 | Parts of this article (those related to between 2012 and 2025) need to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2025) |
| Syrian revolution | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theSyrian civil war,First Arab Spring,Arab Winter, and theSecond Arab Spring | |||
 Demonstration inHoms against the Syrian government, 18 April 2011 | |||
| Date | 15 March 2011 (2011-03-15) – 8 December 2024 (2024-12-08) (13 years, 8 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by |
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| Goals | |||
| Methods | |||
| Resulted in | Syrian opposition victory
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| Parties | |||
| Lead figures | |||
| Casualties and losses | |||
| During the protest Over 12,617 arrested; 3,000 civiliansforcibly disappeared (by 28 July)[12] 1,800[13]–2,154 killed[14] During the civil war Around 620,000 killed (by December 2024)[15] (SeeCasualties of the Syrian civil war for details) | |||
| a During the civil uprising in the first half of 2011, theSyrian opposition used the sameflag of Syria as the Syrian government.[16][17] | |||
TheSyrian revolution was a series of mass protests and civilian uprisings throughoutSyria – with a subsequent violent reaction by theBa'athist regime – lasting from 2011 to 2024[18][19] as part of the greaterArab Spring in theArab world. The revolution, which demanded the end of the decades-longAssad 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 theBa'athist dictatorship of presidentBashar 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.[a] 13 years after the start of the revolution, theAssad regimefell in 2024 after a series ofrebel offensives.
Despite al-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 andairforce, 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 theSyrian Arab Army, while people began to form opposition militias across the country, gradually transforming the revolution from a civil uprising to anarmed rebellion, and later a full-scalecivil war. TheFree Syrian Army was formed on 29 July 2011, marking the beginning of anarmed 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 sectarianShabiha 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, theUnited Nations officially declared the clashes in Syria as a civil war in June 2012.
The unprecedented violence led to global backlash, with theUnited Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) convening an emergency session on 29 April 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 inmassacres,forced disappearances,summary executions, show-trials,torture, assassinations, and persecution and abductions of suspects fromhospitals, amongst others, with an official "shoot-to-kill" policy from the government. The UNHRC report published on 18 August stated that the atrocities amounted tocrimes against humanity, withHigh Commissioner Navi Pillai urgingSecurity Council members to prosecute al-Assad in theInternational Criminal Court. A second emergency session convened by the UNHRC on 22 August condemned theAssad government's atrocities and called for an immediate cessation of all military operations and engagement in Syrian-led political process, with numerous countries demanding al-Assad's resignation. The Syrian revolution achieved its main goal of achieving thefall of the Assad regime in December 2024 after Assad fled toMoscow. Thefall of Damascus ended the Assad regime as the Syrian prime ministerMohammad Ghazi al-Jalali handed over power to the revolutionaries and they formed theSyrian transitional government.
At the onset of theArab Spring,Ba'athist Syria was considered as the most restrictivepolice state in theArab World; with a tight system of regulations on the movement ofcivilians, independentjournalists and other unauthorized individuals.Reporters Without Borders listed Syria as the 6th worst country in its 2010Press Freedom Index.[24][25] Before the uprising in Syria began in mid-March 2011, protests were relatively modest, considering thewave 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 thesecret police arresting critical citizens.[26] Aprevious large scale uprising in the country against the rule of Ba'athist PresidentHafez Al-Assad was brutally crushed, culminating in the1982 Hama massacre, during which over 40,000 civilians were killed.[27][28][29]
Following the death of Hafez Al-Assad in 2000, his sonBashar Al-Assad inherited the presidency. This coincided with a brief period of liberalization and debate regarding the country's future, in the form of theDamascus 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.[30][31] After winning the2007 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.[32] 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.[33] During this period, the Assad government arrested numerous journalists and shut down independent press centres, in addition to tightening itscensorship of the internet.[34]
Factors contributing to social disenchantment in Syria include socio-economic stress caused by theIraqi conflict, as well as the most intense drought ever recorded in the region.[35] For decades, the Syrian economy, army and government had been dominated by patronage networks ofBa'ath party elites andAlawite clients loyal to theAssad family. The Assad dynasty held a firm grip over most sectors of the Syrian economy andcorruption 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.[36] 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.[37] Describing the presidency of Bashar al-Assad, his exiled cousinRibal 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."[38]
Minor protests calling for government reforms began in January, and continued into March. At this time, massive protests were occurring in Cairo against Egyptian PresidentHosni Mubarak, and in Syria on 3 February via the websitesFacebook andTwitter, a "Day of Rage" was called for by activists against the government of Bashar al-Assad, to be held on Friday, 4 February.[39] This did not result in protests.[40][41]
In the southern city ofDaraa, protests had been triggered on 6 March by the incarceration and torture of 15 young students, includingMouawiya Syasneh,[42] from prominent families who were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti in the city,[43][44][45] reading: "الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام" – ("The people want the fall of the regime") – a trademark slogan of theArab Spring.[46][47] The boys also spray-painted the graffiti "Your turn, Doctor"; directly alluding toBashar al-Assad, who was previously anophthalmologist in theUnited 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 inDaraa Governorate that quickly spread to other provinces. According to information given by interviewees toHuman Rights Watch, the protests in Daraa began as largely peaceful affairs, with demonstrators often 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.[48] TheSyrian Arab Army was soon deployed to shoot at the protests; resulting in a popularresistance movement led by locals; which made Daraa one of the first provinces inSyria to break free of regime control.[20][49][50] Daraa would come to be known as the "Cradle of the Syrian Revolution".[20][51]
The government later claimed that the boys weren't attacked, and thatQatar incited the majority of the protests.[52] 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".[47] 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 ofDamascus, demanding the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Over 35 protestors in Damascus were arrested by police forces in a subsequent crackdown ordered by Assad government.[32][53]
InDaraa, demonstrators clashed with local police, and confrontations escalated on 18 March after Friday prayers. Security forces attacked protestors gathered at theOmari Mosque using water cannons and tear gas, followed by live fire, killing four.[54][48] On 20 March, a crowd burned down theBa'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[55] and fifteen protestors.[56]
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.[57] 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 6 people were killed and many others injured.[58]
On 23 March, units of theFourth Division led byMaher al-Assad stormed a gathering in aSunni mosque in Daraa, killing five more 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 ofHafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad were demolished during the events.[59]
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, includingHoms,Hama,Baniyas,Jasim, Aleppo, Damascus andLatakia. Over 70 protestors in total were reported killed.[60][61]
In his public address delivered on 30 March, Assad said "conspirators" were pushing an "Israeli agenda",[62] 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.[63] 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.[62] A protestor who was the relative of one of the detained boys told reporters:
"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 forIsrael. We hoped our army would fight and liberate theoccupied Golan, not send tanks and helicopters to fight civilians."[63]
Even before the uprising began, the Syrian government had made numerous arrests of political dissidents and human rights campaigners, many of whom were understood as terrorists by the Assad government. In early February 2011, authorities arrested several activists, including political leaders Ghassan al-Najar,[64] Abbas Abbas,[65] and Adnan Mustafa.[66] Government forces usedBa'ath party buildings as a base to organize the security forces and fire on protestors.[67] The government issued an officialshoot-to-kill policy on the peaceful demonstrators; deploying snipers, heavy machine guns and shelling. Those security officers who disagreed or held back themselves were also fired upon by Ba'athist paramilitaries andShabiha death squads from behind.[68][69]
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.[70] The regime also deployed the dreadedShabiha death squads, consisting of fervent Alawite loyalists, that were ordered to execute sectarian attacks on the protestors, tortureSunni demonstrators and engage inanti-Sunni rhetoric. This policy led to large-scale desertions within the army ranks and further defections of officers who began forming aresistance movement.[71][72][73]
As the uprisings intensified, the Syrian government waged a campaign of arrests that captured 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 awarrant. Arrests focused on two groups: political activists, and men and boys from the towns that the Syrian Army would start to besiege in April.[74] 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 byHuman Rights Watch on 3 July 2012.[75] State propaganda of theAlawite-dominatedBaathist regime has attempted to portray any pro-democracy protests, that calls for political pluralism and civil liberties, as "a project to sow sectarian strife."[76]
Regime forces carried out brutal attacks against the inhabitants ofAl-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.[77] Early in the month of April, a large deployment of security forces prevented tent encampments inLatakia. 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.[78]
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During March and April, the Syrian government, hoping to alleviate the protests, offered political reforms and policy changes. Authorities shortened mandatory army conscription,[79] and in an apparent attempt to reduce corruption, fired the governor of Daraa.[80] 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.[81] Many of these announced reforms were never implemented.[82]
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 theniqab, and closed the country's only casino.[76] The government also granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds previously labeled "foreigners".[83] 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-regimesatellite parties. As a result, many of the opposition leaders and protest leaders refused to attend due to the continuing crackdown on protestors in streets andtanks besieging cities.[84][85]
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.[86] However, anti-government protests continued into April, with activists unsatisfied with what they considered vague promises of reform from Assad.[87]
_%25D9%2585%25D8%25B8%25D8%25A7%25D9%2587%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A7%25D8%25AA_%25D8%25A8%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586%25D9%258A%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B3_%25D8%25AC%25D9%2585%25D8%25B9%25D8%25A9_%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25BA%25D8%25B6%25D8%25A8_-_29_%25D9%2586%25D9%258A%25D8%25B3%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586_2011.jpg)
As the uprisings continued, the Syrian government began launching major military operations to suppressresistance, 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 bebesieged 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.[88]Shabiha mercenaries, loyal to theAssad dynasty, were also deployed by Assad regime in towns and cities across the country to unleash violence against Syrian civilians. They engaged in looting homes, businesses, and economic assets of populations targeted by the Ba'athist military apparatus.[89]
Tanks were used for the first time against demonstrators, and snipers took positions on the rooftops ofmosques. Mosques used as headquarters for demonstrators and organizers were especially targeted.[88] 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.[90]
By 28 April,Syrian Arab armed forces had shut down all communications and completely besieged the city of Daraa, which resulted in the forced starvation of the people of the city.[91] Defections from theArab Socialist Ba'ath party also increased, as 233 Ba'ath Party members resigned on 28 April. This was in denunciation of the increasingly fatal violence that was getting unleashed on civilians.[92]
Throughout April, Ba'athist security forces intensified its campaign of large-scale detainment and torture of Syrian protestors, journalists and activists across state prisons.[93] On April 29, a 13-year-old boy namedHamza Ali al-Khateeb was arrested by forces of theBaathistmukhabarat during protests held in the village ofSaida. For nearly a month, Hamza was held in police custody, where he endured regulartorture and mutilation of his body.[94]
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 asBaniyas,Homs,Talkalakh, Latakia,Jisr al-Shuggur, Aleppo, Damascus and several other towns and cities.[95][89] After the end of each siege, violent suppression of sporadic protests continued throughout the following months.[96]
On May 15, 2011, theSyrian Arab Army began asiege 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.[97][98]
On 20 May, security forces and Ba'athist militants based on a party training campAl-Mastumah village inIdlib massacred a rally of peaceful demonstrators by firing without warning, killing 30 and injuring about 200. The injured were denied entry to hospitals for treatment. By 24 May, the names of 1,062 people killed in the uprising since mid-March had been documented by theNational Organization for Human Rights in Syria.[99]
"This is a campaign ofmass terrorism and intimidation: Horribly tortured people sent back to communities by a regime not trying to cover up its crimes, but to advertise them."
On May 24, Baathistmukhabarat released the tortured and mutilated body ofHamza Ali al-Khateeb to his family members. A video of Hamza's mutilated body was uploaded online, triggering large-scale protests inDaraa, during which residents defied the military siege and came out in large numbers to protest against police repression. Rezan Mustapha, spokesman of the oppositionKurdish Future Movement party stated: "This video moved not only every singleSyrian, but people worldwide. It is unacceptable and inexcusable. The horrible torture was done to terrify demonstrators and make them stop calling for their demands."[94]
As the uprising progressed, opposition fighters became better equipped and more organized. Until September 2011, about two senior military or security officers defected to theopposition.[101] Some analysts stated that these defections were signs of Assad's weakening inner circle.[102] In the wake of increasing defections, soldiers who refused or neglected orders to shoot civilians were also killed.[103]
Thefirst 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 on during 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.[56]
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 ofRastan and Talbiseh, andMaarat al-Numaan were besieged in early June.[104] On 30 June, large protests erupted against the Assad government in Aleppo, Syria's largest city.[105] On 3 July, Syrian tanks were deployed to Hama, two days after the city witnessed the largest demonstration against Bashar al-Assad.[106]
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.[107] 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.[108]
On 11 July 2011, several Ba'athist cadres besieged and vandalized American and French embassies inDamascus, while chanting pro-Assad slogans "We will die for you, Bashar".[109] 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 slaughtered 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.[110] Some besieged cities and towns fell intofamine-like conditions. Al-Balad neighbourhood in Daraa, which had been under a brutal siege bySyrian Arab Armed Forces since late March, was described by theLe Monde newspaper as a "ghetto of death".[111]British foreign secretaryWilliam Hague condemnedBashar al-Assad for unleashing indiscriminate violence in Hama, and the German government threatened to impose additional sanctions against the Assad government.[110] By the end of July, UN human rights organization estimated the death toll to have been around 2,000 people.[112]
Throughout August, Syrian forces stormed major urban centers and outlying regions, and continued to attack protestors. On 14 August, theSiege of Latakia continued as theSyrian Arab Navy became involved in the military crackdown for the first time.Gunboats firedheavy machine guns at waterfront districts in Latakia, as ground troops and security agents backed by armor stormed several neighborhoods.[113] On 23 August, Syrian opposition factions and various dissidents formed a coalition of anti-Assad groups known as theSyrian National Council.[114]
TheEid 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.[115]
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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 residence ofBashar al-Assad, president ofSyria. Workers demanded their wages to be paid. Stones and rocks were thrown at pictures of Bashar al-Assad on billboards. During protests in Aleppo in May 2012, police fired tear gas and used gunfire, striking retirees. During demonstrations by farmers and workers inRaqqah 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.[116][117]
The Syrian revolution escalated into a full-blown civil war by the middle of 2012. Rebel forces, which received arms fromGulf Cooperation Council states,Turkey and some Western countries, initially made significant advances against the government forces, which were receiving financial and military support fromIran andRussia. Rebels captured the regional capitals ofRaqqa in 2013 andIdlib in 2015. Consequently,Iran launched a military intervention in support of the Syrian government in 2014 andRussia followed in 2015, shifting the balance of the conflict. By late 2018, all rebel strongholds except parts ofIdlib region had fallen to the government forces.
In 2014, theIslamic State won many battles against both the rebel factions and the Syrian government. Combined with simultaneous success inIraq, the group was able to seize control of large parts ofEastern Syria andWestern Iraq, prompting theUS-ledCJTF coalition to launch an aerialbombing campaign against it, while providingground support and supplies to theSyrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by thePeople's Defense Units (YPG). By way of battles that culminated in theRaqqa andDeir ez-Zor offensives, the Islamic State was territorially defeated by late 2017. In August 2016, Turkey launcheda multi-pronged invasion ofnorthern Syria, in response to the creation ofRojava, while alsofighting the Islamic State andgovernment forces in the process. Between the March 2020Idlib ceasefire and late 2024, frontline fighting mostly subsided, but there wereregular skirmishes.
Heavy fighting renewed with a majorrebel offensive in the northwest led byTahrir al-Sham and supported by allied groups in the Turkish-backedSyrian National Army in November 2024, during whichAleppo,Hama andHoms were seized.Southern rebels who had previouslyreconciled with the government subsequently launchedtheir own offensive, capturingDaraa andSuwayda. TheSyrian Free Army and theSyrian Democratic Forces launched their own offensives inPalmyra andDeir ez-Zor, respectively. Thefall of the Assad regime occurred on 8 December when Assad fled toMoscow during theFall of Damascus.Prime Minister of SyriaMohammad Ghazi al-Jalali handed over power to the revolutionaries in December 8, 2024.
On the same day,Israel launchedan invasion of Syria'sQuneitra Governorate, aiming to seize theUN buffer zone in theGolan Heights. The SNA continued toclash with the SDF in and around Aleppo.
In January 2025, theSyrian transitional government announced the dissolution of several armed militias and their integration into theSyrian Ministry of Defence, as well as the appointment ofAhmed al-Shara'a aspresident of Syria during the transitional phase.
The EU has pledged $2.7 billion in aid to Syria to help the country rebuild after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. 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.[118]
"Almost two decades before theUnited States passed theVoting Rights Act... Syrians choseFares 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 theAssad regime cracked down with unspeakable horrors. More than 200,000 people have been killed as the regime deployed its full arsenal, includingbarrel bombs andsarin gas, against civilians. More than 9 million Syrians have been displaced, including more than 3 million refugees, and thousands have beentortured to death in Assad's dungeons. All this occurred while the world looked on."
The unprecedented brutality of Assad regime's crackdown on Syrian civilians resulted in global outcry and aroused strong condemnation from international bodies like theArab League,United Nations,European Union, etc. Two emergency sessions were convened by theUnited Nations Human Rights Council is response to Ba'athist regime's brutal crackdown, in 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 urgedSecurity Council to prosecute Assad in theInternational 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.[68][120][121]
On 29 July, a group of defected officers announced the formation of theFree Syrian Army (FSA). Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, the rebel militia sought the defence of civilians from army shootings and eventually remove Bashar al-Assad from power. On 23 August, theSyrian National Council was formed as a political counterpart to the FSA. Civilians began formingresistance militias across the country to defend themselves from the attacks of Ba'athist security apparatus.[122][123][124] 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.[117][116]
During the unrest, several Kurdish militias formed theKurdish Supreme Committee, which declared itself as a self-governing entity and lifted the ban onKurdish language in territories under its control. The crackdown campaigns were intensified by the regime throughout 2011–12; with Bashar al-Assad orderingSyrian Air Force to launchaerial bombardment of civilian areas. By the end of 2012, over 60,000 Syrian civilians had been slaughtered bySyrian military forces.[125]
Over 12 years after the start of the 2011 uprisings, mass protests erupted in theDruze-majority city ofSuwayda. 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.[126][127][128] By the end of August 2023, the nationwide protests resembled the revolutionary mass demonstrations of early 2011.[129][130]
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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.[131] 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 completemedia blackout banning independent news coverage, barring foreignfree 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, theCommittee to Protect Journalists described Syria as the third most censored country in the world.[132]
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 theSyrian 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.[133] The Assad government also targeted and torturedpolitical cartoonistAli Farzat, who was critical of the crackdown.[134]
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TheArab League,[135]European Union,[136] United Nations,[137] and many Western governments condemned the Syrian government's violent crackdown against the protests, and many expressed support for the Syrian revolution.[138][139][140]Amnesty International reported on 6 July 2011 that the Syrian government's violent repression of the inhabitants of the town ofTalkalakh amounted to a "systematic campaign of crimes against humanity".[141]
On 9 July,Human Rights Watch organization published a report confirming the Assad government orderedSyrian 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.[142] TheNew 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.[143] A November 2011 poll by theArab 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.[144][68][145]
On 22 March,Catherine Ashton, theHigh 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".[146] Ashton reiterated the EU's condemnation on 31 July after the Assad government'smassacre in Hama,[147] which resulted in the killing of over 200 inhabitants of the city.[148] 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."[149] On 3 August, theUnited 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".[150]
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In a joint statement of its member states released on 6 August, theGulf 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".[150] 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, andYemen voted against the action, whileIraq abstained from the vote. The League also warned of possible sanctions against Syria.[151][152]
On 23 November 2011, the U.S. embassy inDamascus issued a warning for all American nationals to depart Syria "immediately while commercial transportation is available".[153] On 24 November, aReuters news dispatch reported U.S. NavyCarrier 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."[154] On 25 November 2011, Russia, China, and otherBRICS countries urged the Assad government to start talks with theSyrian opposition.[155]
On 4 February 2012, over 150 protestors gathered outside the Syrian embassy in London, UK, at 2nbspam after reports emerged that over 200 people were massacred by government forces inHoms. TheMetropolitan Police arrested some protestors.[156] Later in the day, another crowd of around 300 protestors clashed with police outside the embassy.[157] The same day, around 50 protestors ransacked the Syrian embassy inCairo, Egypt .[157]
In October 2025, PresidentAhmed al-Sharaa issued a presidential decree making 18 March, "Syrian Revolution Day", an annual holiday.[158]
The greatest responsibility for sectarianising the conflict lies with the regime
The use and abuse of sectarianism has been a foundational feature of Assad family rule since November 1970.
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.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)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
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.
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
"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).
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.
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