Syria’s uprising has shifted from popular street protests againstPresident Bashar al-Assad to a full-fledged war, increasingly influenced byarmed Islamists, in a far cry from the idealism of the Arab Spring. The fervourborn in March 2011 for democratic reforms still runs high, but the initialpeaceful protests against Assad’s regime have been overtaken by the governmentforces’ brutal crackdown.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, whichhas tirelessly documented the bloodshed, more than 42,000 people, mostly civilians,have been killed over the past 21 months.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been displaced or forcedinto exile from villages such as Atme where they wait to cross the barbed wireinto Turkey after wading though mud and negotiating olive groves.
The international community, meanwhile, has been reduced toan observer, stumped by divisions within the UN Security Council. Despitemounting diplomatic pressure, Assad has been able to count on the support ofboth Russia and Iran.
The Syrian military, with its vast superiority and controlof the skies, is still capable of mounting major operations, although itspossible last-resort use of chemical weapons is stirring rising internationalconcern.
