Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect (32 page)

GROUPS OPPOSED TO ASSAD

Ahrar al-Sham (Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant): One of the largest rebel militias. Founded in 2011 by ultraconservative, former political prisoners, it operated mainly in the Idlib Governate in northwestern Syria next to the Turkish border. It sought to establish an Islamic state without elections or a parliamentary system. It joined with other ultraconservative rebels to form the Islamic Front.

Al-Qaeda: The organization founded by Osama bin Laden has fractured into many local groups with no centralized control. In Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) was originally affiliated—as was Jabhat al-Nusra. Al-Qaeda groups commit suicide bombings against civilians, were intolerant of other religions, and killed rebels with whom they disagreed.

Free Syrian Army: Formed in July 2011 by defectors from the Syrian army. It called for a parliamentary system in which the rights of minorities would be protected. The FSA received money, supplies, and weapons from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar. By the end of 2013, the FSA was losing ground to ultra-right-wing rebels.

Islamic Front: Formed in September 2013 as a coalition of conservative and ultraconservative rebel groups, led by Ahrar al-Sham. The IF excluded al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and the FSA. Saudi Arabia became its main backer. The Islamic Front charter rejected a representative
parliamentary system, saying only “God is sovereign.” By early 2014 the front emerged as one of the strongest rebel alliances.

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS): Sometimes called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Originally formed as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), or al-Qaeda in Iraq, during the sectarian fighting in Iraq in 2007–2008. Led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the ISI began secretly sending fighters to Syria, eventually announced its Syrian presence, and changed its name to ISIS. In early 2014 the leadership of al-Qaeda expelled the ISIS because of its extreme sectarianism and attacks on other rebel groups. In June 2014, the group changed its name to the Islamic State (IS) and declared the existence of an Islamic caliphate in northern Syria and Iraq.

Jabhat al-Nusra (The Support Front for the People of the Levant): Affiliated with al-Qaeda, although it operated independently. Al-Nusra is led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who had fought against both the United States and the Nouri al-Maliki government in Iraq. Rather than support a parliamentary system, al-Nusra advocated a religious regime that would implement a harsh interpretation of Shariah. In December 2012, the US State Department put al-Nusra on its list of terrorist organizations because of its ties to al-Qaeda.

Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam): Formed from the September 2013 merger of dozens of smaller militias mostly in the Damascus area. It was led by Zahran Alloush. Jaysh al-Islam and the al-Nusra Front participated in a massacre of dozens of civilians just outside Damascus in December 2013.

Jihadists or Jihadis: Literally, “those who wage jihad or holy war.”
Jihadist
is the generic term for ultra-right-wing rebels fighting Assad. In general they want to establish an Islamic state with a strict interpretation of Shariah law, led by themselves without elections or a parliamentary system.

Local Coordinating Committees (LCC): Civil-society and religious activists who came together to coordinate protests in the early days of the uprising. They developed considerable popular support and continued to do humanitarian work in some rebel-controlled areas.

Muslim Brotherhood: A political organization calling for an Islamic state with elections and a parliamentary system. The brotherhood is conservative on social issues, supports capitalism, and said it will respect minority rights. The brotherhood formed a militia in 2012 called the Shield. It has close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas in Gaza.

National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces: Formed in November 2012 as the successor to the SNC. It was supposed to represent a wider coalition, including Syrian religious minorities and Kurds. Nonlethal US aid was channeled to this coalition, but it failed to attract significant support inside Syria as of mid-2014.

Supreme Military Council (SMC): Formed in December 2012, the SMC was an effort to expand the base of the Free Syrian Army. While it received arms from the United States and its allies, the SMC was unable to attract significant popular support as of mid-2014.

Syrian National Council (SNC): A civilian opposition coalition backed by the United States and its allies. It was supposed to represent the entire opposition and be the civilian leadership for the Free Syrian Army. The SNC never developed a base of support inside Syria and was dissolved in November 2012. It was replaced by the National Coalition for Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

PRO-ASSAD GROUPS

Mukhabarat: Syrian government secret police, responsible for detention, torture, and murder of dissidents.

National Defense Force (NDF): Formed in late 2012, the NDF is a militia whose members received a salary, uniforms, and arms from the government. When the Syrian army defeated the rebels in an area, the NDF was supposed to take control. It has been accused of kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activity. By the end of 2013, it had an estimated 100,000 members.

Popular Committees: An effort to organize the Shabiha into a coherent
pro-Assad militia. They were incorporated into the National Defense Force in late 2012.

Shabiha: The first shabiha, which means “ghosts” in Arabic, were smugglers in western Syria who cooperated with corrupt regime officials. When the uprising began, the Mafia-like shabiha worked with security forces to attack peaceful demonstrations.
Shabiha
became the generic terms for progovernment goons.

KURDS

Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP): The largest party in the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. Led by Masoud Barzani, the KDP has been training Syrian Kurdish fighters. But as of mid-2014 the fighters had not been deployed.

Kurdish National Council (KNC): Coalition of major Syrian Kurdish groups including the KDP but not the PYD.

Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan or PKK): Formed by Turkish revolutionary Abdullah Ocalan and a group of student radicals in 1978 in the Kurdish region of eastern Turkey. The PKK originally demanded an independent and socialist Kurdistan but later called for autonomy within a capitalist Turkey.

Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat (PYD): The Democratic Union Party was formed in 2003 as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. It was led by Saleh Muslim. The PYD argued that it is an independent party with only ideological ties to the PKK; critics said the two parties are controlled by the same PKK leadership. The PYD emerged as the strongest Kurdish rebel group and controlled a significant area in northern Syria as of early 2014.

FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS

Al-Fatah: The Palestinian nationalist political party that controls the West Bank. Fatah was founded by the late Yasser Arafat. It remained officially neutral in Syria's civil war.

Hamas: Palestinian offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood that now controls Gaza. It once supported Assad but switched to the rebel side after the uprising began. Its headquarters in exile was in Doha, Qatar.

Hezbollah: Shia Muslim militia and political party in Lebanon. Hezbollah had close ties to Iran and supports the Assad regime. It had an estimated six thousand to eight thousand troops fighting in Syria.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): Coalition of all the major Palestinian groups except Hamas. In practice, it's led by Fatah.

RELIGIOUS GROUPS AND TERMS

Alawite: A minority denomination that split off from Shia Islam in the eighth century. They comprised about 10–12 percent of Syria's 23 million people. The Assad family are Alawites. The Assads put Alawites in key business and military positions and continued to enjoy popular support from the Alawite community.

Christian: Syrian Christians trace their roots back to the time when Saint Paul preached in Damascus during the era of the Roman Empire. Christian denominations include Orthodox and Catholic. They make up a total of about 10 percent of the population. Many Christians support the Assad regime.

Druze: An ethnic group living in Syria and Lebanon that practice their own form of Islam, which dates back to the tenth century. Many Druze supported the Assad regime.

Salafist: A Sunni religious current that arose in the late 1800s as a reaction to Western philosophies and colonial expansion. Believers practice a strict interpretation of Islam but do not necessarily involve themselves in politics. Some Salafists have joined ultra-right-wing political groups.

Shia: A minority denomination in Islam that traces its roots to a schism with the Sunnis in the year 632. Shias in Syria tend to align politically with Shias in Iran. Several shrines holy to Shia are located in Syria. Most Shia support the Assad regime.

Sufi: An approach to Islam that can include worship through meditation, music, and dance. Extremist Sunni groups don't consider Sufis to be true Muslims and have attacked their communities in Egypt and other countries.

Sunni: The largest of the Muslim denominations. Sunnis comprise about 74 percent of Syria's population. The Assad regime called all rebels “takfiris,” or impure Muslims, which critics said lead to discrimination against all Sunnis. Rebel groups drew their strongest support from Sunnis.

WORLD WAR I: 1914–1918

July 1914: World War I begins, ultimately pitting Britain, France, Russia, and the United States against Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Britain and France promise independence to Arabs if they revolt against the Ottoman Turks.

May 1916: British and French governments secretly sign the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divides up the Ottoman-controlled Middle East into French and British mandates, a blatant violation of their promise of independence.

November 1917: British government issues the Balfour Declaration promising a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

October 1918: Arab insurgents capture Damascus, backed by British troops. Arabs elect the General Syrian Congress, which rules Syria for nearly two years.

November 1918: World War I ends.

FRENCH MANDATE: 1920–1946

July 1920: The French Army occupies Damascus with cooperation of the British, defeating the independent Arab government. France seizes control of what is today's Lebanon, Syria, and Hatay Province in southern Turkey.

1920–1921: France implements a divide-and-rule strategy by creating separate regions for Christians, Alawites, and Druze.

August 1925: Syrians rise in a two-year, nationalist revolt against French occupation. The French Army crushes the revolt using all the modern weapons available, including one of the first aerial bombardments of civilians.

September 1939: World War II begins.

June 1940: Germany occupies France during World War II and creates the Vichy government, which also controls France's colonial empire.

July 1941: Free French and British Army take control of Lebanon and Syria. The Free French promise Arab independence, but French leader General Charles de Gaulle quickly reneges.

August 1943: Nationalist parties win parliamentary elections in Syria, held under rule of the Free French. Syrians elect President Shukri al-Quwatli, a nationalist who opposes French occupation.

January 1944: Syria is declared an independent republic, but France remains the colonial power with the backing of French troops.

May 1945: Mass demonstrations against the French break out in Damascus. The French military launches a vicious air and artillery attack on the city, eventually killing over four hundred. But the nationalist movement forces the French to acknowledge Syrian independence.

May 1945: World War II ends.

INDEPENDENCE AND EARLY YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC: 1946–1966

April 1946: All French troops depart Syria; the country becomes fully independent.

April 1947: Michel Aflaq and Salah-al-Din al-Bitar cofound the Arab Baath Socialist Party, a leftist and nationalist party critical of imperialism and Syria's ruling elite.

May 1948: Israel declares independence from Britain and defeats Arab armed forces, including Syria's army. Israelis see a great victory for the Jewish people; Arabs call it the
Nakba
(catastrophe).

March 1949: Syria's defeat by Israel helps precipitate a coup against President Shukri al-Quwatli. Three military coups take place within one year.

August 1955: Shukri al-Quwatli reelected president.

October 1956: Britain, France, and Israel attack Egypt after its president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, nationalizes the Suez Canal. Syria sides with Egypt.

February 1958: Putting into practice their pan-Arabist ideology, Syria and Egypt merge to form the United Arab Republic (UAR). Nasser dissolves Syrian political parties, angering the Baathists and others.

September 1961: Syrian army officers, unhappy with Nasser's domination, seize power and withdraw from the UAR.

March 1963: After a military coup, a Baath Party cabinet comes to power and appoints Amin al-Hafez president.

ASSAD'S RISE TO POWER: 1966–2011

February 1966: A military faction within the Baath Party overthrows the civilian leadership and arrests the leftist leadership. Hafez al-Assad appointed defense minister.

June 1967: “Six Day War” pits Israel against Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. Israel seizes East Jerusalem and the West Bank of the Jordan River from Jordan, the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the Golan from Syria.

November 1967: UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 242, which calls for return of all Arab land—including the Golan—in return for peace between Israel and Arab countries.

November 1970: Hafez al-Assad comes to power in Syria in a military coup.

March 1971: Assad holds a plebiscite that elects him president.

October 1973: “Yom Kippur War” pits Israel against Egypt and Syria.
Syria regains a small part of the Golan, but most remains under Israeli control.

June 1976: The Arab League sanctions Syrian intervention in Lebanon's civil war. Syria initially sides with the conservative, Maronite Christian leaders.

March 1978: Israel invades Lebanon and seizes control of southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in an effort to weaken Syria and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

June 1979: Islamist extremists attack the Syrian army's Aleppo Artillery School, killing eighty-three cadets and wounding scores.

June 1980: Assad escapes assassination by a Muslim Brotherhood member who attacks him with a hand grenade. The next day, Syrian forces murder over six hundred Muslim Brotherhood members and other political prisoners being held at Tadmur Prison.

September 1980: Iran-Iraq War begins. Syria sides with Iran because of long-standing opposition to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

December 1981: Israel annexes the Golan by transferring governing authority from military to civilian rule.

February 1982: In the city of Hama, the Muslim Brotherhood calls for general strikes and an uprising against Assad. The Syrian military ruthlessly crushes the rebellion, killing over ten thousand people.

June 1982: Israel invades Lebanon again. The Syrian army faces major losses and withdraws from some areas. In September, under Israeli guidance, right-wing Lebanese massacre Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The PLO eventually agrees to withdraw from Lebanon.

May 1983: Syria and Libya sponsor a Palestinian defector from the PLO, Abu Musa, in a failed effort to split the PLO and remove Yasser Arafat from power. Lebanon and Israel officially end fighting, but both Israeli and Syrian troops remain in Lebanon.

August 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait. Syria joins the Gulf War coalition and sends 14,500 troops to participate in Operation Desert Storm against Iraq.

October 1991: Israeli-Palestinian peace talks begin in Madrid with Syrian participation. Syria and Israel discuss return of the Golan.

January 1994: Basil al-Assad, Hafez's son who is being groomed as successor, dies in a car crash. Bashar al-Assad later returns from studies in London to take Basil's place.

June 2000: Hafez Al-Assad dies of natural causes. Bashar becomes president.

November 2000: Bashar al-Assad releases over six hundred political prisoners, raising hopes of greater political tolerance.

September 2001: Government arrests opposition members of parliament and other political activists, indicating a return to authoritarian practices.

March 2003: United States government invades and occupies Iraq but is unable to find any weapons of mass destruction, the main justification for the war. Syria opposes the war.

March 2004: Kurds in the northern city of Qamishli rise up against the Syrian government. Security forces kill dozens of protestors and force hundreds to flee to nearby Iraqi Kurdistan.

May 2004: United States imposes sanctions on Syria, claiming Assad regime supports terrorists and insurgents in Iraq.

February 2005: Former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri assassinated in a Beirut bomb explosion. Many believe Syria was responsible, leading to months of demonstrations calling for withdrawal of Syrian troops.

April 2005: Syria withdraws troops from Lebanon, but some secret police remain.

September 2006: Islamic extremists attack US embassy in Damascus.

September 2007: Israeli planes bomb northern Syria, claiming Syria is building a nuclear-weapons facility. Syrian government says it is a conventional military base.

October 2008: US helicopters attack a home under construction near Al Sukariya, Syria, claiming it killed a major terrorist from Iraq. The attack killed six construction workers.

May 2010: The United States tightens economic sanctions on Syria, arguing that Assad promotes terrorism in Iraq and Lebanon.

THE UPRISING: 2011–PRESENT

December 2010: Street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi immolates himself in Tunisia, setting off widespread demonstrations known as the Arab Spring.

January 2011: Popular demonstrations in Tunisia overthrow the dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

January 2011: Mass demonstrations and general strikes overthrow the Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarak, but the military remains in power.

February 2011: Facebook and YouTube are legalized in Syria in response to Arab Spring uprisings.

March 2011: Preteen children are detained, tortured, and killed for scrawling antiregime slogans on a school wall. Demonstrations against regime brutality break out in the southern city of Daraa and later in Damascus. Assad announces political concessions, including releasing some political prisoners, lifting the country's state of emergency, and granting citizenship to Kurds. Assad asserts that the protests are sponsored by Israel, the United States, and Saudi Arabia.

April 2011: Kurdish students demonstrate in the northern city of Qamishli. Kurds oppose Assad but are suspicious of the opposition led by conservative Islamists.

May 2011: Largely nonviolent protests meet with tanks and live ammunition in major cities, including the suburbs of Damascus. Assad grants amnesty to more political prisoners.

June 2011: Government mobilizes tens of thousands of supporters, who unfurl a giant Syrian flag. Assad retains support among religious minorities, some Sunnis, the business elite, and military.

July 2011: Some opposition leaders meet in Istanbul to form the Syrian National Council (SNC), a group that hopes to unite exiled and domestic opposition forces. The SNC is formally announced in August.

July 2011: US ambassador Robert Ford attends an opposition rally
in Hama. Government instigates demonstrators to attack the US embassy in Damascus. The Obama administration calls for Assad to step down.

July 2011: Opposition conference in Damascus calls for multiple parties and other reforms. Broadcast live on state TV.

July 2011: Seven defecting Syrian soldiers announce formation of Free Syrian Army (FSA).

July 2011: Syrian parliament passes a new law allowing formation of other parties. But opposition criticizes the law because the Baath Party remains the leading party under the constitution. In practice, the loyal opposition has little power.

September 2011: Some rebels, including Muslim Brotherhood, call on the West to create a Syrian no-fly zone to help topple the regime. Others rebels oppose it.

October 2011: Russia and the People's Republic of China block a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria, fearing it could be used to justify Western military intervention.

November 2011: The FSA attacks the Harasta Air Base near Damascus, a significant blow to the Assad regime.

November 2011: Arab League suspends Syria and imposes economic sanctions because Syria didn't abide by the league's peace plan. Assad says the Arab League is carrying out the needs of Western powers.

December 2011: Rebels bomb Baath Party offices and other targets in central Damascus. Bombings and attacks continue through the following summer.

December 2011: Syria agrees to allow a visit by an Arab League delegation, but many thousands of anti-Assad protesters demonstrate in Homs. The Arab League suspends its mission in January due to security concerns.

February 2012: Al-Nusra Front (The Support Front for the People of the Levant), affiliated with al-Qaeda, publicly announces its formation.

March 2012: UN Security Council enacts a proposed peace plan and appoints former UN secretary general Kofi Annan as negotiator.
The Muslim Brotherhood publicly endorses armed struggle, although it had been quietly organizing armed groups earlier. It forms the Commission of the Revolution's Shields as a military coalition but fails to gain much support inside Syria.

May 2012: Pro-Assad militia massacres 108 people, including 34 women and 49 children, in the town of Houla, near Homs. Nations around the world withdraw their ambassadors in protest. Government holds parliamentary elections that include loyal opposition parties. Rebels argue that the elections merely legitimize the Assad dictatorship.

June 2012: CIA admits to vetting armed militias so they can be armed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Syrian military shoots down a Turkish plane that enters Syrian airspace. The incident heightens tensions between the two countries.

July 2012: FSA bombs Damascus intelligence headquarters, assassinating three major officials, including Assad's brother-in-law. Syrian army and security services set up checkpoints throughout Damascus.

August 2012: Kofi Annan resigns as UN negotiator in frustration with lack of progress in peace talks. The United Nations and Arab League appoint Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi as the new envoy.