worst offender among Arab states", which engaged in imposing travel bans and restricted free movement of people. Over 400 individuals in Syria were reportedly restricted by Assad regime's travel bans in 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 September 2010 |title=How Syria controls its dissidents: Banning travel |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2010/09/30/banning-travel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812024156/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2010/09/30/banning-travel |archive-date=12 August 2018 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref> During this period, the Assad government arrested numerous journalists and shut down independent press centres, in addition to tightening its censorship of the internet.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Predators: Bashar Al-Assad |url=http://en.rsf.org/predator-bashar-al-assad%2C37213.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508005729/http://en.rsf.org/predator-bashar-al-assad,37213.html |archive-date=8 May 2010 |work=Reporters Without Borders}}</ref>
Factors contributing to social disenchantment in Syria include socio-economic stress caused by the Iraqi conflict, as well as the most intense drought ever recorded in the region.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/science/earth/study-links-syria-conflict-to-drought-caused-by-climate-change.html|title=Researchers Link Syrian Conflict to a Drought Made Worse by Climate Change|last=Fountain|first=Henry|date=2 March 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=23 April 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425175902/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/science/earth/study-links-syria-conflict-to-drought-caused-by-climate-change.html|archive-date=25 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> For decades, the Syrian economy, army and government had been dominated by patronage networks of Ba'ath party elites and Alawite clients loyal to the Assad family. The Assad dynasty held a firm grip over most sectors of the Syrian economy and corruption was endemic in the public and private sectors. The pervasive nature of corruption had been a source of controversy within the Ba'ath party circles as well as the wider public; as early as the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=M. Sadowski |first=Yahya |date=1987 |title=Patronage and the Ba'th: Corruption and Control in Contemporary Syria |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41857946 |journal=Arab Studies Quarterly |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=442–461 |jstor=41857946 }}</ref> The persistence of corruption, sectarian bias, nepotism and widespread bribery that existed in party, bureaucracy and military led to popular anger that resulted in the large-scale protests of the revolution.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gersh |first=Nick |date=6 February 2017 |title=The Role of Corruption in the Syrian Civil War |url=https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2017/02/06/the-role-of-corruption-in-the-syrian-civil-war/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219152118/https://globalanticorruptionblog.com/2017/02/06/the-role-of-corruption-in-the-syrian-civil-war/ |archive-date=19 February 2017 |website=GAB}}</ref> Describing the presidency of Bashar al-Assad, his exiled cousin Ribal al-Assad stated in 2010, months before the start of the revolution: "He is still governing under the ghost of his father. Each person in Syria has an interest in the secret service. Bashar should have declared national unity as soon as he took over. He did things bit by bit, with internet cafes and so on. But it was not enough. There was no real change."<ref name="fisk">{{cite news|last=Fisk|first=Robert|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-freedom-democracy-and-human-rights-in-syria-2080463.html|title=Freedom, democracy and human rights in Syria|work=The Independent|date=16 September 2010|access-date=2 January 2020}}</ref>
Minor protests calling for government reforms began in January, and continued into March. At this time, massive protests were occurring in Cairo against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and in Syria on 3 February via the websites Facebook and Twitter, activists called for a "Day of Rage" against the government to be held on Friday, 4 February.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna41400687|title='Day of Rage' Protest Urged in Syria|date=3 February 2011|work=NBC News|access-date=3 February 2011|archive-date=13 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913054615/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna41400687|url-status=live}}</ref> This did not result in protests.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703786804576137543866154926|title=Fall of Mubarak Shakes Middle East|last1=Levinson|first1=Charles|date=12 February 2011|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=10 February 2017|last2=Coker|first2=Margaret|issn=0099-9660|last3=Cairo|first3=Matt Bradley in|last4=Entous|first4=Adam|last5=Washington|first5=Jonathan Weisman in|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075542/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703786804576137543866154926|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/999|title=Graffiti Wars and Syria's Spray Man|last=al-khouy|first=Firas|date=6 October 2011|newspaper=Al Akhbar English|access-date=10 February 2017|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315010822/http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/999|archive-date=15 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Civil uprising (March–July 2011) ==
=== March 2011 uprising === {{main|Timeline of the Syrian civil war (January–April 2011)}}
{{see also|Your turn has come, O Doctor}} thumb|left|A wall with Anti-Assad graffiti "''liyaskuṭ Bašhār''" (trans. "''Down with Bashar!''") during the start of the revolution
In the southern city of Daraa, protests had been triggered on 6 March by the incarceration and torture of 15 young students, including Mouawiya Syasneh,<ref name=":12">{{cite web |title=Syria's Graffiti Boy Recalls Start of Deadly Conflict |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/life/syrias-graffiti-boy-recalls-start-of-deadly-conflict/1088949 |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=Anadolu Agency}}</ref> from prominent families who were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti in the city,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/world/middleeast/a-faceless-teenage-refugee-who-helped-ignite-syrias-war.html|title=A Faceless Teenage Refugee Who Helped Ignite Syria's War|last1=Fahim|first1=Kareem|date=8 February 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=10 February 2017|last2=Saad|first2=Hwaida|author2-link=Hwaida Saad |issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127070543/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/world/middleeast/a-faceless-teenage-refugee-who-helped-ignite-syrias-war.html|archive-date=27 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Droz-Vincent|first=Philippe|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-3256846461.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924204320/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-3256846461.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|title="State of Barbary" (Take Two): From the Arab Spring to the Return of Violence in Syria|journal=Middle East Journal|date=Winter 2014|volume=68|issue=1|pages=33–58|publisher=Middle East Institute|doi=10.3751/68.1.12|s2cid=143177306|url-access=subscription |via=HighBeam Research}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110423/syria-assad-protests-daraa|title=Syria: How it all began|last=Macleod|first=Hugh|date=23 April 2011|website=Public Radio International|access-date=17 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216063348/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110423/syria-assad-protests-daraa|archive-date=16 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> reading: "{{lang|ar|الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام}}" – ("The people want the fall of the regime") – a trademark slogan of the Arab Spring.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12794882|title=Middle East unrest: Silence broken in Syria|last=Sinjab|first=Lina|date=19 March 2011|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=10 February 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203173530/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12794882|archive-date=3 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DR">{{cite news |title=Middle East unrest: Silence broken in Syria |work=BBC News |date=19 March 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12794882 |access-date=7 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905112948/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12794882 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The boys also spray-painted the graffiti "''Your turn, Doctor''", alluding to Assad's previous career as an ophthalmologist in the United Kingdom. Security forces under the command of the city's security chief and the first cousin of President Assad, Atef Najib swiftly responded by rounding up the alleged perpetrators and detaining them for over a month, which set off large-scale protests in Daraa Governorate that quickly spread to other provinces. According to information given by interviewees to Human Rights Watch, protests in Daraa began peacefully, with demonstrators carrying olive branches, unbuttoning their shirts to show that they had no weapons, and chanting "peaceful, peaceful" to indicate that they posed no threat to the security forces.<ref name=":2" /> The Syrian Arab Army was soon deployed to shoot at the protests, resulting in a popular resistance movement led by locals, causing Daraa to become one of the first provinces to break free of regime control.<ref name="Katerji 2021" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Flock |first=Elizabeth |date=15 March 2011 |title=Syria revolution: A revolt brews against Bashar al- Assad's regime |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/syria-revolution-revolt-against-bashar-al--assads-regime/2011/03/15/ABrwNEX_blog.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430140921/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/syria-revolution-revolt-against-bashar-al--assads-regime/2011/03/15/ABrwNEX_blog.html |archive-date=30 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nassar |first=Alaa |date=18 March 2021 |title=The Syrian revolution on its 10th anniversary |url=https://syriadirect.org/the-syrian-revolution-on-its-10th-anniversary-no-regrets-but-longing-for-its-early-days/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318170753/https://syriadirect.org/the-syrian-revolution-on-its-10th-anniversary-no-regrets-but-longing-for-its-early-days/ |archive-date=18 March 2021 |website=Syria Direct}}</ref> Daraa would come to be known as the "Cradle of the Syrian Revolution".<ref name="Katerji 2021" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12749674|title=Mid-East unrest: Syrian protests in Damascus and Aleppo|date=15 March 2011|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=15 March 2013|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721134738/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12749674|archive-date=21 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
The government later claimed that the boys weren't attacked, and that Qatar incited the majority of the protests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VynWkRJPoeY&t=5m20s |title=President Assad's interview with SBS News Australia |via=YouTube |access-date=22 April 2018}}</ref> Writer and analyst Louai al-Hussein, referencing the Arab Spring ongoing at that time, wrote that "Syria is now on the map of countries in the region with an uprising".<ref name="DR" /> On 15 March, dubbed a "Day of Rage" by numerous demonstrators, pro-democracy activists and online opposition groups, hundreds of protestors marched in the city of Damascus, demanding Assad's overthrow. Over 35 protestors in Damascus were arrested by police forces in a subsequent crackdown ordered by Assad government.<ref name="Flock"/><ref>{{cite news |date=16 March 2011 |title=Middle East unrest: Syria arrests Damascus protesters |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12757394 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405021739/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12757394 |archive-date=5 April 2011 |access-date=27 January 2014 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> [[File:SyrianAngerRevolution.jpg|thumb|Syrian pro-democracy protest groups and activists launched a campaign to organise a "Day of Rage" demonstrations in Damascus and other cities on 25 March 2011. Online activists used social media networks like Facebook and Twitter to promote the protest campaign. This poster is also a reference to Che Guevara.]] In Daraa, demonstrators clashed with local police, and confrontations escalated on 18 March after Friday prayers. Security forces attacked protestors gathered at the Omari Mosque using water cannons and tear gas, followed by live fire, killing four.<ref>{{Citation|title = اقتحام الأمن السوري المسجد العمري في مدينة درعا|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFwHcU8AoAU|date = 23 March 2011|access-date = 17 February 2016|last = Al Jazeera Arabic قناة الجزيرة|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160322113013/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFwHcU8AoAU|archive-date = 22 March 2016|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/06/01/weve-never-seen-such-horror/crimes-against-humanity-syrian-security-forces|title=We've Never Seen Such Horror|date=1 June 2011|website=Human Rights Watch|access-date=17 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203222724/https://www.hrw.org/report/2011/06/01/weve-never-seen-such-horror/crimes-against-humanity-syrian-security-forces|archive-date=3 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 March, a crowd burned down the Ba'ath Party headquarters and other public buildings. Security forces quickly responded, firing live ammunition at crowds, and attacking the focal points of the demonstrations. The two-day assault resulted in the deaths of seven police officers<ref>{{cite web |title=Syria: Seven Police Killed, Buildings Torched in Protests |date=21 March 2011 |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143026#.VdOFupexlmE |publisher=Israel National News |access-date=18 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721021013/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143026#.VdOFupexlmE |archive-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> and fifteen protestors.<ref name="ISW 2011">{{cite journal | url=http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Struggle_For_Syria.pdf | title=The Struggle for Syria in 2011 | author=Holliday, Joseph | journal=Institute for the Study of War | date=December 2011 | access-date=22 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217042439/http://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Struggle_For_Syria.pdf | archive-date=17 December 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Meanwhile, minor protests occurred elsewhere in the country. Protestors demanded the release of political prisoners, the abolition of Syria's 48-year emergency law, more freedoms, and an end to pervasive government corruption.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/world/middleeast/21syria.html|title=Officers Fire on Crowd as Syrian Protests Grow|date=20 March 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=10 February 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116055223/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/world/middleeast/21syria.html?_r=1|archive-date=16 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The events led to a "''Friday of Dignity''" on 18 March, when large-scale protests broke out in several cities, including Banias, Damascus, al-Hasakah, Daraa, Deir az-Zor, and Hama. Police responded to the protests with tear gas, water cannons, and beatings. At least six people were killed and many others injured.<ref name="Recap">{{cite news|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329590|title=A recap of the Syrian crisis to date|last=Iddon|first=Paul|date=30 July 2012|work=Digital Journal|access-date=3 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623005235/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329590|archive-date=23 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 23 March, units of the Fourth Division led by Maher al-Assad stormed a gathering in a Sunni mosque in Daraa, killing five civilians. Victims included a doctor who was treating the wounded. Anger at the incident arose exponentially in the province and across the country. The regime attempted to simmer down the protests by announcing tax-cuts and pay rises the next day. On 25 March, tens of thousands of people participated in the funerals of those killed, chanting: "''We do not want your bread, we want dignity''". Statues and billboards of Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad were demolished.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Macleod |first=Hugh |date=25 April 2011 |title=Syria: how it all began |work=Global Post |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110423/syria-assad-protests-daraa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102220559/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110423/syria-assad-protests-daraa |archive-date=2 January 2014}}</ref>
On 25 March, mass protests spread nationwide, as demonstrators emerged after Friday prayers. At least 20 protestors were killed by security forces. Protests subsequently spread to other Syrian cities, including Homs, Hama, Baniyas, Jasim, Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia. Over 70 protestors in total were reported killed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html|title=Syrian Troops Open Fire on Protesters in Several Cities|last=Slackman|first=Michael|date=25 March 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=28 January 2013|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621011638/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html|archive-date=21 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="United States Institute of Peace 2021">{{cite web | title=Syria Timeline: Since the Uprising Against Assad | website=United States Institute of Peace | date=1 January 2021 | url=https://www.usip.org/syria-timeline-uprising-against-assad | access-date=15 October 2022 | archive-date=24 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224072630/https://www.usip.org/syria-timeline-uprising-against-assad | url-status=dead }}</ref>
In his public address delivered on 30 March, Assad said "conspirators" were pushing an "Israeli agenda",<ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |date=30 March 2011 |title= Assad blames conspirators for Syrian protests |website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/30/syrian-protests-assad-blames-conspirators|accessdate=2025-01-15|author1=Katherine Marsh |author2=Martin Chulov }}</ref> condemned the protests as a "foreign plot" and described those who were killed by the firing as a "sacrifice for national stability", sparking widespread outcry.<ref name="Macleod 0,1">{{Cite news |last=Macleod |first=Hugh |date=25 April 2011 |title=Syria: how it all began |work=Global Post |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110423/syria-assad-protests-daraa?page=0,1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429092638/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110423/syria-assad-protests-daraa?page=0,1 |archive-date=29 April 2011}}</ref> Assad said reforms in Syria could be considered, but only after the country stabilized and economic conditions improved. However, he did not specify which reforms would be implemented nor did he offer any timeframe for change.<ref name="guardian"/> A protestor who was the relative of one of the detained boys told reporters: <blockquote>"He didn't ask the MPs to stand for a minute's silence and he said those who were killed were sacrificial martyrs.. But here in Daraa, the army and security deal with us like traitors or agents for Israel. We hoped our army would fight and liberate the occupied Golan, not send tanks and helicopters to fight civilians."<ref name="Macleod 0,1"/></blockquote>
=== Crackdown === {{main|Syrian government response to the Syrian revolution}}
[[File:Syrian Demonstration Douma Damascus 08-04-2011.jpg|thumb|right|Demonstration in Douma, a Damascus suburb, against the Assad government on 8 April 2011.]]
Before the uprising, the Syrian government had arresed numerous political dissidents and human rights campaigners, considering many of them to be terrorists. In early February 2011, authorities arrested several activists, including political leaders Ghassan al-Najar,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2011/2/629499.html|title=Arrest of leader of the Islamic Democratic movement in Syria|work=Elaph|language=ar|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207160508/http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2011/2/629499.html|archive-date=7 February 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Abbas Abbas,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://free-syria.com/loadarticle.php?articleid=37788|title=Jailed prominent Syrian opposition for seven and a half years|date=25 January 2011|website=Free Syria|language=ar|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511191252/http://free-syria.com/loadarticle.php?articleid=37788|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Adnan Mustafa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://free-syria.com/loadarticle.php?articleid=37802|title=Syrian authorities detain national identity Adnan Mustafa Abu Ammar|date=28 January 2011|website=Free Syria|language=ar|access-date=12 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511191337/http://free-syria.com/loadarticle.php?articleid=37802|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Government forces used Ba'ath party buildings as a base to organize the security forces and fire on protestors.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303142120/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2023 |website=United Nations:OHCHR |publisher=United Nations General Assembly: Human Rights Council |page=13}}</ref> The government employed deadly force against the peaceful demonstrators, deploying snipers, heavy machine guns and shelling. Those security officers who disagreed or held back were also fired upon by Ba'athist paramilitaries and ''Shabiha'' death squads from behind.<ref name="ohchr.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303142120/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2023 |website=United Nations:OHCHR |publisher=United Nations General Assembly: Human Rights Council}}</ref>
Police and security forces responded to the protests violently, using water cannons and tear gas as well as physically beating protestors and firing live ammunition.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/middleeast/19syria.html|title=Police Kill 6 Protesters in Syria|date=18 March 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=3 August 2012|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322061301/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/middleeast/19syria.html|archive-date=22 March 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Shabiha'' death squads, composed of fervent Alawite loyalists, were ordered to execute sectarian attacks on the protestors, torture Sunni demonstrators and engage in anti-Sunni rhetoric. This policy led to large-scale desertions within the army ranks and further defections of officers who began forming a resistance movement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Glynn Williams |first=Brian |title=Counter Jihad: America's Military Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8122-4867-8 |location=Philadelphia |page=270 |chapter=6: The New War on ISIS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lefevre |first=Raphael |title=Ashes of Hama: The Muslim Brotherhood in Syria |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-933062-1 |location=New York|pages=185 |chapter=9: Uprisings in Syria: Revenge on History}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=A. Shoup |first=John |title=The History of Syria |publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4408-5834-5 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |pages=144 |chapter=10: Bashar al-Asad's Syria: 2000–Present}}</ref>
As the uprisings intensified, the Syrian government arrested tens of thousands of people. In response to the uprising, Syrian law had been changed to allow the police and any of the nation's 18 security forces to detain a suspect for eight days without a warrant. Arrests focused on two groups: political activists, and men and boys from the towns that the Syrian Army would start to besiege in April.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/world/middleeast/beyond-arms-syria-uses-arrests-against-uprising.html|title=Beyond Arms, Syria Uses Arrests Against Uprising|date=27 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=3 August 2012|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701181037/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/world/middleeast/beyond-arms-syria-uses-arrests-against-uprising.html|archive-date=1 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of those detained experienced ill-treatment. Many detainees were cramped in tight rooms and were given limited resources, and some were beaten, electrically jolted, or debilitated. At least 27 torture centers run by Syrian intelligence agencies were revealed by Human Rights Watch on 3 July 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/03/syria-torture-centers-revealed|title=Syria: Torture Centers Revealed|date=3 July 2012|newspaper=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2 August 2012|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731015005/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/03/syria-torture-centers-revealed|archive-date=31 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> State propaganda of the Alawite-dominated regime has attempted to portray any pro-democracy protests, even those that called for political pluralism and civil liberties, as "a project to sow sectarian strife."<ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-assad-niqab-idUKTRE7353SH20110406|title=Syria lifts niqab ban, shuts casino, in nod to Sunnis|date=6 April 2011|access-date=9 February 2017|work=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016062301/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/uk-syria-assad-niqab-idUKTRE7353SH20110406|archive-date=16 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Regime forces carried out brutal attacks against the inhabitants of Al-Rastan, displacing over 80% of its population. Characterizing the displaced civilians as "armed terrorist groups", Syrian Arab Armed Forces expanded its attacks on the civilians that sought refuge in nearby areas, resulting in 127 deaths.<ref name="127dead">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/04/07/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|title=Opposition: 127 dead as Syrian forces target civilians|date=7 April 2012|publisher=CNN|access-date=23 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407203018/http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/07/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|archive-date=7 April 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Early in the month of April, a large deployment of security forces prevented tent encampments in Latakia. Blockades were set up in several cities to prevent the movement of protests. Despite the crackdown, widespread protests continued throughout the month in Daraa, Baniyas, Al-Qamishli, Homs, Douma and Harasta.<ref>{{cite news |last=Oweis |first=Khaled |title=Almost 90 dead in Syria's bloodiest day of unrest |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-protests-idUSTRE73L1SJ20110422 |access-date=22 April 2011 |work=Reuters |date=22 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427131621/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/22/us-syria-protests-idUSTRE73L1SJ20110422 |archive-date=27 April 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Concessions=== {{main|Timeline of the Syrian civil war (January–April 2011)}}
[[File:(Banyas demonstration) مظاهرات بانياس 6 أيار 2011.jpg|thumb| Anti-Assad demonstrations in Baniyas, 6 May 2011]] [[File:Tishreen University pro-Asad demo.jpg|thumb|right|Pro-government demonstrations organized by the Ba'ath party at Tishreen University, Latakia on 23 May 2011.]]
During March and April, the Syrian government, hoping to alleviate the protests, offered political reforms and policy changes. Authorities shortened mandatory army conscription,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSTRE72I22020110319|title=Syrian mourners call for revolt, forces fire tear gas|last=al-Khalidi|first=Suleiman|date=19 March 2011|work=Reuters|access-date=19 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322073446/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/19/us-syria-idUSTRE72I22020110319|archive-date=22 March 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> and in an apparent attempt to reduce corruption, fired the governor of Daraa.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sana.sy/eng/21/2011/03/24/pr-338181.htm|title=President al-Assad Issues Decree on Discharging Governor of Daraa from His Post|date=24 March 2011|agency=Syrian Arab News Agency|access-date=22 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117183604/http://sana.sy/eng/21/2011/03/24/pr-338181.htm|archive-date=17 January 2012}}</ref> The government announced it would release political prisoners, cut taxes, raise the salaries of public sector workers, provide more press freedoms, and increase job opportunities.<ref>{{cite news |title=In Syrian flashpoint town, more deaths reported |work=CNN|date=25 March 2011 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/25/syria.unrest/index.html |access-date=25 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326153825/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/25/syria.unrest/index.html |archive-date=26 March 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many of these announced reforms were never implemented.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/31/syrians-assad-bill-fair-elections|title=Syrians are tired of Assad's 'reforms'|last=al-Hatem|first=Fadwa|date=31 May 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 June 2013|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930064338/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/31/syrians-assad-bill-fair-elections|archive-date=30 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
The government, dominated by the Alawite sect, made some concessions to the majority Sunni and some minority populations. Authorities reversed a ban that restricted teachers from wearing the niqab, and closed the country's only casino.<ref name="Reuters"/> The government also granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds previously labeled "foreigners".<ref name="cnnkurds">{{cite news|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-07/world/syria.kurdish.citizenship_1_kurdish-region-kurdish-identity-stateless-kurds|title=Stateless Kurds in Syria granted citizenship|date=7 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128054506/http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/04/07/syria.kurdish.citizenship/index.html|archive-date=28 January 2015|url-status=dead|publisher=CNN|access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref> Following Bahrain's example, the Syrian government held a two-day national dialogue in July, in attempt to alleviate the crisis. However, the representatives that held the dialogue were mostly Ba'ath party members; in addition to Assad loyalist figures and leaders of pro-regime satellite parties. As a result, many of the opposition leaders and protest leaders refused to attend due to the continuing crackdown on protestors in streets and tanks besieging cities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/10/syrian-national-dialogue-boycotted-by-opposition|title=Syrian 'national dialogue' conference boycotted by angry opposition|last1=Hassan|first1=Nidaa|date=10 July 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=10 February 2017|last2=Borger|first2=Julian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211081522/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/10/syrian-national-dialogue-boycotted-by-opposition|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14096981|title=Syria opens 'national dialogue' with opposition|date=10 July 2011|newspaper=BBC News|access-date=10 February 2017|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228040900/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14096981|archive-date=28 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
A popular demand from protestors was an end of the nation's state of emergency, which had been in effect for nearly 50 years. The emergency law had been used to justify arbitrary arrests and detention, and to ban political opposition. After weeks of debate, Assad signed the decree on 21 April, lifting Syria's state of emergency.<ref>{{cite news |title=Syria's Assad ends state of emergency |first1=Khaled Yacoub |last1=Oweis |first2=Mariam |last2=Karouny |first3=Suleiman |last3=al-Khalidi |first4=Sami |last4=Aboudi |location=Beirut, Amman, Cairo |work=Reuters |date=21 April 2011 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110421 |access-date=21 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422020757/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/21/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110421 |archive-date=22 April 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, anti-government protests continued into April, with activists unsatisfied with what they considered vague promises of reform.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/world/middleeast/02syria.html|title=In Syria, Thousands Protest, Facing Violence, Residents Say|last1=Macfarquhar|first1=Neil|date=1 April 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=20 September 2012|last2=Stack|first2=Liam|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513035056/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/world/middleeast/02syria.html|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Military operations=== {{main|Timeline of the Syrian civil war (January–April 2011)|Timeline of the Syrian civil war (May–August 2011)}}
====April 2011==== thumb|Opposition demonstration in Baniyas on 29 April 2011. As the uprisings continued, the Syrian government began launching major military operations to suppress resistance, signaling a new phase in the uprising. On 25 April, Daraa, which had become a focal point of the uprising, was one of the first cities to be besieged by the Syrian Army. An estimated hundreds to 6,000 soldiers were deployed, firing live ammunition at demonstrators and searching house to house for protestors, slaughtering hundreds.<ref name="NYT0425">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html|title=Syria Escalates Crackdown as Tanks Go to Restive City|last=Shadid|first=Anthony|date=25 April 2011|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=26 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426163018/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/middleeast/26syria.html|archive-date=26 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Shabiha'' mercenaries, loyal to the Assad dynasty, were deployed in towns and cities across the country to unleash violence against Syrian civilians. They looted homes, businesses, and economic assets of populations targeted by the Ba'athist military apparatus.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=August 2011 |title=Report of the Fact-Finding Mission on Syria pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-16/1 |url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_965.pdf |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |page=10 |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=26 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026152955/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Full_Report_965.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Tanks were used for the first time against demonstrators, and snipers took positions on the rooftops of mosques. Mosques used as headquarters for demonstrators and organizers were especially targeted.<ref name="NYT0425" /> Security forces began shutting off water, power and phone lines, and confiscating flour and food. Clashes between the army and opposition forces, which included armed protestors and defected soldiers, led to the death of hundreds.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=219606|title=Civilian killings in Syrian demonstrations rises to 800|date=5 July 2011|work=The Jerusalemn Post|access-date=11 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830235538/http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=219606|archive-date=30 August 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
By 28 April, the Syrian Arab armed forces had shut down all communications and completely besieged Daraa, resulting in starvation within the city.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 April 2011 |title=No water, power in Syrian protest town |work=News24 |url=https://www.news24.com/News24/No-water-power-in-Syrian-protest-town-20110428 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106115226/https://www.news24.com/News24/No-water-power-in-Syrian-protest-town-20110428 |archive-date=6 November 2023}}</ref> Defections from the Arab Socialist Ba'ath party also increased, as 233 members resigned on 28 April. This was in denunciation of the increasingly fatal violence that was getting unleashed on civilians.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303142120/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2023 |website=United Nations:OHCHR |publisher=United Nations General Assembly: Human Rights Council |page=118}}</ref>
Throughout April, Ba'athist security forces intensified its campaign of large-scale detainment and torture of Syrian protestors, journalists and activists across state prisons.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 April 2011 |title=Syria: Rampant Torture of Protesters |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/04/15/syria-rampant-torture-protesters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913054833/https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/04/15/syria-rampant-torture-protesters |archive-date=13 September 2011 |website=Human Rights Watch}}</ref> On April 29, a 13-year-old boy named Hamza Ali al-Khateeb was arrested by forces of the Baathist ''mukhabarat'' during protests held in the village of Saida. For nearly a month, Hamza was held in police custody, where he endured regular torture and mutilation.<ref name="Flamand">{{cite web |last=Flamand |first=Hugh Macleod and Annasofie |title=Tortured and killed: Hamza al-Khateeb, age 13 |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409234750/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html |archive-date=9 April 2017 |access-date=22 December 2018 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref>
====May 2011==== {{See also|Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb|label 1=Killing and mutilation of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb}} [[File:Security forces shoot at protestors, Jisr ash-Shugur 2011.ogv|thumb|left|Syrian security forces open fire on protestors in Jisr ash-Shugur on 5 May 2011.]] During the crackdown in Daraa, the Syrian Army also besieged and blockaded several towns around Damascus. Throughout May, situations similar to those that occurred in Daraa were reported in other besieged towns and cities, such as Baniyas, Homs, Talkalakh, Latakia, Jisr al-Shuggur, Aleppo, Damascus and several other towns and cities.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13343540|title=Syrian army tanks 'moving towards Hama'|date=5 May 2011|work=BBC News|access-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120162820/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13343540|archive-date=20 January 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> After the end of each siege, violent suppression of sporadic protests continued throughout the following months.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/16/syria.bodies.found/index.html|title=Shallow grave yields several bodies in Syrian city marked by unrest|last=Abdelaziz|first=Salma|date=15 May 2011|publisher=CNN|access-date=17 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520041535/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/16/syria.bodies.found/index.html|archive-date=20 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
On May 15, 2011, the Syrian Arab Army began a siege of the town of Talkalakh. Eight civilians were killed and at least 2,000 residents tried to flee from the city into Lebanon. Reports subsequently emerged that the SAA troops were massacring residents of the town.<ref>{{cite web |author=Wikstrom, Cajsa |date=September 3, 2011 |title=Escaping Syria's crackdown |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/08/201183193459811971.html |access-date=August 17, 2012 |work=Al Jazeera |archive-date=24 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624083233/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/08/201183193459811971.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=18 May 2011 |title=Syrian security forces kill "at least eight" in Tall Kalakh |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=272327 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830063041/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=272327 |archive-date=30 August 2012 |access-date=8 December 2014}}</ref>
On 20 May, security forces and Ba'athist militants based on a party training camp Al-Mastumah village in Idlib massacred a rally of peaceful demonstrators by firing without warning, killing 30 and injuring about 200. The injured were denied entry to hospitals. By 24 May, the names of 1,062 people killed in the uprising since mid-March had been documented by the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011524182251952727.html|title=Syria death toll 'surpasses 1,000'|date=24 May 2011|access-date=9 February 2017|work=Al Jazeera|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221131505/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011524182251952727.html|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> {{quote box|"This is a campaign of mass terrorism and intimidation: Horribly tortured people sent back to communities by a regime not trying to cover up its crimes, but to advertise them." | source = — Ricken Patel<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html |title=Tortured and killed: Hamza al-Khateeb, age 13 |first=Hugh Macleod and Annasofie |last=Flamand |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409234750/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/05/201153185927813389.html |archive-date=9 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> | align = right | width = 25em }} On May 24, Baathist ''mukhabarat'' released the mutilated body of Hamza Ali al-Khateeb to his family. A video of Hamza's mutilated body was uploaded online, triggering large-scale protests in Daraa, during which residents defied the military siege and came out in large numbers to protest police repression. Rezan Mustapha, spokesman of the opposition Kurdish Future Movement party stated: "This video moved not only every single Syrian, but people worldwide. It is unacceptable and inexcusable. The horrible torture was done to terrify demonstrators and make them stop calling for their demands."<ref name="Flamand"/>
====June–July 2011==== [[File:Anti-government protest in Assi square of Hama.ogg|right|thumb|upright=1.2|Hundreds of thousands of protestors parade the flag of Syria and shout the trade mark Arab Spring slogan "'''Ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam'''" ({{langx|ar|الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام|lit="''the people want to bring down the regime!''"}}) in the Assi square of Hama on 22 July 2011 ]]
As the uprising progressed, opposition fighters became better equipped and more organized. Until September 2011, about two senior military or security officers defected to the opposition.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interactive: Tracking Syria's defections|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/syriadefections/|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=29 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926202831/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/syriadefections/|archive-date=26 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Some analysts stated that these defections were signs of Assad's weakening inner circle.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304141204577510124016836002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221231717/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304141204577510124016836002|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 February 2015|title=In Paris, Diplomats Cheer Syria General's Defection|last1=Dagher|first1=Sam|date=6 July 2012|work=The Wall Street Journal|last2=Gauthier-Villars|first2=David|issn=0099-9660|access-date=7 June 2012}}</ref> In the wake of increasing defections, soldiers who refused or neglected orders to shoot civilians were also killed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303142120/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2023 |website=United Nations:OHCHR |pages=13, 15–17, 21|publisher=United Nations General Assembly: Human Rights Council}}</ref>
The first instance of armed insurrection occurred on 4 June 2011 in Jisr ash-Shugur, a city near the Turkish border in Idlib. Angry protestors set fire to a building where security forces had fired upon a funeral demonstration. Eight security officers died in the fire as demonstrators took control of a police station, seizing weapons. Clashes between protestors and security forces continued in the following days. Some security officers defected after secret police and intelligence agents executed soldiers who refused to kill the civilians. On 6 June, Sunni militiamen and army defectors ambushed a group of security forces heading to the city which was met by a large government counterattack. Fearing a massacre, insurgents and defectors, along with 10,000 residents, fled across the Turkish border.<ref name="ISW 2011" />
In June and July 2011, protests continued as government forces expanded operations, repeatedly firing at protestors, employing tanks against demonstrations, and conducting arrests. The towns of Rastan and Talbiseh, and Maarat al-Numaan were besieged in early June.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syrian-forces-take-over-northwestern-town-of-maaret-al-numan-1.368250|title=Syrian forces take over northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan|date=17 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|access-date=9 February 2017|via=Haaretz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513231651/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/syrian-forces-take-over-northwestern-town-of-maaret-al-numan-1.368250|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 30 June, large protests erupted against the Assad government in Aleppo, Syria's largest city.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13977689|title=Syria unrest: Protests in Aleppo as troops comb border|date=30 June 2011|work=BBC News|access-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205023257/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13977689|archive-date=5 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> On 3 July, Syrian tanks were deployed to Hama, two days after the city witnessed the largest demonstration against Assad.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13988701|title=Syria: 'Hundreds of thousands' join anti-Assad protests|date=1 July 2011|work=BBC News|access-date=3 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805061523/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13988701|archive-date=5 August 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
During the first six months of the uprising, the inhabitants of Syria's two largest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, remained largely uninvolved in the anti-government protests.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/world/middleeast/06damascus.html|title=In Damascus, Amid Uprising, Syrians Act Like Nothing's Amiss|date=5 September 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=10 February 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405053435/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/world/middleeast/06damascus.html|archive-date=5 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The two cities' central squares have seen rallies of thousands of pro-Assad protestors marching in support of the Assad government, organized by the Ba'ath party.<ref name="GP">{{cite news|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110624/syria-protests-assad|title=Syria: What motivates an Assad supporter?|date=24 June 2011|work=Global Post|access-date=22 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722223406/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110624/syria-protests-assad|archive-date=22 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 11 July 2011, several Ba'athist cadres besieged and vandalized American and French embassies in Damascus, while chanting "We will die for you, Bashar".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ali |first=Nour |date=11 July 2011 |title=Syria: Assad loyalists besiege US and French embassies in Damascus |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/11/syria-assad-us-french-embassies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120034846/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/11/syria-assad-us-french-embassies |archive-date=20 January 2022}}</ref> On 31 July, a nationwide crackdown, known as the "Ramadan Massacre", launched by Syrian military forces in towns, cities and villages across the country resulted in the killings of at least 142 people and hundreds of injuries. At least 95 civilians were killed in the city of Hama, after Ba'athist military forces shot at crowds of residents and bombed the streets of the city with tanks and heavy weaponry.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |date=31 July 2011 |title=Syrian army kills at least 95 in Hama |url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/31/syrian-army-kills-at-least-95-in-hama-activist.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007222943/https://www.dawn.com/2011/07/31/syrian-army-kills-at-least-95-in-hama-activist.html |archive-date=7 October 2011 |access-date=3 August 2011 |work=Dawn |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref> Some besieged cities and towns fell into famine-like conditions. The Al-Balad neighbourhood in Daraa, under a brutal siege by Syrian Arab Armed Forces since late March, was described by ''Le Monde'' as a "ghetto of death".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Clanet |first=Christian |date=10 June 2011 |title=A French Journalist in Dara'a, Syria's 'Ghetto of Death' |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2076778,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611032245/https://time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2076778,00.html |archive-date=11 June 2011 |access-date=21 June 2011 |magazine=Time}}</ref> British foreign secretary William Hague condemned Assad for indiscriminate violence in Hama, and the German government threatened to impose additional sanctions.<ref name=":1" /> By the end of July, UN human rights organization estimated the death toll to have been around 2,000 people.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mchugo |first=John |date=2 March 2015 |title= Syria |url=https://thenewpress.com/books/syria |location=|publisher=Saqi Books|page= 226 |isbn= 978-0863561603 |access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref>
== Mass protests and Syrian armed revolution: August 2011 – June 2012 == [[File:Bab Dreeb Demonstration, Homs.jpg|thumb|200px|Protest against the Assad regime in the city of Homs, 3 February 2012]]
=== Intensified Ba'athist crackdowns and beginning of Syrian insurgency: August – September 2011 === {{Further|Early insurgency phase of the Syrian civil war}}
Throughout August, Syrian forces stormed major urban centers and outlying regions, and continued to attack protestors. On 14 August, the Siege of Latakia continued as the Syrian Arab Navy became involved in the military crackdown for the first time. Gunboats fired heavy machine guns at waterfront districts in Latakia, as ground troops and security agents backed by armor stormed several neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/14/us-syria-idUSTRE77D0LP20110814 |work=Reuters |date=14 August 2011 |access-date=14 August 2011 |title=Tank, navy attack on Syria's Latakia kills 26-witnesses |last=Oweis |first=Khaled Yacoub |location=Amman |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154645/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/14/us-syria-idUSTRE77D0LP20110814 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 23 August, Syrian opposition factions and various dissidents formed a coalition of anti-Assad groups known as the Syrian National Council.<ref name="NYT Topic: Syria">{{cite news | url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html | title=Syria News | work=The New York Times | access-date=2 August 2012 | archive-date=11 May 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511141803/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
The Eid ul-Fitr celebrations, started in near the end of August, were suppressed by Assad government after Ba'athist military forces fired on large demonstrations in Homs, Daraa, and the suburbs of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/30/164705.html |title=Syrian forces kill seven protesters as Muslims celebrate first day of Eid |publisher=Al Arabiya |date=30 August 2011 |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165232/https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/30/164705.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Escalation of Syrian revolution: October 2011 – June 2012 === [[File:Syrian Civil War map (March 15 2012).svg|thumb|Military situation as of mid-March 2012{{legend|#ebc0b3|Controlled by Ba'athist Syria}} {{legend|#cae7c4|Controlled by the Syrian opposition }}]]
Mass protests, rallies, demonstrations and riots continued throughout October and it was met with violent repression. In October 2011, 4 days of anti-government demonstrations led to beatings and fighting nationwide. Students, workers, employees, retirees, peasants, farmers, university students and street vendors participated in the movement daily. These protests started as 200 participants but it culminated as killings and beating was reported into tens of thousands. As rioting and looting was held, protestors were killed by security forces and in clashes between police and rioters, live ammunition and plastic bullets were fired. During the demonstrations on 18–19 November, 4–18 protestors were killed as they tried to March into Damascus and the Assad residence. Workers demanded their wages to be paid. Stones and rocks were thrown at billboards depicting Assad. During protests in Aleppo in May 2012, police fired tear gas and used gunfire, striking retirees. During demonstrations by farmers and workers in Raqqah in January–April, 21 people were killed in battles. Street protests in the hundreds continued until a raid on universities in September 2012.
The UN declared an official civil war in June 2012.<ref name="BBC News">{{Cite news |date=12 June 2012 |title=Syria in civil war, says UN official Herve Ladsous |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18417952 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123035718/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18417952 |archive-date=23 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Charbonneau">{{Cite news |last=Charbonneau |first=Louis |date=13 June 2012 |title=Syria conflict now a civil war, U.N. peacekeeping chief says |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE85B1BI20120612 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321050834/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE85B1BI20120612 |archive-date=21 March 2017}}</ref>
== Syrian Civil War == {{main|Syrian civil war}}
The Syrian revolution escalated into a full-blown civil war by the middle of 2012. Rebel forces, which received arms from Gulf Cooperation Council states, Turkey and some Western countries, initially made significant advances against the government forces, which were receiving financial and military support from Iran and Russia. Rebels captured the regional capitals of Raqqa in 2013 and Idlib in 2015. Consequently, Iran launched a military intervention in support of the Syrian government in 2014 and Russia followed in 2015, shifting the balance of the conflict. By late 2018, all rebel strongholds except parts of Idlib region had fallen to government forces.
In 2014, the Islamic State won many battles against both the rebel factions and the Syrian government. Combined with simultaneous success in Iraq, the group was able to seize control of large parts of Eastern Syria and Western Iraq, prompting the US-led CJTF coalition to launch an aerial bombing campaign against it, while providing ground support and supplies to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by the People's Defense Units (YPG). By way of battles that culminated in the Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor offensives, the Islamic State was territorially defeated by late 2017. In August 2016, Turkey launched a multi-pronged invasion of northern Syria, in response to the creation of Rojava, while also fighting the Islamic State and government forces in the process. Between the March 2020 Idlib ceasefire and late 2024, frontline fighting mostly subsided, but there were regular skirmishes.
===Fall of Assad Regime=== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | total_width = 220 | image1 = | image2 = | alt1 = Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi agree to integrate the SDF into the Syrian transitional government. | alt2 = Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi agree to integrate the SDF into the Syrian transitional government. | caption2 = Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader Mazloum Abdi agree to integrate the SDF into the Syrian Arab Republic. | image3 = Agreement_on_Integrating_Syrian_Democratic_Forces_into_State_Institutions.pdf | alt3 = Agreement stipulating the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces into the institutions of the Syrian Arab Republic, 10 March 2025. | caption3 = Agreement stipulating the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the institutions of the Syrian Arab Republic, 10 March 2025. }}{{Main|Fall of the Assad regime}}
Heavy fighting renewed with a major rebel offensive in the northwest led by Tahrir al-Sham and supported by allied groups in the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army in November 2024, during which Aleppo, Hama and Homs were seized. Southern rebels who had previously reconciled with the government subsequently launched their own offensive, capturing Daraa and Suwayda. The Syrian Free Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces launched their own offensives in Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor, respectively. The fall of the Assad regime occurred on 8 December when Assad fled to Moscow during the Fall of Damascus. Prime Minister of Syria Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali handed over power to the revolutionaries in December 8, 2024.
On the same day, Israel launched an invasion of Syria's Quneitra Governorate, aiming to seize the UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights. The SNA continued to clash with the SDF in and around Aleppo.
In January 2025, the Syrian transitional government announced the dissolution of several armed militias and their integration into the Syrian Ministry of Defence, as well as the appointment of Ahmed al-Shara'a as president of Syria during the transitional phase.
The EU has pledged $2.7 billion in aid to Syria to help the country rebuild. The bloc made the pledge at a gathering of donor countries while warning that recent violence could threaten the progress made under the new leadership in Damascus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=EU warns of threat to Syrian transition while pledging billions in aid |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/3/17/eu-warns-of-threat-to-syrian-transition-while-pledging-billions-in-aid |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>
==Aftermath== {{quote box|"Almost two decades before the United States passed the Voting Rights Act... Syrians chose Fares al-Khoury, a Protestant Christian, as their prime minister. The Syrian uprising of 2011 was based on a desire to return to our grand past. It was a protest movement of all faiths... But the Assad regime cracked down with unspeakable horrors. More than 200,000 people have been killed as the regime deployed its full arsenal, including barrel bombs and sarin gas, against civilians. More than 9 million Syrians have been displaced, including more than 3 million refugees, and thousands have been tortured to death in Assad's dungeons. All this occurred while the world looked on." | source = — Syrian Sufi scholar Muhammad al-Yaqoubi<ref>{{Cite news |last=al-Yaqoubi |first=Muhammad |date=5 December 2014 |title=To defeat the Islamic State we must first remove Bashar al-Assad |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/defeating-the-islamic-state-requires-first-ousting-bashar-al-assad/2014/12/05/8097b9f8-7c05-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816235657/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/defeating-the-islamic-state-requires-first-ousting-bashar-al-assad/2014/12/05/8097b9f8-7c05-11e4-9a27-6fdbc612bff8_story.html |archive-date=16 August 2022}}</ref> | align = right | width = 25em }}{{Further|2012–2013 escalation of the Syrian civil war}} The unprecedented brutality of the Assad regime's crackdown on Syrian civilians resulted in global outcry and aroused strong condemnation from international bodies like the Arab League, United Nations and European Union. Two emergency sessions were convened by the United Nations Human Rights Council in response to the crackdown, on 29 April and 18 August 2011 respectively. An investigative mission appointed by the UN found the Assad regime responsible for mass-killings, assassinations, abductions, forced disappearances and other war crimes; as a result of a shoot to kill policy directly ordered by the government. UNHRC High Commissioner urged Security Council to prosecute Assad in the International Criminal Court. During the second emergency session on 18 August, several member states of the Human Rights Council demanded the resignation of Assad, while other countries called on Syrian government to immediately cease all its crackdown efforts and initiate dialogue for a political solution with the protestors.<ref name="ohchr.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303142120/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2023 |website=United Nations:OHCHR |publisher=United Nations General Assembly: Human Rights Council}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Debusmann |first=Bernd |date=17 May 2023 |title=How Syria's Bashar al-Assad got away with murder |work=WION |url=https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/how-syrias-bashar-al-assad-got-away-with-murder-593114 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517040842/https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/how-syrias-bashar-al-assad-got-away-with-murder-593114 |archive-date=17 May 2023}}</ref>
On 29 July, a group of defected officers announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, the rebel militia sought the defence of civilians from army shootings and eventually remove Assad from power. On 23 August, the Syrian National Council was formed as a political counterpart to the FSA. Civilians began forming resistance militias across the country to defend themselves from the attacks of Ba'athist security apparatus.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 October 2011 |title='Free Syrian Army' poses growing threat to Assad |work=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20111014-free-syria-army-opposition-bashar-al-assad-exile-turkey-batallion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410161038/https://www.france24.com/en/20111014-free-syria-army-opposition-bashar-al-assad-exile-turkey-batallion |archive-date=10 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tanir |first=Ilhan |date=4 October 2012 |title=In the Land of the Free Syrian Army |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/2012/10/in-the-land-of-the-free-syrian-army?lang=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919004249/https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/49597 |archive-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=live |website=Carnegie endowment}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Yezdani |first=İpek |date=2011-08-23 |title=Syrian dissidents form national council |publisher=The Edmond Sun |url=http://www.edmondsun.com/news_tab3/x2122765173/Syrian-dissidents-form-national-council |url-status=dead |access-date=2011-11-19 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204175512/http://www.edmondsun.com/news_tab3/x2122765173/Syrian-dissidents-form-national-council |archive-date=2012-12-04}}</ref> As the armed resistance began establishing control over vast swathes of regions across Syria throughout 2012, UN officially described the conflict as a "civil war" on 12 June 2012.<ref name="Charbonneau"/><ref name="BBC News"/>
During the unrest, several Kurdish militias formed the Kurdish Supreme Committee, which declared itself as a self-governing entity and lifted the ban on Kurdish language in territories under its control. The crackdown campaigns were intensified by the regime throughout 2011–12; with Assad ordering Syrian Air Force to launch aerial bombardment of civilian areas. By the end of 2012, over 60,000 Syrian civilians had been slaughtered by Syrian military forces.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Akbar |title=The Thistle and the Drone |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8157-2378-3 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=187 |chapter=4: Musharraf's Dilemma}}</ref>
=== 2023 Syrian protests === {{Main|2023 southern Syria protests}}
Over 12 years after the start of the 2011 uprisings, mass protests erupted in the Druze-majority city of Suwayda. By August 24, large-scale protests arose nationwide and expanded to the regions of Daraa, Latakia, Tartus, Deir-al-zor, Hasakah, Homs, and others. Protestors in regime-held areas waved revolutionary banners, chanted anti-government slogans, and demanded the downfall of the Ba'athist regime.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hezaber |first=Ali Haj Suleiman, Husam |title=Strike, protests in Syria's Sweida enter second day |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/21/strike-protests-in-syrias-sweida-enter-second-day |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |archive-date=25 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825051511/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/21/strike-protests-in-syrias-sweida-enter-second-day |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Suleiman |first=Ali Haj |date=23 August 2023 |title=Anti-government protests in Syria continue for sixth day |work=Al Jazeera |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/25/anti-government-protests-in-syria-continue-for-sixth-day |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825220621/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/25/anti-government-protests-in-syria-continue-for-sixth-day |archive-date=25 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 August 2023 |title=Anti-government protests shake Syrian provinces amid anger over economy |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/26/anti-government-protests-shake-syrian-provinces-amid-anger-over-economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826041126/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/26/anti-government-protests-shake-syrian-provinces-amid-anger-over-economy |archive-date=26 August 2023}}</ref> By the end of August 2023, the nationwide protests resembled the revolutionary mass demonstrations of early 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Abdulrahim |first=Raja |date=31 August 2023 |title=Rare Protests in Syria Summon Echoes of Arab Spring |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/world/middleeast/syria-protests.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831040419/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/world/middleeast/syria-protests.html |archive-date=31 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 August 2023 |title=Syria Protests Spurred by Economic Misery Stir Memories of the 2011 Anti-Government Uprising |work=Asharq al-Awsat |url=https://english.aawsat.com/features/4514386-syria-protests-spurred-economic-misery-stir-memories-2011-anti-government-uprising |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829122111/https://english.aawsat.com/features/4514386-syria-protests-spurred-economic-misery-stir-memories-2011-anti-government-uprising |archive-date=29 August 2023}}</ref>
== Media coverage and censorship == {{Update|section|date=January 2025}} {{See also|Media coverage of the Syrian civil war}}[[File:Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb.gif|thumb| Carlos Latuff's cartoon depicting Bashar al-Assad fleeing from Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, the Syrian boy whose killing became a global symbol of Bashar al-Assad's brutality]] Reporting on this conflict was difficult and dangerous from the start: journalists were being attacked, detained, tortured and killed. Technical facilities (internet, telephone, etc.) were sabotaged by the Syrian government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Doug |date=2012-11-30 |title=Syria caused Internet blackout, security firm says {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/tech/web/syria-internet |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Both sides in the conflict tried to discredit their opponent by framing or referring to them with negative labels and terms or by presenting false evidence.
When demonstrations began in March, the Assad government imposed a complete media blackout banning independent news coverage, barring foreign free press outlets and arresting reporters who tried to cover protests. Some journalists were reported missing, detained, tortured in custody, or killed on duty. International media relied heavily on footage shot by civilians, who often uploaded the files on the internet. In a 2012 report, the Committee to Protect Journalists described Syria as the third most censored country in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 Most Censored Countries |url=http://cpj.org/reports/2012/05/10-most-censored-countries.php#3 |access-date=6 August 2012 |publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725103343/http://www.cpj.org/reports/2012/05/10-most-censored-countries.php#3 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Assad government's cyberforces disabled mobile phones, landlines, electricity, and the internet in several places. Authorities extracted passwords of social media sites from journalists through beatings and torture. A pro-Assad hacker group called the Syrian Electronic Army frequently hacked websites to post Ba'athist propaganda, and the Assad government was implicated in malware attacks targeting those reporting on the crisis.<ref>{{cite news |last=Karam |first=Zeina |date=27 September 2011 |title=Syrian Electronic Army: Cyber Warfare From Pro-Assad Hackers |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/syrian-electronic-army_n_983750.html |access-date=2013-03-19 |work=The Huffington Post |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305093146/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/syrian-electronic-army_n_983750.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Assad government also targeted and tortured political cartoonist Ali Farzat, who was critical of the crackdown.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ali |first=Nour |date=25 August 2011 |title=Syrian forces beat up political cartoonist Ali Ferzat |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/25/syria-cartoonist-ali-ferzat-beaten |access-date=20 January 2012 |work=The Guardian |location=London |archive-date=23 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623211600/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/25/syria-cartoonist-ali-ferzat-beaten |url-status=live }}</ref>
== International reactions == [[File:(4)_Montreal_Syrian_solidarity_demonstration_March_27.jpg|right|thumb|Demonstration in Montreal on 27 March, in support of the Syrian protestors]] The Arab League,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14439303|title=Saudi Arabia withdraws ambassador from Syria|publisher=BBC|date=7 August 2011|access-date=7 August 2011|archive-date=8 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808010115/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14439303|url-status=live}}</ref> European Union,<ref name="bbc-45066">{{cite web|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=45066|title=EU condemns 'unacceptable' repression in Syria|publisher=Middle East Online|date=22 March 2011|access-date=22 March 2011|archive-date=28 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728000808/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=45066|url-status=live}}</ref> United Nations,<ref name="aje-ki-moon">{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011318231622114396.html |title=UN chief slams Syria's crackdown on protests |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=18 March 2011 |access-date=5 May 2024 |archive-date=13 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513142230/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/2011318231622114396.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and many Western governments condemned the Syrian government's violent crackdown against the protests, and many expressed support for the Syrian revolution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jj7uSbIAaro1v0fwW4jziIxQ1j9w?docId=CNG.a807bd69f3debaa7a6b4ca2383f9500b.1191|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201194118/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jj7uSbIAaro1v0fwW4jziIxQ1j9w?docId=CNG.a807bd69f3debaa7a6b4ca2383f9500b.1191|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 February 2013|title=Canada condemns violence in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria|agency=AFP |date=21 March 2011|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| title = Obama Condemns 'Abhorrent Violence' of Syrian Gov't| publisher = Reuters (via Ynetnews)| date = 9 April 2011| url = http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4054242,00.html| access-date = 9 April 2011| archive-date = 2 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151002050014/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4054242,00.html| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=France condemns violence against protesters in Syria |author=Lebanon News |url=http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=251195 |access-date=17 March 2011 |archive-date=21 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421033000/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=251195 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Amnesty International reported on 6 July 2011 that the Syrian government's violent repression of the inhabitants of the town of Talkalakh amounted to a "systematic campaign of crimes against humanity".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/201175202656973422.html|agency=Al Jazeera English|date=6 July 2011|access-date=6 July 2011|title=Syria accused of crimes against humanity|archive-date=6 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906031130/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/201175202656973422.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 9 July, Human Rights Watch organization published a report confirming the Assad government ordered Syrian Arab Army (SAA) soldiers to shoot and arbitrarily detain protestors during demonstrations. The group cited SAA defectors who stated that if they did not obey orders, they would have been shot by Assad loyalists.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110709111656/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43695260/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/ HRW: Syrian troops describe shooting protesters – World news – Mideast/N. Africa – msnbc.com]</ref> The New York Times reported in mid-September that the United States and Turkey, both of whom condemned regime violence against peaceful protestors in Syria, were working together to prepare for a post-Assad Syria.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/world/middleeast/us-is-quietly-getting-ready-for-a-syria-without-an-assad.html?_r=2 U.S. Is Quietly Getting Ready for Syria Without Assad] By HELENE COOPER nyt.com 19 September 2011]</ref> A November 2011 poll by the Arab American Institute revealed that the overwhelming majority of Arabs sided with the revolutionaries against the regime and that support for Bashar had virtually eroded in Shia-majority regions in Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zogby |first=James |title=Arab Attitudes Toward Syria: 2011 |url=http://www.aaiusa.org/reports/arab-attitudes-toward-syria-2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030004120/https://www.aaiusa.org/reports/arab-attitudes-toward-syria-2011 |archive-date=30 October 2011 |access-date=2011-11-24}}</ref><ref name="ohchr.org">{{Cite web |date=22 August 2011 |title=Human Rights Council debates situation of human rights in Syrian Arab Republic in Special Session |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2011/08/human-rights-council-debates-situation-human-rights-syrian-arab-republic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512100813/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2011/08/human-rights-council-debates-situation-human-rights-syrian-arab-republic |archive-date=12 May 2023 |website=UN:OHCHR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303142120/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/countries/SY/Syria_Report_2011-08-17.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2023 |website=United Nations:OHCHR |publisher=United Nations General Assembly: Human Rights Council}}</ref>
On 22 March, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, issued a statement which said the European Union "strongly condemns the violent repression, including through the use of live ammunition, of peaceful protests in various locations across Syria".<ref>{{cite web |date=22 March 2011 |title=EU condemns 'unacceptable' repression in Syria |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=45066 |access-date=22 March 2011 |publisher=Middle East Online |archive-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728000808/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=45066 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ashton reiterated the EU's condemnation on 31 July after the Assad government's massacre in Hama,<ref>{{cite news |date=31 July 2011 |title=EU condemns 'totally unjustified' Syrian crackdown |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/July/middleeast_July648.xml§ion=middleeast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731230018/https://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/July/middleeast_July648.xml§ion=middleeast |archive-date=31 July 2011 |access-date=31 July 2011 |agency=Khaleej Times}}</ref> which resulted in the killing of over 200 inhabitants of the city.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bakri |first=Nada |date=4 August 2011 |title=Civilian Toll Is Mounting in Assault on Syrian City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/05/world/middleeast/05syria.html?_r=1&hpw |access-date=5 August 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Ashton said on 18 August, "The EU notes the complete loss of Bashar al-Assad's legitimacy in the eyes of the Syrian people and the necessity for him to step aside."<ref>{{cite news |date=18 August 2011 |title=Thursday, August 18, 2011 - 17:49 - Syria |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-aug-18-2011-1749 |access-date=18 August 2011 |agency=Al Jazeera Blogs |archive-date=25 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825050538/http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/syria-aug-18-2011-1749 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 3 August, the United Nations Security Council denounced the Assad government's violent repression of protests and issued a statement condemning "the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities".<ref name="english.alarabiya.net">{{cite news |date=6 August 2011 |title=GCC urges end to Syrian 'bloodshed,' calls for reforms |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/06/161072.html |access-date=7 August 2011 |agency=Al Arabiya |archive-date=24 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724132545/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/06/161072.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:"The_Friday_of_One_Demand"_-_Flickr_-_Al_Jazeera_English_(2).jpg|thumb|302x302px|Demonstration in Cairo in solidarity with protestors in Syria, 4 February 2012]] In a joint statement of its member states released on 6 August, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) denounced "mounting violence and the excessive use of force which resulted in killing and wounding large numbers" and "express[ed] sorrow for the continuous bloodshed".<ref name="english.alarabiya.net"/> On 12 November, the Arab League announced that it would suspend Syria from the organization if Bashar's government did not stop violence against protestors by 16 November, and invited Syria's opposition parties to join talks in the League's headquarters in Cairo. Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen voted against the action, while Iraq abstained from the vote. The League also warned of possible sanctions against Syria.<ref name="nyt-suspended">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html|title=Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria|date=12 November 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=12 November 2011|first=Neil|last=MacFarquhar|archive-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427025615/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/201111121342948333.html|title=Syria threatened with Arab League suspension|date=12 November 2011|publisher=Aljazeera|access-date=12 November 2011|archive-date=6 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106234819/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/201111121342948333.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 23 November 2011, the U.S. embassy in Damascus issued a warning for all American nationals to depart Syria "immediately while commercial transportation is available".<ref>{{cite web | title= Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Significant decrease in the number of commercial flights from Syria | url= http://damascus.usembassy.gov/service/information-for-travelers-and-residents/message-for-us-citizens/significant-decrease-in-the-number-of-commercial-flights-from-syria.html | work= Consular Section | publisher= Embassy of the United States of America - Damascus, Syria | date= November 23, 2011 | access-date= 2011-11-24 | archive-date= 27 November 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111127033909/http://damascus.usembassy.gov/service/information-for-travelers-and-residents/message-for-us-citizens/significant-decrease-in-the-number-of-commercial-flights-from-syria.html | url-status= dead }}</ref> On 24 November, a Reuters news dispatch reported U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 2 operating off the coast of Syria to monitor the ongoing Syrian uprising, with an unnamed Western diplomat in the region noting: "It is probably routine movement. But it is going to put psychological pressure on the regime, and the Americans don't mind that."<ref>{{cite web | author= Dina Zayed and Ayman Samir | title= Arab League gives Syria one day to allow monitors before imposing sanctions | url= https://nationalpost.com/news/arab-league-gives-syria-one-day-to-allow-monitors-before-imposing-sanctions | work= News - Reuter| publisher= National Post | date= November 24, 2011 | access-date=2011-11-26}}</ref> On 25 November 2011, Russia, China, and other BRICS countries urged the Assad government to start talks with the Syrian opposition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/25/us-syria-russia-brics-idUSTRE7AO0AP20111125/|title=Russia, China, urge Syria talks, stress U.N. role|date=25 November 2011|publisher=Reuters|access-date=25 November 2011}}</ref>
On 4 February 2012, over 150 protestors gathered outside the Syrian embassy in London, UK, at 2<code>nbsp</code>am after reports emerged that over 200 people were massacred by government forces in Homs. The Metropolitan Police arrested some protestors.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16884126 Arrests at Syrian embassy protest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011115747/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16884126 |date=11 October 2017 }}, BBC, 4 February 2012.</ref> Later in the day, another crowd of around 300 protestors clashed with police outside the embassy.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9061877/12-arrests-during-protests-at-Syrian-embassy-in-London.html 12 arrests during protests at Syrian embassy in London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816195953/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9061877/12-arrests-during-protests-at-Syrian-embassy-in-London.html |date=16 August 2018 }}, ''Daily Telegraph'', 4 February 2012.</ref> The same day, around 50 protestors ransacked the Syrian embassy in Cairo, Egypt .<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> ==Commemoration==
In October 2025, President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a presidential decree making 18 March, "Syrian Revolution Day", an annual holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-05 |title=Presidential Decree for Official Holidays in Syria - SANA |url=https://sana.sy/en/presidency/2270978/ |access-date=2025-10-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Asia|Politics}} * Haitian Revolution of 1986, a similar revolution against the Haitian dictator of Baby Doc Duvalier in Haiti against the Duvalier dictatorship * Timeline of the Syrian civil war * Timeline of the Arab Spring * List of Syrian defectors
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|35em}}
=== Works cited === * {{cite book |last = Cooper |first = Tom |title= Syrian Conflagration. The Civil War 2011–2013 |date= 2015 |publisher= Helion & Company Limited |location= Solihull |isbn= 978-1-910294-10-9 }}
{{Syrian Civil War}}
{{authority control}}
Category:2010s revolutions Category:2020s revolutions Category:2011 in Syria Category:2011 in the Syrian civil war Category:2011 protests Category:2011 riots Syria Category:Protests in Syria Category:Revolutions in Syria Category:Riots and civil disorder in Syria Category:Syrian democracy movements Category:March 2011 in Syria Category:April 2011 in Syria Category:May 2011 in Syria Category:Massacres of protesters in Asia Category:June 2011 in Syria Category:July 2011 in Syria Category:April 2011 in Asia Category:March 2011 in Asia Category:May 2011 in Asia Category:21st-century revolutions Category:Syrian civil war