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WE HATE YOU BASHAR ASSAD.
{{About|the modern state of Syria}}
YIL3AN RO7AKK YA HAFEZ
{{pp-move-indef}}
YIL3AN RO7AKK YA BASHAR
{{Infobox country
|native_name = <span style="line-height:1.33em;">{{lang|ar| الجمهورية العربية السورية }}<br/>{{transl|ar|''al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah''}}</span>
|conventional_long_name = <span style="line-height:1.33em;">Syrian Arab Republic</span>
|common_name = Syria
|image_flag = Flag of Syria.svg
|image_coat = Coat of arms of Syria.svg
|national_anthem = ''"]"''<small><br/>''"Guardians of the Land"''</small>
|image_map = Syria Orthographic Projection.png
|official_languages = ]<sup>1</sup>
|demonym = Syrian
|largest_city = ]
|capital = ]
|latd=33 |latm=30 |latNS=N |longd=36 |longm=18 |longEW=E
|government_type = ] ] ] ]<ref>http://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012. Constitution of Syria 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-02</ref>
|leader_title1 = ]
|leader_name1 = ]
|leader_title2 = ]
|leader_name2 = ]
|legislature = ]
|area_rank = 89th
|area_magnitude = 1 E11
|area_km2 = 185180<!--DO NOT include the Golan Heights here-->
|area_sq_mi = 71479 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
|percent_water = 1.1
|population_estimate = 22,530,746<ref name=ciapop>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html |title=Central Intelligence Agency. November 2, 2011 est |publisher=Cia.gov |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref>
|population_estimate_rank = 53rd
|population_estimate_year = July 2012
|population_census =
|population_census_year =
|population_density_km2 = 118.3
|population_density_sq_mi = 306.5 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
|population_density_rank = 101st
|GDP_PPP = $107.831 billion<ref name=imf>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2010&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&pr1.x=59&pr1.y=13&c=463&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a= |title=Syria|publisher=International Monetary Fund|accessdate=2012-04-22}}</ref>
|GDP_PPP_rank =
|GDP_PPP_year = 2010
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $5,040<ref name=imf/>
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
|GDP_nominal_year = 2010
|GDP_nominal = $59.957 billion<ref name=imf/>
|GDP_nominal_rank =
|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $2,802<ref name=imf/>
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
|sovereignty_type = ]
|established_event1 = from ]
|established_date1 = 17 April 1946
|established_event2 = from the ]
|established_date2 = 28 September 1961
|HDI_year = 2011
|HDI = {{decrease}} 0.632<ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Table1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2010|year=2010|publisher=United Nations|accessdate=5 November 2010}}</ref>
|HDI_rank = 119th
|HDI_category = <span style="color:#fc0;">medium</span>
|currency = ]
|currency_code = SYP
|country_code = SY
|time_zone = ]
|utc_offset = +2
|time_zone_DST = ]
|utc_offset_DST = +3
|drives_on = Right
|cctld = ], ]
|calling_code = ]<sup>2</sup>
|footnote1 = ] is the official language; spoken languages and varieties are: ], ], ], ], ],
], ]<ref name="Minority Rights Group International">{{cite web|url=http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=5266&tmpl=printpage|title=World Directory of Minorities: Syria Overview|publisher=Minority Rights Group International|accessdate=2010-09-11}}</ref>
|footnote2 = 02 from ]
}}


WE HATE YOU BASHAR ASSAD
'''Syria''' ({{IPA-en|ˈsɪriə||En-us-Syria.ogg}} {{respell|SIRR|ee-ə}}; {{lang-ar|سورية}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN|Sūriyya}}'' or {{lang|ar|سوريا}} ''{{transl|ar|DIN|Sūryā}}''; {{lang-syr|ܣܘܪܝܐ}}; {{lang-ku|Sûrî}}), officially the '''Syrian Arab Republic''' ({{lang-ar|الجمهورية العربية السورية}} {{transl|ar|''al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah''}} {{audio|Ar-jumhoria-syria4.ogg|Arabic pronunciation}}), is a country in ], bordering ] and the ] to the West, ] to the north, ] to the east, ] to the south, and ] to the southwest.


In English, the name ''Syria'' was formerly synonymous with the ], known in Arabic as ''Sham'', while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the ]n civilization of the third millennium BC. In the ]ic era, its capital city, ], the ] in the world,<ref>. Retrieved 2010-02-01.</ref> was the seat of the ], and a provincial capital of the ].


The population of Syria is 74% ], 12% ], 10% ], and 3% ]. Combined, 87% of the Syrian population is ], while the other 10% is ], which includes mainly ] but also ] and ]. Major ethnic minorities in Syria include ] (9%), ], ]s, ]s and ]. The majority of the population is ] (90%).<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm |title=Syria (05/07) |publisher=State.gov |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>


BASHAR ASSAD KILLS HIS OWN PEOPLE. THE SECURITY FORCES KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE.
The modern Syrian state was established after the ] as a ], and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly ]-ruled Arab Levant. It gained independence in April 1946, as a ]. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a large number of ]s and coup attempts shook the country in the period 1949–1971. Between 1958 and 1961, Syria entered a brief ], which was terminated by a military coup in Syria. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, and its system of government is considered to be non-democratic.<ref>. Retrieved 2010-02-01.</ref> ] has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father ], who was in office from 1971.<ref name="The Sturdy House That Assad Built">{{cite web |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67561/michael-broening/the-sturdy-house-that-assad-built |title=The Sturdy House That Assad Built |date= 2011-03-07 |author=Michael Bröning |publisher=The Foreign Affairs }}</ref>


Since 2011, the Syrian government has faced massive ] as part of the ], has been suspended from the ] and has faced widespread criticism for its crackdown on protestors and armed groups which has resulted in thousands of casualties, according to the opposition. The ], a collection of Arab and Western governments opposed to the Assad government, recognized the ] as "a legitimate representative" of Syrians protesting against the government.<ref> 24 February 2012.</ref>


WE WANT BASHAR ASSAD DEAD.
== Etymology ==<!--linked-->
{{Main|Name of Syria}}

The name ''Syria'' is derived from the ] name for Syrians: {{lang|el|Σύριοι}}, ''{{transl|grc|Sýrioi}}'', or {{lang|el|Σύροι}}, ''{{transl|grc|Sýroi}}'', which the Greeks applied without distinction to the ].<ref>], ], VII.63, ].</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Joseph |title=Assyria and Syria: Synonyms?|url=http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v11n2/JohnJoseph.pdf |format=PDF |year=2008}}</ref> A number of modern scholars argued that the Greek word related to the cognate {{lang|el|Ἀσσυρία}}, ''{{transl|grc|]}}'', ultimately derived from the ] ''{{transl|akk|]}}''.<ref>First proposed by ] in 1881; cf. {{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Syria |title=Syria |work=Online Etymology Dictionary |month=November |year=2001 |accessdate=2007-06-13}}</ref> Others believed that it was derived from ''Siryon'', the name that the ] gave to ].<ref>{{cite book |url = http://books.google.com/?id=J3PsAb1uV94C&printsec=frontcover |title = Greater Syria: The History of an Ambition |accessdate = 2010-02-01 |author = Pipes, Daniel |authorlink =Daniel Pipes |year = 1992|publisher = ] |page = 13 |isbn = 0-19-506022-9}}</ref> However, the discovery of the ] in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria.

The area designated by the word has changed over time. Classically, Syria lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, between ] and ] to the south and ] to the north, stretching inland to include parts of ], and having an uncertain border to the northeast that ] describes as including, from west to east, ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite book |author=Pliny |authorlink=Pliny the Elder |url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/5*.html |title=Natural History |chapter=Book 5 Section 66 |publisher=University of Chicago Website |year=AD 77 |isbn=84-249-1901-7}}</ref>

By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into a number of provinces under the ] (but politically independent from each other): ], later renamed ] in AD&nbsp;135 (the region corresponding to modern day Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan) in the extreme southwest, ] corresponding to Lebanon, with Damascena to the inland side of Phoenicia, ] (or "Hollow Syria") south of the ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29905/Roman-provincial-organization#default |title=Syria :: Roman provincial organization – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Syria}}
], a well known beach just north of ].]]
Syria lies between latitudes ] and ], and longitudes ] and ]. It consists mostly of arid plateau, although the northwest part of the country bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. The Northeast of the country "Al Jazira" and the South "Hawran" are important agricultural areas.<ref name="geo">{{cite book |last = National Council of Geography Teachers (U.S.)|title = The Journal of Geography |publisher = ] |year = 1928 |page = 167}}</ref> The ], Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east. It is considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "]".<ref>{{cite book |last = F. A. Schaeffer |first = Claude |title = Syria and the Cradle of Civilization: The Findings of Claude F a Schaeffer in Ras Shamra |publisher = ] |year = 2003 |isbn = 1-84453-129-5 }}</ref>

The climate in Syria is dry and hot, and winters are mild. Because of the country's elevation, snowfall does occasionally occur during winter.<ref name="geo" /> Petroleum in commercial quantities was first discovered in the northeast in 1956. The most important oil fields are those of Suwaydiyah, Qaratshui, Rumayian, and Tayyem, near Dayr az–Zawr. The fields are a natural extension of the Iraqi fields of Mosul and Kirkuk. Petroleum became Syria's leading natural resource and chief export after 1974. Natural gas was discovered at the field of Jbessa in 1940.<ref name="USDoS"/>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Syria}}
].]]
Since approximately 10,000 BC Syria was one of centers of ] culture (]) where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period (]) is represented by rectangular houses of ] culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic people used vessels made of stone, gyps and burnt lime (]). Finds of ] tools from ] are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of ] and ] played an important role during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age.

]s have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth. Around the excavated city of ] in northern Syria, an Italian mission led by Prof. ] discovered in 1975, a great Semitic empire spread from the ] north to ] and east to ] from 2500 to 2400 BC Ebla appears to have been founded around 3000 BC and gradually built its empire through trade with the cities of ] and ], as well as with peoples to the northwest. Gifts from Pharaoh found during excavations confirm Ebla's contact with ]. Scholars believe the language of Ebla to be among the oldest known written ]. The Eblan civilization was likely conquered by ] around 2260 BC; the city was restored as the nation of the ] a few centuries later and flourished through the early second millennium BC until conquered by the ].

During the second millennium BC, Syria was occupied successively by ]ites(]ns) and ] as part of the general disruptions associated with the ]; the Phoenicians settled along the coastline of these areas as well as in the west (Now ] and the current Syrian coast), in the area already known for its cedars. Egyptians, ], ], ]s, and ] variously occupied the strategic ground of Syria during this period, as it was a marchland between their various empires. Eventually the ] took control of Syria as part of their general control of Southwest Asia; this control transferred to the ] after ]'s conquests and thence to the ] and the ].

In 83 BC Syria fell under the rule of ]; the King of ]. The Armenians maintained a rule of 13 years over Syria, which was finally turned into a ] in 64 BC.

=== Ebla civilization ===
{{Main|Ebla|Eblaite language|Amorite}}

] note with ]]]
]
Around the excavated city of ] near Idlib city in northern Syria, discovered in 1975, a great Semitic empire spread from the ] north to ] and east to ] from 2500 to 2400 BC. Ebla appears to have been founded around 3000 BC, and gradually built its empire through trade with the cities of ] and ], as well as with peoples to the northwest.<ref name="LibraryofCongress">{{cite web |title=Syria: A country Study – Ancient Syria|publisher=Library of Congress |date=Data as of April 1987 |accessdate=2007-09-05 |url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_syriaancient.htm}}</ref> Gifts from ]s, found during excavations, confirm Ebla's contact with ]. Scholars believe the ] to be among the oldest known written ], designated as ].<ref name="LibraryofCongress" />

However, more recent classifications of the ] has shown that it was an ], closely related to the ].<ref>{{cite journal |title = The Aramaic Language and Its Classification |journal=] |volume= 14 |issue= 1 |url=http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v14n1/e8.pdf }}</ref> The Eblan civilization was likely conquered by ] around 2260 BC; the city was restored, as the nation of the ], a few centuries later, and flourished through the early second millennium BC until conquered by the ].<ref>Relations between God and Man in the Hurro-Hittite Song of Release, Mary R. Bachvarova, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Jan–Mar SAAD 2005</ref>

=== Antiquity and early Christian era ===
{{Main|Phoenicia|Canaan|Aram Damascus|Achaemenid Empire|Seleucid Empire|Syria (Roman province)}}
] in ]]]
], Roman Emperor]]

During the second millennium BC, Syria was occupied successively by ]ites, ]ns, and ] as part of the general disruptions and exchanges associated with the ]. The Phoenicians settled along the coast of Northern Canaan (]), which was already known for its towering cedars. Egyptians, ], ], ]s and ] variously occupied the strategic ground of Syria during this period; the land between their various empires being marsh.<ref name="LibraryofCongress" />

Eventually, the ] took Syria as part of their hegemony of Southwest Asia; this dominion was transferred to the ] and ] after ]'s conquests and the ]. The capital of this Empire (founded in 312 BC) was situated at Antioch, part of historical Syria, but just inside the Turkish border today. Pompey the Great captured Antioch in 64 BC, turning Syria into a Roman province. Thus control of this region passed to the ] and then the ].<ref name="LibraryofCongress" />

In the ] period, the city of ] was the third largest city in the empire after Rome and ]. With an estimated population of 500,000 at its peak, Antioch was one of the major centers of trade and industry in the ancient world. The population of Syria during the heyday of the empire was probably not exceeded again until the 19th century. Syria's large and prosperous population made Syria one of the most important of the Roman provinces, particularly during the 2nd and 3rd centuries (AD).<ref name="Cavendish Corporation 2006 183">{{cite book | last = Cavendish Corporation | first = Marshall | title = World and Its Peoples | publisher = ] | year = 2006 | isbn = 0-7614-7571-0 | page = 183}}</ref>

The Roman Emperor ], who was emperor from 222 to 235, was Syrian. His cousin ], who was emperor from 218 to 222, was also Syrian and his family held hereditary rights to the high priesthood of the sun god ] at ] (modern ]) in Syria. Another Roman emperor who was a Syrian was ] (Marcus Julius Philippus), emperor from 244 to 249.<ref name="Cavendish Corporation 2006 183"/>

Syria is significant in the ]; Saulus of Tarsus, better known as the ], was converted on the ] and emerged as a significant figure in the Christian Church at ] in ancient Syria, from which he left on many of his missionary journeys. ({{Bibleverse|Acts|9:1–43|}})

], whose ruins are now a UNESCO ], grew large in the Syrian desert in the 1st and 2nd centuries (A.D.).]]

=== Islamic era ===
{{Main|Umayyad Caliphate|Abbasid Caliphate|Ayyubid dynasty|Zengid dynasty|Hamdanid dynasty}}
] near ] is considered to be one of the oldest surviving churches in the world]]
]]]
By AD 640, Syria was conquered by the ] led by ], resulting in the area's becoming part of the ]. In the mid-7th century, the ], then rulers of the empire, placed the capital of the empire in Damascus. Syria was divided into four districts: Damascus, ], ] and ]. The Islamic empire stretched from Spain and ] to India and parts of ]; thus Syria prospered economically, being the capital of the empire. Early Ummayad rulers such as ] and ] constructed several splendid palaces and mosques throughout Syria, particularly in Damascus, ] and Homs.

There was great toleration of Christians in this era and several held governmental posts. The country's power dramatically declined during later Ummayad rule; mainly due to the totalitarianism and corruption spread among the empire's leaderships, conflict between its general staff, and the successive revolutions by the oppressed and miserable groups. As one Ummayad chieftain responded to a question about the reasons of the decline of their empire: "Rather visiting what needed to be visited, we were more interested in the pleasure and enjoyment of life; we oppressed our people until they gave up and sought relief from us, we trusted our ministers who favoured their own interests and kept secrets from us, and we unhurriedly rewarded our soldiers that we lost their obedience to our enemies."{{citation needed|date=April 2011}}

Ummayad dynasty was then overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty in 750, who moved the capital of empire to ]. ] — made official under Ummayad rule — became the dominant language, replacing ] and ] in the Abbasid era. In 887, the ]-based ] annexed Syria from the Abbasids, and were later replaced by once the Egypt-based ]s and later by the ]s originating in Aleppo founded by ].<ref> Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2008-10-22.</ref>

Sections of the coastline of Syria were briefly held by Frankish overlords during the ] of the 12th century, and were known as the ] of the ]. The area was also threatened by ] extremists known as ] (''Hassassin''). In 1260, the ] arrived, led by ] with an army 100,000 strong, destroying cities and irrigation works. ] fell in January 1260, and ] in March, but then Hulegu needed to break off his attack to return to China to deal with a succession dispute.

The command of the remaining Mongol troops was placed under ], a Christian Mongol. A few months later, the Mamluks arrived with an army from Egypt, and defeated the Mongols in the ], in ]. In addition to the sultanate's capital in ], the Mamluk leader, ], made ] a provincial capital, with the cities linked by a mail service that traveled by both horses and carrier pigeons. When Baibars died, his successor was overthrown, and power was taken by ]. In the meantime, an emir named ] had tried to declare himself ruler of Damascus, but he was defeated by Qalawun on 21 June 1280, and fled to northern Syria.

] is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world.]]
Al-Ashqar, who had married a Mongol woman, appealed for help from the Mongols, and in 1281, they arrived with an army of 50,000 Mongols, and 30,000 Armenian, Georgian, and Turkish auxiliaries, along with Al-Ashqar's rebel force. The ] of the ] took the city, but Qalawun arrived with a Mamluk force, persuaded Al-Ashqar to switch sides and join him, and they fought against the Mongols on 29 October 1281, in the ], a close battle that resulted in the death of the majority of the combatants but was finally won by the Mamluks.<ref>''Timeframe'' pp. 59–75.</ref>

In 1400, ], or Tamerlane, invaded Syria, sacked ] and captured ] after defeating the Mamluk army. The city's inhabitants were massacred, except for the artisans, who were deported to ].<ref>.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/08/wae/ht08wae.htm |title=The Eastern Mediterranean, 1400–1600 A.D |publisher=Metmuseum.org |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref> It was during the conquests of Timur that the indigenous Christian population of Syria began to suffer under greater persecutions.

By the end of the 15th century, the discovery of a sea route from Europe to the Far East ended the need for an ] through Syria. In 1516, the ] invaded the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, conquering Syria, and incorporating it into its empire, before conquering Egypt itself the following year. From that time until the 20th century, Syria found itself largely apart from, and ignored by, world affairs.

=== Ottoman era ===
{{Main|Ottoman Syria}}
]
The Syrian economy did not flourish under the Ottomans. At times attempts were made to rebuild the country that had been shattered by the Mongols, but on the whole Syria remained poor. The population decreased by nearly 30%, and hundreds of villages virtually disappeared into the desert. At the end of the 18th century only one-eighth of the villages formerly on the register of the ] pashalik (domain of a ]) were still inhabited.<ref>"". ].</ref>

In the midst of ] two ] diplomats (Frenchman ] and Briton ]) secretly agreed on the post war division of the Ottoman Empire into respective zones of influence. The end of the war and defeat of the ], of which the ] was one, allowed the victorious ] of Britain and France to realise its provisions.

The ] of 1916 set the fate of modern ] for the coming century; providing France with the northern zone (Syria, including what would become the state of ]), and the United Kingdom with the southern one (] and later, after renegotiations in 1917, ] (including what would become the state of ]) – 'to secure daily transportation of troops from ] to ]' – agreement n° 7).
], summer of 1917.]]
Initially, the two territories were separated by a border that ran in an almost straight line from Jordan to ]. However, the discovery of ] in the region of ] just before the end of the war led to yet another negotiation with France in 1918 to cede this region to 'Zone B', or the British zone of influence. The borders between the 'Zone A' and 'Zone B' have not changed from 1918 to this date. The two zones were recognized internationally under mandate of the ] in 1920.<ref>. Retrieved 2010-02-01.</ref>

=== French Mandate ===
{{Main|French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon}}
]
In 1920, a short-lived independent Kingdom of Syria was established under ] of the ] family, who later became the King of ]. However, his rule over Syria ended after only a few months, following the clash between his Syrian Arab forces and regular French forces at the ]. French troops occupied Syria later that year after the ] proposed that the ] put Syria under a French mandate.<ref>{{cite book |author=Peter N. Stearns, William Leonard Langer |url=http://books.google.com/?id=MziRd4ddZz4C|title=The Encyclopedia of World History |chapter=The Middle East, p. 761 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-395-65237-4}}</ref>

In 1925, ] led a revolt that broke out in the ] and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon. This is considered one of the most important revolutions against the French mandate, as it encompassed the whole of Syria and witnessed fierce battles between rebel and French forces.

On August 23, 1925, Sultan Pasha al-Atrash officially declared revolution against France, and soon fighting erupted in Damascus, Homs and Hama. Al-Atrash won several battles against the French at the beginning of revolution, notably the Battle of Al-Kabir on July 21, 1925, the Battle of Al-Mazra'a on August 2, 1925, and the battles of Salkhad, Almsifarh and Suwayda.
] in 1936]]

After resistance victories against the French, France sent thousands of troops to Syria and Lebanon from Morocco and Senegal, equipped with modern weapons; the rebels were lightly armed. This dramatically altered the results and allowed the French to regain many cities, although resistance lasted until the spring of 1927. The French sentenced Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and was eventually pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 after the signing of the Syrian-French Treaty. He was met with a huge public reception.

Syria and France negotiated a ] in September 1936, and ], who was Prime Minister under King Faisal's brief reign, was the first president to be elected under a new constitution, effectively the first incarnation of the modern republic of Syria. However, the treaty never came into force because the French Legislature refused to ratify it. With the fall of France in 1940 during ], Syria came under the control of ] until the British and Free French occupied the country in the ] in July 1941. Syria proclaimed its independence again in 1941, but it was not until 1 January 1944 that it was recognised as an independent republic. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalist groups and British pressure forced the French to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate.<ref name="USDoS">{{cite web |url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3580.htm |title=Background Note: Syria |work=], Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, May 2007}}</ref>

===Independence, instability and economic growth===
{{Main|Syrian Republic (1930–1958)|United Arab Republic|8 March Revolution}}
Although rapid economic development followed the declaration of independence, Syrian politics from independence through the late 1960s were marked by upheaval. Between 1946 and 1956, Syria had 20 different cabinets and drafted four separate constitutions. In 1948, Syria was involved in the ], aligning with the other local Arab states who were attempting to prevent the establishment of the State of ].<ref name="Britan">{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29922/World-War-II-and-independence |title=Syria: World War II and independence |publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia}}</ref> The Syrian army was pressed out of most of ], but fortified their strongholds on the ] and managed to keep their old borders and some additional territory (this was converted into "supposed" demilitarized zones under UN supervision; the status of these territories have proved a stumbling-block for Syrian-Israeli negotiations). It was during this period that many Syrian Jews, who faced growing discrimination, emigrated from the country as part of ], many of whom ended up as refugees in Israel, and are now Israeli citizens.
]]]

The humiliating defeat suffered by the army was one of several trigger factors for the ] by Col. ], in what has been described as the first military overthrow of the ]<ref name="Britan" /> since the start of the Second World War. This was soon followed by another overthrow, by Col. ], who was himself quickly deposed by Col. ], all within the same year.<ref name="Britan" />

After exercising influence behind the scenes for some time, dominating the ravaged parliamentary scene, Shishakli launched a second overthrow in 1951, entrenching his rule and eventually abolishing multipartyism altogether. Only when President Shishakli was himself overthrown in a ] was the parliamentary system restored, but it was fundamentally undermined by continued political maneuvering supported by competing factions in the military.<ref name="Britan" />

By this time, civilian politics had been largely gutted of meaning, and power was increasingly concentrated in the military and security establishment, which had now proved itself to be the only force capable of seizing and, perhaps, keeping power.<ref name="Britan" /> Parliamentary institutions remained weak and ineffectual, dominated by competing parties representing the landowning elites and various ] urban notables, while economy and politics were mismanaged, and little done to better the role of Syria's peasant majority. That, as well as the influence of ] and other nationalist and anti-imperial ideologies, created fertile ground for various ], ], and socialist movements, who represented disaffected elements of society, notably including the religious minorities, and demanded radical reform.<ref name="Britan" />

During the ] of 1956, after the invasion of Egypt by Israel, Britain, and France, ] was declared in Syria. The November 1956 attacks on Iraqi pipelines were in retaliation for Iraq's joining of the ]. In early 1957 ] advised Egypt and Syria against a conceivable takeover of Jordan.<ref>{{cite book |last = Walt |first = Stephen |authorlink = Stephen Walt |title = ] |publisher = ] |year = 1990 |pages = 72–73|isbn = 0-8014-9418-4 }}</ref>

In November 1956, as a direct result of the Suez Crisis,<ref>http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/10/syria-hasnt-changed-but-the-world-has</ref> Syria signed a pact with the ], providing a foothold for ] influence within the government in exchange for planes, tanks, and other military equipment being sent to Syria.<ref name="Britan" /> This increase in the strength of Syrian military technology worried ], as it seemed feasible that Syria might attempt to retake ], a matter of dispute between Syria and Turkey. On the other hand, Syria and the ] accused Turkey of massing its troops at the Syrian border. During this standoff, Communists gained more control over the Syrian government and military. Only heated debates in the United Nations (of which Syria was an original member) lessened the threat of war.<ref>{{cite book |last = Brecher |first = Michael |coauthors = Jonathan Wilkenfeld |title = A Study of Crisis |publisher = ] |year = 1997 |pages = 345–346 |isbn = 0-472-10806-9 }}</ref>

Syria's political instability during the years after the 1954 overthrow, the parallelism of Syrian and ]ian policies, and the appeal of Egyptian President ]'s leadership in the wake of the Suez Crisis created support in Syria for union with Egypt.<ref name="Britan" /> On 1 February 1958, Syrian President ] and Nasser announced the merging of the two states, creating the ], and all Syrian political parties, as well as the communists therein, ceased overt activities.<ref name="USDoS"/>

The union was not a success, however.<ref name="Britan" /> Following a military overthrow led by ] on 28 September 1961, Syria seceded, re-establishing itself as the Syrian Arab Republic. Instability characterized the next 18 months, with various overthrows culminating with ], resulting in installation by leftist Syrian Army officers of the National Council of the Revolutionary Command (NCRC), a group of military and civilian officials who assumed control of all executive and legislative authority. ] was engineered by members of the ], led by ] and ], which had been active in Syria and other Arab countries since the late 1940s. The new cabinet was dominated by Ba'ath members.<ref name="USDoS"/><ref name="Britan" />

The Ba'ath takeover in Syria followed a Ba'ath overthrow in Iraq the previous month. The new Syrian Government explored the possibility of federation with Egypt and with Ba'ath-controlled Iraq.<ref name="Britan" /> An agreement was concluded in ] on 17 April 1963, for a referendum on unity to be held in September 1963. However, serious disagreements among the parties soon developed, and the tripartite federation failed to materialize. Thereafter, the Ba'ath government in Syria and Iraq began to work for bilateral unity. These plans foundered in November 1963, when the Ba'ath government in Iraq was overthrown.

In May 1964, President ] of the NCRC promulgated a provisional constitution providing for a National Council of the Revolution (NCR), an appointed legislature composed of representatives of mass organizations—labour, peasant, and professional unions—a presidential council, in which executive power was vested, and a cabinet. On 23 February 1966, a group of army officers carried out a successful, ], imprisoned President Hafiz and nearly jailed Prime Minister al-Bitar and Ba'ath party founder Aflaq, dissolved the cabinet and the NCR, abrogated the provisional constitution, and designated a regionalist, civilian Ba'ath government on 1 March.<ref name="Britan" /> The leaders of the overthrow described it as a "rectification" of Ba'ath Party principles.<ref name="Britan" /> The coup led to a split within the original, ]; one ] (ruled Iraq from 1968 to 2003) and one ] was established.

{{quote|''We shall never call for nor accept peace. We shall only accept war. We have resolved to drench this land with your blood. To oust you aggressors, to throw you into the sea.''<ref name="Gilbert2002">{{cite book|author=Martin Gilbert|title=The Routledge atlas of the Arab-Israeli conflict|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=UNvJ1FOwiAwC&pg=PA66|accessdate=21 March 2011|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-28116-4|page=66}}</ref>|], then Syrian Defence Minister|24 May 1966}}

When Nasser closed the ] to ]-bound ships, the Ba'ath government supported the Egyptian leader and amassed troops in the strategic Golan Heights. Syria sponsored Palestinian raids into Israel<ref>Oren, Michael. (2006). "The Six-Day War", in Bar-On, Mordechai (ed.), ''Never-Ending Conflict: Israeli Military History''. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-275-98158-4, p. 135.</ref> and Syrian artillery repeatedly bombed Israeli civilian communities from positions on the Golan Heights.<ref>Gilbert, Martin. (2008). ''Israel – A History''. McNally & Loftin Publishers. ISBN 0-688-12363-5, p. 365.</ref> Concerning the raids on Israel's territory, Syria claimed that it could not be held responsible for the activities of El-Fatah and ], nor for the rise of Palestinian organizations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/f46f0d5ca57118da852562cf006c1096?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,united,nations,yearbook,1966 |title=United Nations Yearbook, 1966}}</ref>

Conflicts also arose over different interpretations of the legal status of the ]. Israel maintained that it had sovereign rights over the zone, allowing the civilian use of farmland. Syria and the UN maintained that no party had sovereign rights over the zone.<ref>Alasdair Drysdale, Raymond A. Hinnebusch (1991), "Syria and the Middle East peace process", Council on Foreign Relations, ISBN 0-87609-105-2, p. 99.</ref> Israel was accused by Syria of cultivating lands in the Demilitarized Zone, using armored tractors backed by Israel forces. Syria claimed that the situation was the result of an Israeli aim to increase tension so as to justify large-scale aggression, and to expand its occupation of the Demilitarized Zone by liquidating the rights of Arab cultivators.<ref name="Yearbook1967">{{cite web |url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/0/17bdf357679b218f85256c41006ad66d? |title=OpenDocument Yearbook of the United Nations 1967}}</ref>

Conflict over the cultivation of disputed lands sparked into ] between Israel and Syria.<ref name="Tessler1994">{{cite book|author=Mark A. Tessler|title=A History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3kbU4BIAcrQC&pg=PA382|accessdate=29 December 2010|year=1994|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-20873-6|page=382}}</ref>

The Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan said in a 1976 interview that Israel provoked more than 80% of the clashes with Syria.<ref> By Serge Schmemann, May 11, 1997. Retrieved 2010-02-01.</ref><ref name=Zisser>{{cite journal | author = Eyal Zisser | title = June 1967: Israel's Capture of the Golan Heights | journal = Israel Studies | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | year = 2002 | pages = 168–194}}</ref>

After Israel launched a ] on Egypt to begin the ], Syria joined the battle against Israel as well. In the final days of the war, after having captured the Sinai Peninsula and ] from Egypt, as well as the ] and ] from Jordan, Israel turned its attention to Syria, capturing the entire Golan Heights in under 48 hours.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Campaign for the Books |publisher=Time Magazine |date=September 1, 1967 |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,837237,00 |deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref>

Conflict developed between an extremist military wing and a more moderate civilian wing of the Ba'ath Party. The 1970 retreat of Syrian forces sent to aid the ] during the "]" hostilities with ] reflected this political disagreement within the ruling Ba'ath leadership.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/nixon.papers/index.html |title=Jordan asked Nixon to attack Syria, declassified papers show - CNN.com |publisher=Edition.cnn.com |date= 2007-11-28|accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> By 13 November 1970, Minister of Defense ] was solidly established as the strongman of the government, when he effected a bloodless military overthrow ("]").<ref>{{cite book | last = Seale | first = Patrick | authorlink = Patrick Seale | title = Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East | publisher = ]| year = 1988| isbn = 0-520-06976-5}}</ref>

=== Ba'ath Party rule under Hafez al-Assad, 1970–2000 ===
{{See also|1970 Syrian Corrective Revolution|Ba'ath Party (Syrian-led faction)|Hafez al-Assad}}
], former president of Syria]]
Upon ], ] moved quickly to create an organizational infrastructure for his government and to consolidate control. The Provisional Regional Command of Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party nominated a 173-member legislature, the People's Council, in which the Ba'ath Party took 87 seats. The remaining seats were divided among "popular organizations" and other minor parties. In March 1971, the party held its regional congress and elected a new 21-member Regional Command headed by Assad.

In the same month, a national referendum was held to confirm Assad as President for a 7-year term. In March 1972, to broaden the base of his government, Assad formed the National Progressive Front, a coalition of parties led by the Ba'ath Party, and elections were held to establish local councils in each of Syria's 14 governorates. In March 1973, a new Syrian constitution went into effect followed shortly thereafter by parliamentary elections for the People's Council, the first such elections since 1962.<ref name="USDoS"/> The 1973 Constitution defines Syria officially as a secular ] with Islam recognised as the majority religion.

On 6 October 1973, Syria and Egypt initiated the ] by launching a multi-front surprise attack against Israeli forces stationed in the Israeli-occupied ] and ]. After intense fighting the ] blunted the Syrians and reversed the initial Syrian gains, ejecting the Syrian army from the Golan and pushing deeper into Syrian territory beyond the 1967 boundary. As a result, ] continues to occupy the ] as part of the ].<ref>{{cite book |last = Rabinovich |first = Abraham |authorlink = Abraham Rabinovich |title = The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East |publisher = ] |year = 2005 |location = New York, New York|isbn = 0-8052-4176-0 |page = 302 }}</ref>

In early 1976, the ] was going poorly for the ]. Syria then invaded Lebanon with 40,000 troops ostensibly to prevent the Maronites from being overrun, but abruptly switched sides soon thereafter and became embroiled in the ], beginning the thirty-year ]. Many crimes in Lebanon, including the assassinations of ], ] and ] were attributed to the Syrian forces and intelligence services.<ref> The Epoch Times, 22 November 2006.</ref> Over the following 15 years of civil war, Syria fought for control over Lebanon, and attempted to undermine Israel in southern Lebanon, through extensive use of proxy militias. Many saw the ] presence in Lebanon as an ], especially following the end of the civil war in 1990, after the Syrian-sponsored ]. Syria then remained in Lebanon until 2005, exerting a heavy-handed influence over Lebanese politics that was deeply resented by many. Following the assassination of the popular former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, blamed on Syria, pressure was put to bear on Syria to withdraw their forces from Lebanon. On April 26, 2005 the bulk of the Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sc8372.doc.htm |title=Security Council Press Release SC/8372 |publisher=Un.org |date=2005-04-29 |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref> but some of its intelligence operatives remained, drawing further international rebuke.<ref> Washington Post, April 27, 2005.</ref>
] on his arrival at Damascus airport in 1974]]
About one million Syrian workers came into Lebanon after the war ended to find jobs in the reconstruction of the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2006/1109_syria_lebanon.html |title=Syria's Role in Lebanon by Mona Yacoubian: USIPeace Briefing: U.S. Institute of Peace |publisher=Usip.org|accessdate=2008-10-25 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080718063946/http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2006/1109_syria_lebanon.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-07-18}}</ref> Syrian workers were preferred over ] and Lebanese workers because they could be paid lower wages. In 1994, under pressure from Damascus,{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}} the Lebanese government controversially granted citizenship to over 200,000 Syrian residents in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alzaytouna.net/arabic/?c=201&a=52460 |title=تقرير الوزير اللبناني أحمد فتفت عن ملف المجنسين |publisher=Alzaytouna.net |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> (For more on these issues, see ])

The authoritarian government was not without its critics, though open dissent was repressed. A serious challenge arose in the late 1970s, however, from fundamentalist Sunni Muslims, who reject the basic values of the secular Ba'ath program and object to rule by the Alawis, whom they consider heretical. From 1976 until its suppression in 1982, the arch-conservative ] led an armed insurgency against the government. In response to an attempted uprising by the brotherhood in February 1982, the government crushed the fundamentalist opposition centered in the city of Hama, leveling parts of the city with artillery fire and leaving between 10,000 and 25,000 people either dead or wounded, mostly civilians (see ]).<ref name="autogenerated2"/> The Syrian government's actions at Hama have been described as possibly being "the single deadliest act by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East".<ref>Wright, Robin, Dreams and Shadows: the Future of the Middle East, Penguin Press, 2008, pp. 243–4.</ref> Since then, public manifestations of anti-government activity have been limited.<ref name="USDoS"/>

Syria's 1990 participation in the U.S.-led multinational coalition aligned against Saddam Hussein marked a dramatic watershed in Syria's relations both with other ] and with the ]. Syria participated in the multilateral ] in ] in October 1991, and during the 1990s engaged in direct, face-to-face negotiations with ]. These negotiations failed, and there have been no further direct Syrian-Israeli talks since President ]'s meeting with then President ] in ] in March 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forward.com/articles/7655/ |title=Syria Makes Overture Over Negotiations - Forward.com |publisher=Forward.com |author=Marc Perelman |date=July 11, 2003 |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

=== Under Bashar al-Assad ===
{{See also|Bashar al-Assad}}
] (left) with Brazilian then-president ] (right), 2010]]

Hafez al-Assad died on 10 June 2000, after 30 years in power. Immediately following al-Assad's death, the Parliament amended the constitution, reducing the mandatory minimum age of the President from 40 to 34. This allowed his son, ], to become legally eligible for nomination by the ruling Ba'ath party. On 10 July 2000, Bashar al-Assad was elected President by referendum in which he ran unopposed, garnering 97.29% of the vote, according to Syrian Government statistics.<ref name="USDoS"/>

Bashar al-Assad's election in the summer of 2000 saw the birth of the ] and hopes of reform. The period was characterized by the emergence of numerous political forums or ] where groups of like minded people met in private houses to debate political and social issues. The phenomenon of salons spread rapidly in ] and to a lesser extent in other cities. Political activists, such as, ], ], ], ], and ] were important in mobilizing the movement.<ref name=AISyria>{{cite web|title=Syria Smothering Freedom of Expression: the detention of peaceful critics|url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE24/007/2002/en/ee9fa6f2-d870-11dd-9df8-936c90684588/mde240072002en.html|publisher=Amnesty International|accessdate=5 July 2011}}</ref> The most famous of the forums were the ] and the ]. Pro-democracy activists mobilized around a number of political demands, expressed in the "Manifesto of the 99". However, by autumn 2001, the authorities had suppressed the movement, imprisoning some of the leading intellectuals who had called for democratic elections and a campaign of civil disobedience.<ref name=Alan>{{cite book|last=George|first=Alan|title=Syria: neither bread nor freedom|year=2003|publisher=Zed Books|location=London|isbn=1-84277-213-9|pages=56–58|url=http://books.google.com/?id=dFdbVVcKsSIC&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> Renewed opposition activity occurred in October 2005 when activist ] launched with leading opposition figures the ], which criticized the Syrian government as "authoritarian, totalitarian and cliquish" and called for democratic reform.<ref name=Declaration>{{cite web|title=The Damascus Declaration for Democratic National Change|url=http://www.demdigest.net/damascusdeclaration.html|work=15 October 2005|accessdate=5 July 2011}}</ref> Although the Damascus Spring lasted for a short period, its effects still echo during the political, cultural and intellectual debates in Syria today.

Although Bashar al-Assad said he would reform, the reforms have been limited to some market reforms.<ref name="The Sturdy House That Assad Built" /><ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web |url=http://www.meforum.org/683/syrian-reform-what-lies-beneath |first=Farid N. |last=Ghadry |title=Syrian Reform: What Lies Beneath |date=Winter 2005 |publisher=The Middle East Quarterly }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2579331.stm |title= Profile: Syria's Bashar al-Assad |date=Last Updated: |accessdate=2008-10-25 | work=BBC News}}</ref>

Over the years the authorities have tightened ] with laws such as forcing Internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.rsf.org/predator-bashar-al-assad,37213.html |title=Bashar Al-Assad, President, Syria |publisher=Reporters Without Borders }}</ref>
While the authorities have relaxed rules so that radio channels can now play Western pop music, websites such as ], ], ] and ] have been blocked.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/11792330 |title=Red lines that cannot be crossed – The authorities don't want you to read or see too much |date=2008-07-24 |publisher=The Economist}}</ref>

On 5 October 2003, Israel bombed a site near Damascus, charging it was a ] training facility for members of ]. The raid was in retaliation for the bombing of a restaurant in the Israeli town of ] that killed 19. Islamic Jihad said the camp was not in use; Syria said the attack was on a civilian area.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-launches-strikes-on-syria-in-retaliation-for-bomb-attack-582373.html |title=Israel launches strikes on Syria in retaliation for bomb attack |publisher=The Independent |accessdate=2008-10-23 | location=London | first=Justin | last=Huggler | date=2003-10-06}}</ref>

In May 2004, the United States moved closer to imposing sanctions on Syria, following the adoption of the Syria Accountability Act by the House of Representatives International Relations committee.<ref>.</ref> ], Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, all included in what the EU and the U.S view as terrorist groups, all take refuge and enjoy strong relationships with the Syrian government.

Following ], the Syrian ] protested in ], ], in Germany, at the US and UK embassies, and in Turkey. The protesters pledged against violence in north-east Syria starting Friday, 12 March 2004, and reportedly extending over the weekend resulting in several deaths, according to reports. The Kurds allege the Syrian government encouraged and armed the attackers. Signs of rioting were seen in the towns of Qameshli and Hassakeh.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf/Story/8A24116B9C5C2F34C2256E59002D08F0?OpenDocument&PRINT |title=Naharnet Newsdesk – Syria Curbs Kurdish Riots for a Merger with Iraq's Kurdistan |publisher=Naharnet.com |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

In 2005, under heavy international pressure, Syria withdrew 14,000 troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4322477.stm | work=BBC News | title=Syria sidesteps Lebanon demands | date=March 6, 2005 | accessdate=April 28, 2010 | first=Orla | last=Guerin}}</ref>

The authorities maintain close ties to Iran. On September 6, 2007, Israeli jet fighters carried out ] against a suspected ] under construction by ] technicians.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Sanger |title=Israel Struck Syrian Nuclear Project, Analysts Say |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/washington/14weapons.html?hp |publisher=The New York Times |date=2007-10-14 |accessdate=2007-10-15 }}</ref>

In April, 2008, President ] told a ] newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year, with ] acting as a mediator. This was confirmed in May, 2008, by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister ]. The status of the ], a major obstacle to a peace treaty, is being discussed.<ref>{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Walker |coauthors=News Agencies |title = Olmert confirms peace talks with Syria |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/21/israelandthepalestinians.syria |publisher=The Guardian |date=21 May 2008 |accessdate=2008-05-21 |quote=Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks, with Turkey acting as a mediator.... | location=London}}</ref>

==== 2011–2012 Syrian uprising ====
{{main|2011–2012 Syrian uprising&lrm;}}
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|+<big>'''] (SNC)'''</big>
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|'''Type''' || ]
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|'''Formation''' || 23 August 2011
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|''']''' || {{legend|#4CA42F|Executive Board (7)}}
{{legend|#BA0000|General Assembly (190)}}
{{legend|#FFD600|Secretariat (29):
*] (6)
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The ] is an ongoing internal violent conflict in Syria. The Syrian government deployed the ] to quell the uprising, and several cities were besieged.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13343540 |title=Syrian army tanks 'moving towards Hama' |work=BBC News |date=5 May 2011 |accessdate=20 January 2012 }}</ref><ref name="http">{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/201151722757252901.html |title='Dozens killed' in Syrian border town |work=Al Jazeera |date=17 May 2011 |accessdate=12 June 2011 }}</ref> According to witnesses, soldiers who refused to open fire on civilians were summarily executed by the Syrian Army.<ref name="defect">{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/06/201168175624573155.html |title='Defected Syria security agent' speaks out |work=Al Jazeera |date=8 June 2011 |accessdate=21 June 2011 }}</ref> The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed "armed gangs" for causing trouble.<ref name="crackdown">{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/06/201161064328691559.html |title=Syrian army starts crackdown in northern town |work=Al Jazeera |accessdate=12 June 2011 }}</ref> In late 2011, civilians and army defectors formed fighting units, which began an insurgency campaign against the Syrian Army. The insurgents unified under the banner of the ] and fought in an increasingly organized fashion; however, the civilian component of the armed opposition lacked an organized leadership. The uprising has been accused for having sectarian undertones, although neither faction in the conflict has described sectarianism as playing a major role. The opposition is naturally dominated by ] Muslims who make up most of Syrians nevertheless inclusive of all sects, whereas the leading government figures are exclusively ] Muslims.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kim |last=Sengupta |location=Antakya |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-sectarian-war-goes-international-as-foreign-fighters-and-arms-pour-into-country-7216665.html |title=Syria's sectarian war goes international as foreign fighters and arms pour into country |work=The Independent |date=20 February 2012 |accessdate=22 February 2012 }}</ref>

According to various sources, including the ], up to 9,100–11,000 people have been killed, primarily protesters but also including 2,470–3,500 armed combatants.<ref name=extremetorture/><ref></ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://syrianshuhada.com/default.asp%3Fa%3Dst%26st%3D7&usg=ALkJrhjgBFKK6VIV9Bbocy6W-jbZe_D0CA |title=Number as a civil / military |publisher=Translate.googleusercontent.com |accessdate=6 February 2012 }}</ref> According to the Syrian government, 5,700–6,400 people, including 2,000–2,500 members of the security forces, more than 800 insurgents and more than 3,000 civilians, have been killed in fighting with what they characterize as "armed terrorist groups".<ref name=syriangovernment2/> The United Nations reported that over 400 children have been killed.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jn_Hwm1c4s57hZroY2XO3gtvHl_g?docId=CNG.d4e0242216423f0ddcaa53de60d07900.f1 |title=UNICEF says 400 children killed in Syria unrest |work=Google News|date=7 February 2012 |accessdate=22 February 2012 |location=Geneva }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/03/146346490/rights-group-says-syrian-security-forces-detained-tortured-children |title=Rights Group Says Syrian Security Forces Detained, Tortured Children: The Two-Way |work=NPR |date=3 February 2012 |accessdate=16 February 2012 }}</ref> Syria's government has dismissed this, characterizing claims from UN officials as being based on false news reports that originate from opposition groups.<ref>http://www.sana.sy/print.html?sid=400319&newlang=eng</ref> Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners have died under torture.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/world/middleeast/hundreds-tortured-in-syria-human-rights-group-says.html |work=The New York Times |first=Kareem |last=Fahim |title=Hundreds Tortured in Syria, Human Rights Group Says |date=5 January 2012 }}</ref> UNICEF reported that over 400 children have been killed.<ref>http://news.yahoo.com/unicef-says-400-children-killed-syria-unrest-162328551.html</ref><ref>http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2012/02/unicef-says-400-children-killed-in-syria/</ref> Another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/unicef-says-400-children-killed-in-syria/story-e6freonf-1226265280318 |title=UNICEF says 400 children killed in Syria |work=The Courier-Mail |date=8 February 2012 |accessdate=16 February 2012 }}</ref>

Anti-government rebels have been accused of human rights abuses as well, including torture, kidnapping, unlawful detention and execution of civilians, Shabiha and soldiers. HRW also expressed concern at the kidnapping of Iranian nationals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/20/syria-armed-opposition-groups-committing-abuses|title=Syria: Armed Opposition Groups Committing Abuses|date=20 March 2012|accessdate=20 March 2012|work=]}}</ref> The UN Commission of Inquiry has also documented abuses of this nature in its February 2012 report, which also includes documentation that indicates rebel forces have been responsible for some ] of civilians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/20/open-letter-leaders-syrian-opposition|title=Open Letter to the Leaders of the Syrian Opposition Regarding Human Rights Abuses by Armed Opposition Members|date=20 March 2012|accessdate=20 March 2012|work=]}}</ref>

The ], the ], the ], the ], and other countries have condemned the use of violence against the protesters. China and Russia have avoided condemning the regime or applying sanctions, saying that such methods could escalate into foreign intervention. However, military intervention has been ruled out by most countries.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16561493</ref> The Arab League suspended Syria's membership over the government's response to the crisis,<ref>{{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 Novermber 2011 |work=The New York Times |accessdate=12 November 2011 |first=Neil |last=MacFarquhar }}</ref> but sent an observer mission as part of its ] of the crisis. To escape the violence, over 130,000 Syrian nationals have fled the country to the neighboring countries of ],<ref name=news24></ref> ],<ref></ref> ], and ].<ref name=npr></ref>

== Politics and government ==
{{Politics of Syria}}
{{Main|Politics of Syria}}
Syria is formally a ]. The previous ] was adopted 13 March 1971.<ref name="const">{{cite web |url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/sy00000_.html |title=Constitution of Syria |accessdate=2008-10-22}}</ref> It defined Syria as a secular socialist state with ] recognised as the majority religion.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} A new constitution has been adopted in 2012.

===Branches of government===
The ] consists of the ], two ], the ], and the ] (]). The constitution requires the president to be a Muslim<ref name="const" /> but does not make Islam the state religion.

The constitution gives the president the right to appoint ministers, to declare war and ], to issue laws (which, except in the case of emergency, require ratification by the People's Council), to declare ], to amend the constitution, and to appoint ] and military personnel.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> According to the 2012 constitution, the ] is elected by Syrian citizens in a direct election.

Syria's ] is the unicameral ]. Under the previous constitution, Syria did not hold multi-party elections for the legislature,<ref name="autogenerated1" /> with two thirds of the seats automatically allocated to the ruling coalition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=21265 |title=Syria: Elections without Politics |publisher=Carnegie Endowment}}</ref> On 7 May 2012 Syria is going to hold the first multi-party elections in which parties outside the ruling coalition can take part.

Syria's ]es include the ], the ], the ], and the ] Courts. ] jurisprudence is a main source of legislation and Syria's judicial system has elements of ], ], and ] laws. Syria has three levels of ]: courts of first instance, courts of appeals, and the ]al court, the highest ]. Religious courts handle questions of personal and family law.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) was abolished by President Bashar al-Assad by legislative decree No. 53 on 21 April 2011.<ref name="decree53">, '']'', 22 April 2011</ref>

===Political parties===
Article 8 of the old Syrian constitution stated that "the ] leads the state and society." The 2012 constitution does not contain this provision any longer. The President is the Secretary-General of the party, and the leader of the ] governing coalition. The minor parties in the coalition are the ], ], ] (Unified), ] (Bakdash), ], ], ], ], ], ]. Outside of the coalition are 14 illegal ] political parties.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3774055.stm |title=Syria clamps down on Kurd parties |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2008-10-22 | date=2004-06-03}}</ref>


===State control===
Nearly all of Syria’s radio and television outlets are state owned, and the Ba'ath Party controls nearly all newspapers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/pfs/371.pdf |title=Freedom House report on Syria (2010) |publisher=Freedom House }}</ref> The authorities operate several intelligence agencies<ref>"more than one dozen intelligence agencies" source: Wright, Robin, ''Dreams and shadows, the Future of the Middle East'', Penguin Press, 2008, p.214</ref> among them ], employing a large number of operatives.<ref>hundreds of thousands of mukhabarat" according to dissident ] source: Wright, Robin, ''Dreams and shadows, the Future of the Middle East'', Penguin Press, 2008, p.230</ref>

The Emergency Law, effectively suspending most constitutional protections, was in effect from 1963 until 21 April 2011.<ref name="decree53"/> It was justified by the government in the light of the continuing war with ] over the ].

===Human rights===
{{Main|Human rights in Syria}}

Syria's human rights situation is among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/24/us-syria-rights-idUSTRE70N5S620110124 |title=Syria among worst for rights abuses: HRW report |date=2011-01-24 |publisher=Reuters }}</ref> ] ranked Syria "Not Free" in its annual ] survey.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2011&country=8143|title= Freedom in the World Report: Syria|month=January | year=2011}}</ref>

The authorities arrest democracy and human rights activists, ] websites, detain bloggers, and impose travel bans. ], ], and disappearances are widespread.<ref name="hrw.org">Human Rights Watch Anuual Report http://www.hrw.org/en/node/79303</ref> Although Syria's constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal statutes laws and the penal code discriminate against women and girls. Moreover, it also grants leniency for so-called ].<ref name="hrw.org"/> As of November 9, 2011 during the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations reported that of the over 3500 total deaths, over 250 deaths were children as young as 2 years old, and that boys as young as 11 years old have been gang raped by security services officers.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203935604577066623669457632.html |title=More than 250 children among dead, U.N. says |author=Joe Lauria |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=November 29, 2011 |accessdate=November 29, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/world/meast/syria-un-report/index.html |title=UN report: Syrian forces commit 'gross violations' of human rights, CNN |date=November 29, 2011}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Syria Labelled Map|float=right}}
{{Main|Governorates of Syria|Districts of Syria}}
{{See|List of cities in Syria}}

Syria is divided into fourteen ]s, or ''muhafazat'' (singular: '']''). The governorates are divided into a total of sixty-one districts, or ''manatiq'' (singular ''mintaqah''), which are further divided into sub-districts, or ''nawahi'' (singular '']'').

A governor, whose appointment is proposed by the minister of the interior, approved by the cabinet, and announced by executive decree, heads each governorate. The governor is assisted by an elected provincial council. Most of the ] has been unilaterally annexed by Israel as the ] territory.

] is the capital city of Syria. ] along with ] are Syria's main ports on the Mediterranean sea. Other major cities include ] in northern Syria, ] in central Syria, ] in the south of Hama and ] on the ] in eastern Syria.

=== Military ===
] assault rifle]]
{{Main|Military of Syria}}

The ] is commander in chief of the Syrian armed forces, comprising some 400,000 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscripted force; males serve in the military upon reaching the age of 18.<ref name="globalsecurity">. Retrieved 2010-02-01.</ref> The obligatory military service period is being decreased over time, in 2005 from two and a half years to two years, in 2008 to 21 months and in 2011 to year and a half.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2011-03-20/content_2068776.html |title=Syria reduces compulsory military service by three months |publisher=Chinadaily.com.cn |date=2011-03-20 |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref> About 20,000 Syrian soldiers were deployed in ] until April 27, 2005, when the last of Syria's troops left the country after three decades.<ref name="globalsecurity"/>

The breakup of the Soviet Union — long the principal source of training, material, and credit for the Syrian forces — may have slowed Syria's ability to acquire modern military equipment. It has an arsenal of surface-to-surface missiles. In the early 1990s, ] missiles with a 500-kilometer range were procured from ], and Scud-D, with a range of up to 700 kilometers, is allegedly being developed by Syria with the help of North Korea and ], according to Zisser.<ref> by Eyal Zisser, ''Globe and Mail'', September 28, 2004 (link leads only to abstract; purchase necessary for full article).</ref>

Syria received significant financial aid from Persian Gulf Arab states as a result of its participation in the ], with a sizable portion of these funds earmarked for ].

=== Foreign relations ===
{{main|Foreign relations of Syria}}

==== Syrian–Turkish dispute over İskenderun (Hatay) ====
{{incoherent|date=September 2011}}
]
{{Main|Hatay State|Hatay Province}}
There is a deep rooted disagreement between ] and Syria over ] Province.

At present Syrians hold the view that this land is historically Syrian and was illegally ceded in the late 1930s to ] by France – the mandatory occupying power of Syria (between 1920 and 1946). The Turks remember Syria as a former ] ] with embitterment. In 1938, the ] went into the former Syrian Mediterranean province with French approval and expelled most of its Alawite Arab and Armenian inhabitants.<ref name=JackKalpakian>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=EmlX4Y7PMjgC&pg=PA130|title=Identity, Conflict and Cooperation in International River Systems|author=Jack Kalpakian|edition=Hardcover|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-7546-3338-1|page=130}}</ref> Before this, Alawi Arabs and Armenians were the majority of the provinces population.<ref name=JackKalpakian/> For the referendum, Turkey crossed tens of thousands of Turks into Alexandretta to vote.<ref name=RobertFisk>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=SJHtAAAAMAAJ|title=The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East|author=Robert Fisk|edition=Paperback|publisher=Vintage|year=2007|isbn=1-4000-7517-3|page=335}}</ref>

In 1938, the province declared its independence from France and the following 29 June, the parliament of the newly declared Hatay Republic voted to join Turkey. This referendum has been labeled both "phoney" and "rigged", and that it was a way for the French to let Turks take over the area, hoping that they would turn on Hitler.<ref name=JackKalpakian/><ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Fisk: US power games in the Middle East|author=Robert Fisk|newspaper=The Independent|date=19 March 2007|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-us-power-games-in-the-middle-east-440856.html|accessdate=15 December 2010|location=London}}</ref> The Syrian government recognized this decision in 2004 and gave up on territorial claims.
Syrians still consider this land as integral Syrian territory. Syrians call this land ''Liwaaa aliskenderuna'' rather than the Turkish name of ].

==== Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights ====
{{Main|Golan Heights}}
{{See also|Six-Day War|Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab-Israeli conflict}}
The Golan Heights is a strategic plateau and mountainous region in southwestern Syria. Two-thirds of the area is currently occupied by Israel. It comprises {{convert|1850|km2|sqmi|0|spell=us}} and includes mountains reaching an altitude of {{convert|2880|m|ft|0|spell=us}} above sea level.

The heights dominate the plains below. The ] River, Lake ] and the Hula Valley border the region on the west. To the east is the Raqqad Valley and the south is Yarmok River and valley. The northern boundary of the region is the mountain Jabal al-Sheikh (]), one of the highest in ].

An agreement to establish a demilitarized zone between ] and Syria was signed on 20 July 1949,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/arm04.htm |title=The Avalon Project: Israeli-Syrian General Armistice Agreement, July 20, 1949 |publisher=Yale.edu |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref> but border clashes continued. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 ]. Between 80,000 and 109,000 of the inhabitants fled, mostly ] and ].<ref>Morris (2001), p. 327: "Another eighty to ninety thousand civilians fled or were driven from the Golan Heights."</ref><ref name = "UN Report"> under GA res. 2252 (ES-V) and SC res. 237 (1967), p. 14: "The original population, assumed to have been some 115,000 according to Syrian sources, and some 90,000 according to Israel sources, included 17,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. At the time of the Special Representative's visit, this entire population had left the area, except for some 6,000 Druses living in agricultural villages and for some 250 other civilians living mainly in the town of Kuneitra". Retrieved 2010-02-01.</ref>

In 1973, Syria tried to regain control of the Golan Heights in a surprise attack on ], the holiest day of the Jewish year.<ref>Bar-Yôsēf, ''Ûrî. The Watchman Fell Asleep: The Surprise of Yom Kippur and Its Sources.'' Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 2005.</ref> {{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} Despite initial Syrian advances and heavy Israeli losses, the Golan Heights remained in Israeli hands after a successful Israeli counter attack.

Syria and Israel signed an armistice agreement in 1974, and a ] observer force was stationed there. Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, although the Syrian government continues to demand the return of this territory, possibly in the context of a peace treaty. In 1982, Druze in the Golan Heights started a strike against the annexation of the territory. The strike lasted for six months and as a result the Israeli army sealed off Druze villages, allowing only those who wished to work in Israel to leave.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.faqs.org/minorities/Middle-East-and-North-Africa/Druzes-of-Israel-and-the-Golan-Heights.html |title=Druzes of Israel and the Golan Heights – World Directory of Minorities |publisher=Faqs.org |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref> Israel has given the Druze citizens in the Golan Heights an Israeli citizenship after the annexation of the Golan Heights.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/3393813.stm |title= Regions and territories: The Golan Heights |date=15 January 2008 |accessdate=2010-02-01 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080804012456/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/3393813.stm |archivedate=2008-08-04 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

After the Six-Day War, a population of 20,000 Syrians remained in the Golan Heights, most of them Druze. Since 2005, Israel has allowed Druze apple farmers in the Golan to sell their produce to Syria. In 2006, the export total reached 8,000 tons of apples.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4244333.stm |title= Syria to import Golan apples |date=7 February 2005 |accessdate=2008-10-25 | work=BBC News}}</ref> Syrian residents of the Golan are also permitted to study at universities in Syria, where they are entitled to free tuition, books and lodging.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/18/Worldandnation/Golan_families_dream_.shtml |title=Worldandnation: Golan families dream of reunion |publisher=Sptimes.com |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Syria}}
]]]
]]]
Syria is a middle-income country, with an economy based on agriculture, oil, industry, and tourism. However, Syria's economy faces serious problems and challenges and impediments to growth, including: a large and poorly performing public sector; declining rates of oil production; widening non-oil deficit; wide scale corruption; weak financial and capital markets; and high rates of unemployment tied to a high population growth rate.<ref name="USDoS"/>

As a result of an inefficient and corrupt centrally planned economy, Syria has low rates of investment, and low levels of industrial and agricultural productivity. Its GDP growth rate was approximately 5% in 2009, according to CIA World Factbook statistics. The two main pillars of the Syrian economy have been agriculture and oil. Agriculture, for instance, accounts for 17.7% of GDP and employs 17% of the total labor force. The government hopes to attract new investment in the tourism, natural gas, and service sectors to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil and agriculture. The government has begun to institute economic reforms aimed at liberalizing most markets, but reform thus far has been slow and ad hoc. For ideological reasons, privatization of government enterprises is explicitly rejected. Therefore major sectors of the economy including refining, ports operation, air transportation, power generation, and water distribution, remain firmly controlled by the government.<ref name="USDoS"/>

Syria has produced heavy-grade oil from fields located in the northeast since the late 1960s. In the early 1980s, light-grade, low-sulphur oil was discovered near ] in eastern Syria. Syria's rate of oil production has been decreasing steadily, from a peak close to {{convert|600000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}} (bpd) in 1995 down to approximately {{convert|425000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on}} in 2005. Experts generally agree that Syria will become a net importer of petroleum not later than 2012. Syria exported roughly {{convert|200000|oilbbl/d|m3/d|abbr=on}} in 2005, and oil still accounts for a majority of the country's export income. Syria also produces 22 million cubic meters of gas per day, with estimated reserves around {{convert|8.5|Tcuft|km3}}. While the government has begun to work with international energy companies in the hopes of eventually becoming a gas exporter, all gas currently produced is consumed domestically.<ref name="USDoS"/>

Some basic commodities, such as diesel, continue to be heavily subsidized, and social services are provided for nominal charges. The subsidies are becoming harder to sustain as the gap between consumption and production continues to increase. Syria has a population of approximately 22.2 million people, and Syrian Government figures place the population growth rate at 2.45%, with 75% of the population under the age of 35 and more than 40% under the age of 15.

Approximately 200,000 people enter the labor market every year. According to Syrian Government statistics. Government and public sector employees constitute over one quarter of the total labor force. Government officials acknowledge that the economy is not growing at a pace sufficient to create enough new jobs annually to match population growth. The ] announced in 2005 that 30% of the Syrian population lives in poverty and 11.4% live below the subsistence level.<ref name="USDoS"/>

=== Foreign trade ===

Given the policies adopted from the 1960s through the late 1980s, which included nationalization of companies and private assets, Syria failed to join an increasingly interconnected global economy. Syria withdrew from the ] (GATT) in 1951 because of Israel's accession. It is not a member of the ] (WTO), although it submitted a request to begin the accession process in 2001. Syria is developing regional free trade agreements. As of 1 January 2005, the ] (GAFTA) came into effect and customs duties were eliminated between Syria and all other members of GAFTA.

In addition, Syria has signed a free trade agreement with ], which came into force in January 2007, and initialed an Association Agreement with the ], which has yet to be signed. Although Syria claims a recent boom in non-oil exports, its trade numbers are notoriously inaccurate and out-of-date. Syria's main exports include crude oil, refined products, raw cotton, clothing, fruits, and grains. The bulk of Syrian imports are raw materials essential for industry, vehicles, agricultural equipment, and heavy machinery. Earnings from oil exports as well as remittances from Syrian workers are the government's most important sources of foreign exchange.<ref name="USDoS"/>

]]
]]
{{clear}}

=== Transport ===
{{Main|Transport in Syria}}

Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia), which serve as hubs for Syrian Air and are also served by a variety of foreign carriers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wikitravel.org/en/Syria#Get_in |title=Syria travel guide – Wikitravel |publisher=Wikitravel.org |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

The majority of Syrian cargo is carried by ] (the Syrian railway company), which links up with ] (the Turkish counterpart). For a relatively under developed country Syria's railway infrastructure is of a high quality with many high speed services and modern trains.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seat61.com/Syria.htm |title=How to travel by train from London to Syria &#124; Train travel in Syria |publisher=Seat61.com |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px"
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#cfb;"| Population in Syria<ref name=IEApop2011> Population 1971–2008 IEA ( pages 83–85</ref> <ref>{{cite web|first=United%20Nations%20Organization|title=UNdata|url=http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Syrian Arab Republic|work=Profiles of World Countries as per UNO information|publisher=UNO|accessdate=April 14 2012}}</ref>
|-
! style="background:#cfb;"| Year
! style="background:#cfb;"| Million
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1971 || style="text-align:right;"| 6.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 1990 || style="text-align:right;"| 12.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2009 || style="text-align:right;"| 21.9
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;"| <small>Source: OECD/World Bank/UNO</small>
|}
{{Main|Demographics of Syria}}
Most people live in the ] valley and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert. Overall population density in Syria is about 99 per km² (258 per square mile). According to the ''World Refugee Survey 2008'', published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Syria hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers number approximately 1,852,300. The vast majority of this population was from ] (1,300,000), but sizeable populations from the former ] (543,400) and ] (5,200) also lived in the country.<ref name="World Refugee Survey 2008">{{cite news|title=World Refugee Survey 2008|publisher=U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants |date=2008-06-19 |url=http://www.refugees.org/survey}}{{dead link|date=April 2011}}</ref>

Education is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 12. Schooling consists of 6 years of ] followed by a 3-year general or ] training period and a 3-year academic or vocational program. The second 3-year period of academic training is required for ] ]. Total enrollment at ] is over 150,000. The ] of Syrians aged 15 and older is 90.7% for males and 82.2% for females.<ref name="US department of States">, September 8, 2010, ]</ref><ref name="impact-se">{{cite web|url=http://www.impact-se.org/docs/reports/Syria/Syria2001_ch1.pdf |title=Syria's Education System – Report – June 2001|format=PDF |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref>

=== Largest cities ===

{{Largest cities of Syria}}

=== Ethnic groups ===
] shepherd]]
Syrians are an overall indigenous ]ine people, closely related to their immediate neighbours, like ] people, ], and ].<ref>.</ref><ref>.</ref>

Syrian Arabs, together with some 400,000 ] ] Arabs make up over 90% of the population.<ref name="CIA">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html#People |title=Syria |year=2007 |work=]}}</ref>

] number around 500,000, and concentrate mainly in the southern area of ].<ref name="book">{{cite book|last=Danna|first=Nissim|title=The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|location=]|date=December 2003|page=227|isbn=978-1-903900-36-9|url=http://books.google.com/?id=2nCWIsyZJxUC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99}}</ref>

Syria also hosts non-Arab ethnic minorities. The largest of these groups, ], constitutes about 9% of the population, or approximately 2 million people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/syria/23.htm |title=Syria – Kurds |work=]}}</ref> Most Kurds reside in the northeastern corner of Syria and most speak the ] variant of the ].

The majority of ] live in Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia and number around 750,000–1,500,000.<ref>{{cite web |first=Abdi Noyan|last=Özkaya|title=Suriye Kürtleri: Siyasi Etkisizlik ve Suriye Devleti’nin Politikaları|url=http://www.usak.org.tr/dosyalar/dergi/IdZgitj2V2vbuyxGGkzJnS8yvQqpT5.pdf|format=PDF |publisher=Review of International Law and Politics|page=112|year=2007|accessdate=10-09-2010}}</ref>
]
The ] are significant ethnic ] minorities that mainly live in the north and northeast (Homs, al-Qamishli, al-Hasakah) and number around 877,000–1,200,000 in Syria. Assyrian people in particular retain ], an ] dialect, as a spoken language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&link=140085 |title=Turkey-Syria deal allows Syriacs to cross border for religious holidays |publisher=Todayszaman.com |date=2008-04-26 |accessdate=2011-04-23}}</ref> Although their numbers have been boosted by many Iraqi refugees since the ].<ref>.</ref>

] number approximately 190,000. Syria holds the ].

In addition, approximately 1,300,000 ] were estimated to live in Syria in 2007. Roughly 50 percent of these refugees were Sunni Arab Muslims, 24 percent Shi'a Arab Muslim, and 20 percent Assyrian Christian.<ref name="World Refugee Survey 2008" /> During the Mandate years, there was a significant ] population, many of whom left Syria after the end of French rule. As of 1987, approximately 100,000 ] lived in Syria.<ref>. The Library of Congress.</ref>

The ] have long been a destination for Christian Arab migration, with Syrians arriving in some countries at least as early as the 19th century. The largest concentration of Syrians outside the ] is in ], which has millions of people of Arab ancestry.<ref>. Saudi Aramco World.</ref> The majority of ]s are from either Lebanese or Syrian background.<ref>.</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Syria}}
{{See also|Christianity in Syria|Islam in Syria|Syrian Jews|Freedom of religion in Syria}}

] account for 74% of the population,<ref name="USdos">{{cite web |title=Syria – International Religious Freedom Report 2006 |url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71432.htm |year=2006 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |accessdate=2009-06-28}}</ref> while 12% are Shia (], ], and ] combined),<ref name="USdos"/> 10% Christian<ref name="USdos"/> (the majority Antiochian Orthodox, the rest include Greek Catholic, Assyrian Church of the East, Armenian Orthodox, Protestants and other denominations), and 3% ].<ref name="USdos"/>
], ]]]

President Bashar Al-Assad's family is Alawite and Alawites dominate the government of Syria and hold key military positions.<ref>, Middle Eastern Studies, 1989</ref>

Christians (2.5 million), a sizable number of which are found among Syria's population of ] refugees, are divided into several groups. ] ] ("Greek Orthodox"; {{lang-ar|الروم الارثوذكس}}, ''{{transl|ar|DIN|ar-Rūmu 'l-Urṯūḏuks}}'') make up 45% of the Christian population; the ] (], ], ], ], ] and ]) make up 16%; the ] 27%, the ] 8%, ] and several smaller Christian denominations account the remainder. Many Christian ] also exist. Many Christian Syrians belong to a high socio-economic class.<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2011}}.</ref>

=== Languages ===
] is the ] and ] is most widely ]. ] (in its ] form) is widely spoken in the ] regions of Syria. Many educated Syrians also speak ] and ]. ] and ] (] dialect) are spoken among the ] and ] minorities. Before the advent of ], ] was the ] of the region and is still spoken among ]. ] (an Aramaic dialect) is used as the liturgical language of ]. Most remarkably, ] is still spoken in the village of ], and two neighbouring villages, 35 miles (56&nbsp;km) northeast of ].

== Education ==
{{Main|Education in Syria}}
The strong educational system in Syria is based on the old French system. Education is free in all public schools and obligatory up to the 9th grade. Schools are divided into three levels:
*1st to 4th grade: Basic Education Level I ({{lang-ar|التعليم الأساسي: حلقة أولى}})
*5th to 9th grade: Basic Education Level II ({{lang-ar|التعليم الأساسي: حلقة ثانية}})
*10th to 12th grade: Secondary Education ({{lang-ar|التعليم الثانوي}}), the equivalent of high school.

Final exams of the 9th grade are carried out nationally at the same time. The result of these exams determines if the student goes to the "general" secondary schools or the technical secondary schools. Technical secondary schools include industrial and agricultural schools for male students, crafts school for female students, and commercial and computer science schools for both.

At the beginning of the 11th grade, those who go to "general" secondary school have to choose to continue their study in either the "literary branch" or the "scientific branch".

The final exams of the 12th grade (the baccalaureate) are also carried out nationally and at the same time. The result of these exams determines the university, college and specialization that the student attends. To do that the student has to apply through a complicated system called ''Mufadalah''.

Colleges charge modest fees ($10–20 a year) if the student achieves the sufficient marks in his Baccalaureate exams. If not, the student may opt to pay higher fees ($1500–4000) to enroll. There are some private schools and colleges but their fees are much higher.

Most universities in Syria follow the French model of higher education, the university stages and the ]s are:

*First stage: the ] awarded after 4 years to 6 years depending on the field.
*Second stage: the ] 1–2 years postgraduate degree equivalent to the ] in the American/English systems.
*Third stage: the ] 3–5 years after the ] or an equivalent degree.

Since 1967, all schools, colleges, and universities have been under close government supervision by the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/syria/37.htm |title=Syria – Education |publisher=Countrystudies.us |accessdate=2008-10-25}}</ref>

There are 5 state universities in Syria, and 11 private universities.<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2011}}.</ref> The top two are ] (180,000 students),<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2011}}.</ref> and ].<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2011}}.</ref> One school is a joint Syrian-European program; the Higher Institute of Business Administration (HIBA) offer undergraduate and gradudate degrees.<ref>{{dead link|date=April 2011}}.</ref>

== Culture ==
{{See also|Public holidays in Syria}}
]

The scribes of the city of ] (modern Ras Shamra) created a cuneiform alphabet in the 14th century BC. The alphabet was written in the familiar order we use today.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gordon, Cyrus Herzl |title=The Ancient Near East |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company Press |year=1965 |isbn=0-393-00275-6 |authorlink=Cyrus Herzl Gordon}}</ref>

Archaeologists have discovered extensive writings and evidence of a culture rivaling those of ], and ] in and around the ancient city of ] (modern Tell Mardikh).<ref>An up-to-date account for the layman, written by the head of the archaeological team that uncovered Ebla is Paolo Matthiae, ''The Royal Archives of Ebla'' (Skira) 2007.</ref> Later Syrian scholars and artists contributed to ] and ] thought and culture. ] was a pupil of ]<ref>Plutarch, ''Cicero'', c. 4; ''Lucullus'', c. 4; Cicero, ''Academica'', ii. 19.</ref> at ]; and the writings of ]<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web
|url=http://32.1911encyclopedia.org/P/PO/POSIDONIUS.htm
|title=Posidonius
|publisher=1911encyclopedia.org
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060830214113/http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Posidonius
|archivedate=2006-08-30
|accessdate=2012-01-24}}</ref> influenced ] and ].

] claimed, "the scholars consider Syria as the teacher for the human characteristics", and ] the French archaeologist and main discoverer and excavator of the Mari State writes, "''each civilized person in the world should admit that he has two home countries: the one he was born in, and Syria.''"

Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history.<ref>{{cite book |last = Hopwood |first = Derek |authorlink = Derek Hopwood |title = Syria 1945–1986: Politics and Society |publisher = ]|year = 1988 |isbn = 0-04-445039-7 }}</ref> Importance is placed on family, religion, education and self discipline and respect. The Syrian's taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances such as the al-Samah, the ] in all their variations and the sword dance. Marriage ceremonies and the birth of children are occasions for the lively demonstration of folk customs.<ref name="traditional">{{cite book |last = Salamandra |first = Christa |authorlink = Derek Hopwood |title = A New Old Damascus: Authenticity and Distinction in Urban Syria |publisher = ] |year = 2004 |isbn = 0-253-21722-9 |page = 103 }}</ref>

Traditional Houses of the Old Cities in Damascus, Aleppo and the other Syrian cities are preserved and traditionally the living quarters are arranged around one or more courtyards, typically with a fountain in the middle supplied by spring water, and decorated with citrus trees, grape vines, and flowers.<ref name="traditional" />

Outside of larger city areas such as Damascus, Aleppo or Homs, residential areas are often clustered in smaller villages. The buildings themselves are often quite old (perhaps a few hundred years old), passed down to family members over several generations. Residential construction of rough concrete and blockwork is usually unpainted, and the palette of a Syrian village is therefore simple tones of grays and browns.<ref>{{cite book |last = Antoun |first = Richard |authorlink =Richard T. Antoun |title = Syria: Society, Culture, and Polity |publisher = ] |year = 1991 |isbn = 0-7914-0713-6 }}</ref>

]
Syrians have contributed to ] and music and have a proud tradition of oral and written poetry. Syrian writers, many of whom immigrated to Egypt, played a crucial role in the ] or Arab literary and cultural revival of the 19th century. Prominent contemporary Syrian writers include, among others, ], ], ], ], ] and ].

There was a private sector presence in the Syrian cinema industry until the end of the 1970s, but private investment has since preferred the more lucrative television serial business. Syrian soap operas, in a variety of styles (all melodramatic, however), have considerable market penetration throughout the eastern Arab world.<ref>{{cite book |last = Salti |first = Rasha |title = Insights Into Syrian Cinema: Essays and Conversations with Contemporary Filmmakers |publisher = ] |year = 2006 |isbn = 1-892494-70-1 }}</ref>

Although declining, Syria's handicraft industry still employs thousands.

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Syrian cuisine}}
], an example of Syrian cuisine]]

The Syrian cuisine is rich and varied in its ingredients and is linked to the region of Syria where a specific dish has originated. Syrian food mostly consists of Southern Mediterranean, Greek, and Southwest Asian dishes. Some Syrian dishes also evolved from Turkish and French cooking. Dishes like ], stuffed zucchini, ] (stuffed grape leaves, the word yapra' derıves from the ] word 'yaprak' meaning leaf).

The main dishes that form Syrian cuisine are ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. ] is made of ] pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in ]. Syrians often serve selections of appetizers, known as ], before the main course. ], ], and cheese ] are popular ]. The Arabic flatbread ] is always eaten together with ].

Syrians are also well known for their ]. The very popular string cheese jibbneh mashallale is made of curd cheese and is pulled and twisted together. Syrians also make cookies to usually accompany their cheese called ]. These are made of ] and other ingredients, rolled out, shaped into rings and baked. Another form of a similar cookie is to fill with crushed dates mixed with butter to accompany their jibbneh mashallale.

Drinks in Syria vary depending on the time of the day and the occasion. ], also known as ] is the most well-known hot drink usually prepared in the morning at breakfast or in the evening. It is usually served for guests or after food. ], an alcoholic drink, is also a well-known beverage served mostly on special occasions. More examples of Syrian beverages include ], ], ], and a locally manufactured beer called Al Shark.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/travel/2009/1015/damascus.html|title=Damascus|date=2009-10-15|publisher=RTÉ|accessdate=26 November 2009}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{See also|Football in Syria}}
]]]

The most popular sports in Syria are ], ], ], and ]. ] was home to the fifth and seventh ]. Many popular football teams are based in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Latakia, etc.

The ] in Damascus is home to the ]. The team enjoyed some success, having qualified for 4 ] competitions. The team's first international was on November 20, 1949, losing to ] 7–0. The team was ranked 115th in the world by ] as of November 2011.

=== Music ===
{{Main|Music of Syria}}
] born in ] and immigrated to ]. One of few female voices in Arab music to rival that of ]<ref>{{Harvnb|Zuhur|2000|p=85}}</ref>]]

Syria's capital, ], has long been one of the Arab world's centers for cultural and artistic innovation, especially in the field of ]. Syria has also produced several pan-Arab stars, including ], ] and singer ]. The city of ] is known for its ], a form of ] sung poetry popularized by ], as well as popular stars like ].

Also, Syria was one of the earliest centers of Christian ]ody, in a repertory known as ], which continues to be the liturgical music of some of the various ].

There was formerly a distinctive tradition of ] religious music, which still flourishes in the Syrian-Jewish community of New York: see ], ] and ].

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Literature of Syria}}
Syrian literature has been influenced by the literatures of other Arab countries, by French literature, and by the country's political history.

====From early times to 1948====
Under ], literary production was subjected to censorship. In the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th, aspiring Syrian writers often chose emigration, moving primarily to ]--where they contributed to ], the renaissance of ]--and to the United States, developing Syrian literature from abroad.

From 1918 to 1926, while Syria was ], ] ] influences inspired Syrian authors, many of whom turned away from the traditional models of ].

====From 1948 to the present day====
In 1948, the ] brought about a new turning point in Syrian writing. '']'', the "literature of political commitment", deeply marked by ], mostly replaced the romantic trend of the previous decades. ], rejecting ] and confronting the social and political issues of his time, was arguably the most prominent Syrian novellist of this era. Following the ] in 1967, '']'', the "literature of defeat", grappled with the causes of the Arab defeat.

], since the ], has brought about renewed censorship. As Hanadi Al-Samman puts it,

<blockquote>In the face of threats of persecution or imprisonment, most of Syria's writers had to make a choice between living a life of artistic freedom in exile-as do ], ], ], ], and prominent poet, critic, and novelist ] (Adonis)-or resorting to subversive modes of expression that seemingly comply with the demands of the authoritarian police state while undermining and questioning the legitimacy of its rule through subtle literary techniques and new genres.</blockquote>

In this context, the genre of the ], spearheaded by ], ], ] and ], is sometimes used as a means of expressing dissent, critiquing the present through a depiction of the past. Syrian ], as a subgenre of historical fiction, is imbued with ], and is also used as a means of veiled criticism of the present. ], a Syrian émigré living in Sweden, is one of the leading figures of the genre.

Contemporary Syrian literature also encompasses ] and futuristic ]e (], ]), which may also serve as media of dissent.

] has argued that literary dissent is typically expressed through the "poetics of Syrian silence":

<blockquote>The nostalgic, moist-eyed silences of ]'s narrative could not be more different from the chilling, cynical silences in ]'s stories. The impassioned lacunae in ]'s proclaim exactly what it is they are not saying explicitly, while the poet ]'s silence is sardonic, sneering both at the authorities and at himself, at the futility and absurdity of the human situation under authoritarian rule.</blockquote>

=== Fairs and festivals ===
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{| class=wikitable
|-
!Festival/Fair
!City
!Month
|-
|Spring Festival of ]
|]
|April
|-
|Flower Festival
|]
|April
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|] New Year Festival
|]
|April
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|] Kurdish New Year Festival
|]
| 21 March
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|Traditional Festival
|]
|May
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|International Flower Fair
|]
|May
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|Syrian Song Festival
|]
|July
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|] Festival
|]
|August
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|Festival of le ] and the ] for Arts&Culture
|]
|August
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|Vine Festival
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|September
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|Cotton Festival
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|September
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|Damascus International Fair
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|September
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|Festival of Love and Peace
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|2–12 August
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|] Festival
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|September
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|Film and Theatre Festival
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|November
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|Cultural Festival of Jableh
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|July
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|Jasmine Festival
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|April
|}

== See also ==
{{portal|Geography|Asia|Middle East|Syria}}
{{Misplaced Pages books|Syria}}
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{{clear}}

== References ==
;Footnotes
{{reflist|30em}}

;General references
*Boczek, Boleslaw Adam (2006). ''International Law: A Dictionary''. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-5078-8
*{{Cite book|last=Finkelstein|first=Norman|url=http://books.google.com/?id=vNb5VkyxDlYC&printsec=frontcover|title=Image and reality of the Israel-Palestine conflict|publisher=Verso|year=2003|isbn=1-85984-442-1|ref=CITEREFFinkelstein2003}}
*Glass, Charles. "Tribes with Flags: A Dangerous Passage Through the Chaos of the Middle East", Atlantic Monthly Press (New York) and Picador (London), 1990 ISBN 0-436-18130-4
*Karoubi, Mohammad Taghi (2004). ''Just or Unjust War?'' Ashgate Publishing ISBN 0-7546-2375-0
*{{Cite book |title=Timeframe AD 1200–1300: The Mongol Conquests |publisher=Time-Life Books |year=1989 |isbn=0-8094-6437-3 |author=The editors of Time-Life Books.}}
*] (), Syria's English monthly since 2007.
*

== Further reading ==
*{{Cite book |last=Dawisha |first=A. I. |title=Syria and the Lebanese Crisis |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-312-78203-0}}
* Fred H. Lawson, ''''
* Nikolaos van Dam, (I. B. Tauris, 2011)
*{{Cite book |last=Paton |first=L. B. |title=The Early History of Syria and Palestine|year=1981 |isbn=978-1-113-53822-2}}
*{{Cite book |last=Maoz |first=M. |title=Syria Under Assad |coauthors=A. Yaniv, ed. |year=1986|isbn=978-0-312-78206-1}}
*{{Cite book |last=Seale |first=Patrick |title=The Struggle for Syria|year=1987|isbn=978-0-300-03944-3}}
* Alfred Schlicht, The role of foreign powers in the history of Lebanon ands Syria from 1799 to 1861. In: Journal of Asian History 14 (1980).

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|Syria}}
{{Commons category-inline|Syria}}
*{{CIA World Factbook link|sy|Syria}}
*{{dmoz|Regional/Middle_East/Syria}}
*{{GovPubs|syria}}
*{{ArabDecision|coun_sel_3_5.htm}}
*{{wikiatlas|Syria}}
*{{Wikitravel}}

{{Geographic location
| Northwest = {{flag|Turkey}}
| North = {{flag|Turkey}}
| Northeast = {{flag|Turkey}}
| West = {{flag|Cyprus}} • ''Mediterranean''
| Centre = {{flagicon|Syria}} ]
| East = {{flag|Iraq}}
| Southwest = {{flag|Lebanon}} • {{flag|Israel}}
| South = {{flag|Jordan}} • {{flag|Iraq}}
| Southeast = {{flag|Iraq}}}}
{{Syria topics}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Geographic locale
|list =
{{Countries and territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea}}
{{Countries and territories of the Middle East}}
{{Countries of Southwest Asia}}
{{Countries of Asia}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title = International membership
|list =
{{Arab republics}}
{{Arab League}}
{{Union for the Mediterranean}}
{{OIC|state=collapsed}}
{{Non-Aligned Movement}}
{{Semitic-speaking nations}}
}}
{{Second Journey of Paul of Tarsus}}

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Revision as of 00:49, 26 May 2012

WE HATE YOU BASHAR ASSAD. YIL3AN RO7AKK YA HAFEZ YIL3AN RO7AKK YA BASHAR

WE HATE YOU BASHAR ASSAD


BASHAR ASSAD KILLS HIS OWN PEOPLE. THE SECURITY FORCES KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE.


WE WANT BASHAR ASSAD DEAD.