Syrian Revolution

From March 2011 peaceful protests against the Assad dictatorship escalated into one of the twenty-first century most devastating wars.

Overview

Schoolboys arrested and tortured in Daraa for anti-regime graffiti sparked demonstrations met with gunfire. Nonviolent protest committees spread across the country before the regime militarization of the conflict produced defections and armed resistance. By 2013 the uprising had fragmented into civil war involving jihadist groups, Kurdish self-administration in the north, Iranian and Russian intervention for the government, and a United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State. Chemical attacks on Ghouta in 2013 and Khan Sheikhoun in 2017 horrified the world. Over five hundred thousand people died and more than half the population was displaced. The war devastated Syria and reshaped global refugee politics until the December 2024 offensive toppled the Assad dynasty.