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The Alawite State,officially named the Territory of the Alawites,after the locally-dominant Alawites from its inception until its integration to the Syrian Federation in 1922,was a French mandate territory on the coast of present-day Syria after World War I. The French Mandate from the League of Nations lasted from 1920 to 1946.
Bashar al-Assad is a Syrian politician who is the current and 19th president of Syria since 17 July 2000. In addition,he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party,which nominally espouses a neo-Ba'athist ideology. His father and predecessor was General Hafiz al-Assad,whose presidency in 1971–2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a de facto dynastic dictatorship,tightly controlled by an Alawite-dominated elite composed of the armed forces and the Mukhabarat,who are loyal to the al-Assad family.
Major environmental issues in Syria include deforestation,overgrazing,soil erosion,desertification,water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining,and inadequate supplies of potable water.
Diplomatic relations between Syria and the United States are currently non-existent;they were suspended in 2012 after the onset of the Syrian Civil War. Priority issues between the two states include the Arab–Israeli conflict,the Golan Heights annexation,Iraq War,alleged state-sponsorship of terrorism,occupation of Lebanon,etc.
The Barack Obama administration's involvement in the Middle East was greatly varied between the region's various countries. Some nations,such as Libya and Syria,were the subject of offensive action at the hands of the Obama administration,while nations such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia received arms deliveries. Notable achievements of the administration include inhibiting the Iranian nuclear program,while his handling of certain situations,such as the Syrian civil war,were highly criticized.
The Syrian civil war is an ongoing multi-sided conflict in Syria involving various state-sponsored and non-state actors. In March 2011,popular discontent with the rule of Bashar al-Assad triggered large-scale protests and pro-democracy rallies across Syria,as part of the wider Arab Spring protests in the region. After months of crackdown by governments security apparatus,various armed rebel groups such as the Free Syrian Army began forming across the country,marking the beginning of the Syrian insurgency. By mid-2012,the crisis had escalated into a full-blown civil war.
International reactions to the Syrian civil war ranged from support for the government to calls for the government to dissolve. The Arab League,United Nations and Western governments in 2011 quickly condemned the Syrian government's response to the protests which later evolved into the Syrian civil war as overly heavy-handed and violent. Many Middle Eastern governments initially expressed support for the government and its "security measures",but as the death toll mounted,especially in Hama,they switched to a more balanced approach,criticizing violence from both government and protesters. Russia and China vetoed two attempts at United Nations Security Council sanctions against the Syrian government.
The modern history of Syria begins with the termination of Ottoman control of Syria by French forces and the establishment of the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration during World War I. The short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria emerged in 1920,which was however soon committed under the French Mandate,which produced the short-lived autonomous State of Aleppo,State of Damascus,Alawite State and Jabal al-Druze (state);the autonomies were transformed into the Mandatory Syrian Republic in 1930. Syrian Republic gained independence in April 1946. The Republic took part in the Arab-Israeli War and remained in a state of political instability during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Syrian Civil War is an intensely sectarian war. After the early years of cross-sectarian opposition to the rule of Bashar al-Assad,the civil war has largely transformed into a conflict between ruling minority Alawite government and allied Shi'a governments such as Iran;pitted against the country's Sunni Muslim majority who are aligned with the Syrian opposition and its Turkish and Persian Gulf state backers. Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and many hold high administrative positions,while Alawites and members of almost every minority have also been active on the rebel side.
Al-Nusra Front,also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant,was a Salafi jihadist organization fighting against Syrian Ba'athist government forces in the Syrian Civil War. Its aim was to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad and establish an Islamic state in Syria.
Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war refers to political,military and operational support to parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria that began in March 2011,as well as active foreign involvement. Most parties involved in the war in Syria receive various types of support from foreign countries and entities based outside Syria. The ongoing conflict in Syria is widely described as a series of overlapping proxy wars between the regional and world powers,primarily between the United States and Russia as well as between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The following is a timeline of the Syrian civil war from May to December 2013. Information about aggregated casualty counts is found at Casualties of the Syrian Civil War.
There have been numerous reports of chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian Civil War,beginning in 2012,and corroborated by national governments,the United Nations (UN),the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),Human Rights Watch (HRW),and media organizations. The attacks occurred in different areas of Syria,including Khan al-Assal,Jobar,Saraqib,Ashrafiyat Sahnaya,Kafr Zita,Talmenes,Sarmin and Douma. The deadliest attacks were the August 2013 sarin attack in Ghouta,the April 2017 sarin attack in Khan Shaykhun and April 2018 Douma chemical attacks. The most common agent used is chlorine,with sarin and sulphur mustard also reported. Almost half of the attacks between 2014 and 2018 were delivered via aircraft and less than a quarter were delivered from the ground,with the remaining attacks having an undetermined method of delivery. Since the start of uprisings across Syria in 2011,Syrian Arab Armed Forces and pro-Assad paramilitary forces have been implicated in more than 300 chemical attacks in Syria.
The Ghouta chemical attack,was a chemical attack carried out by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,in the early hours of 21 August 2013 in Ghouta,Syria during the Syrian civil war. Two opposition-controlled areas in the suburbs around Damascus were struck by rockets containing the chemical agent sarin. Estimates of the death toll range from at least 281 people to 1,729. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons since the Iran–Iraq War.
International reactions to the Ghouta chemical attack of 21 August 2013 were widespread. The Ghouta chemical attack was a chemical weapons attack in Damascus,Syria during the Syrian Civil War. United States President Barack Obama said that the U.S. military should strike targets in Syria in retaliation for the government's purported use of chemical weapons—a proposal supported by French President François Hollande but opposed by the Syrian government's closest allies,Iran and Russia. Although the Arab League said it would support military action against Syria in the event of U.N. support,league members Iraq,Lebanon,Egypt,Tunisia and Algeria opposed intervention. On 14 September the U.S. and Russia announced an agreement on the Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons to destroy the Syria stockpile of chemical weapons and its production facilities,and Syria agreed to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention. The United Nations Security Council also passed Resolution 2118.
The history of Syria covers events which occurred on the territory of the present Syrian Arab Republic and events which occurred in the region of Syria. Throughout ancient times the territory of present Syrian Arab Republic was occupied and ruled by several empires,including the Sumerians,Mitanni,Assyrians,Babylonians,Egyptians,Hittites,Canaanites,Phoenicians,Arameans,Amorites,Persians,Greeks and Romans. Syria is considered to have emerged as an independent country for the first time on 24 October 1945,upon the signing of the United Nations Charter by the Syrian government,effectively ending France's mandate by the League of Nations to "render administrative advice and assistance to the population" of Syria,which came in effect in April 1946.
The Khan Shaykhun chemical attack took place on 4 April 2017 on the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate of Syria. The town was reported to have been struck by an airstrike by government forces followed by massive civilian chemical poisoning. The release of a toxic gas,which included sarin,or a similar substance,killed at least 89 people and injured more than 541,according to the opposition Idlib Health Directorate. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war since the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013.
On the morning of 7 April 2017,the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea into Syria,aimed at Shayrat Airbase controlled by the Syrian government. The strike was executed on the authorization of U.S. President Donald Trump,as a direct response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack that occurred on 4 April.
During the Syrian Civil War,Russian and Syrian government forces have conducted a campaign that has focused on the destruction of hospitals and medical facilities within areas not under the control of the Syrian government. Russian and Syrian officials have repeatedly denied deliberately targeting medical facilities.
France–Syria relations refers to the bilateral relations between France and the Syrian Arab Republic. Relations between France and Syria have a long and complex history. The contemporary relationship largely dates back to the French mandate (1923–1946) over the region established in the midst of the defeat and subsequent Partition of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I.
References
- 1 2 "Ford, Peter William" . Who's Who . Vol. 2014 (2014 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 9 October 2015.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Black, Ian (7 April 2015). "Former ambassador attacks Cameron's 'arrogant' Syria policy". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
Ford, 67, trained as an Arabist and served in Beirut, Riyadh, Paris and Cairo and was British ambassador to Bahrain as well as Syria from 2003-06.
- ↑ Ford, Peter (7 April 2015). "Cameron's unthinking policy on Syria has fuelled the rise of British jihadism". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ↑ "Mohammad Assaf receives donation on behalf of UNRWA". UNRWA. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ↑ Verkaik, Robert; Ensor, Josie; Sawer, Patrick (22 April 2017). "Former UK ambassador linked to Assad lobby group". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ↑ "New leadership elected at Workers Party congress". Workers Party of Britain. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ↑ "'Assad not mad' enough to use chemical weapons: Former UK ambassador", Middle East Eye , retrieved 9 April 2017
- ↑ "Summary of UN Headquarters 'Board of Inquiry' Report". 21 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 Wintour, Patrick (23 December 2016). "British policy has made situation in Syria worse, says former ambassador". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ↑ "David Cameron will have Christian 'blood on his hands' if he topples Assad, warns former Ambassador to Syria - The Diocese of Shrewsbury - The Diocese of Shrewsbury" . Retrieved 9 April 2017.
"The fall of the regime will be opening a Pandora's Box such as we saw with the fall of Gaddafi in Libya and when Saddam Hussein fell." He said: "Is this what David Cameron really wants, to open another Pandora's Box? Does he not realise that the fall of the Assad regime would lead to the massacres of Christians, Shias, Alawites, Druze and other minorities?
- ↑ "10/04/2017, Newsnight - BBC Two". BBC.
- ↑ "Ex-UK ambassador to Syria: 'No proof' of chemical attack, Today - BBC Radio 4" . Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ↑ British ambassador who defended Damascus 'works for Assad's father-in-law', Zaman Al Wasl 24 April 2017
- ↑ "'Assad not mad' enough to use chemical weapons, says former UK ambassador". Middle East Eye.