Islam Facts Pictures Biography
Source:- Google.com.pkAncient Syria was conquered by Egypt about 1500 B.C., and after that by Hebrews, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, and Alexander the Great of Macedonia. From 64 B.C. until the Arab conquest in A.D. 636, it was part of the Roman Empire except during brief periods. The Arabs made it a trade center for their extensive empire, but it suffered severely from the Mongol invasion in 1260 and fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1516. Syria remained a Turkish province until World War I.
A secret Anglo-French pact of 1916 put Syria in the French zone of influence. The League of Nations gave France a mandate over Syria after World War I, but the French were forced to put down several nationalist uprisings. In 1930, France recognized Syria as an independent republic but still subject to the mandate. After nationalist demonstrations in 1939, the French high commissioner suspended the Syrian constitution. In 1941, British and Free French forces invaded Syria to eliminate Vichy control. During the rest of World War II, Syria was an Allied base. Again in 1945, nationalist demonstrations broke into actual fighting, and British troops had to restore order. Syrian forces met a series of reverses while participating in the Arab invasion of Palestine in 1948. In 1958, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic, with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt as president. However, Syria became independent again on Sept. 29, 1961, following a revolution.
In the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, Israel quickly vanquished the Syrian army. Before acceding to the UN cease-fire, the Israeli forces took control of the fortified Golan Heights. Syria joined Egypt in attacking Israel in Oct. 1973 in the fourth Arab-Israeli War, but was pushed back from initial successes on the Golan Heights and ended up losing more land. However, in the settlement worked out by U.S. secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger in 1974, the Syrians recovered all the territory lost in 1973.
In the mid-1970s Syria sent some 20,000 troops to support Muslim Lebanese in their armed conflict with Christian militants supported by Israel during the civil war in Lebanon. Syrian troops frequently clashed with Israeli troops during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and remained thereafter as occupiers of large portions of Lebanon.
Regional Conflicts Continue Through the End of the Century
In 1990, President Assad ruled out any possibility of legalizing opposition political parties. In Dec. 1991 voters approved a fourth term for Assad, giving him 99.98% of the vote.
In the 1990s, the slowdown in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was echoed in the lack of progress in Israeli-Syrian relations. Confronted with a steadily strengthening strategic partnership between Israel and Turkey, Syria took steps to construct a countervailing alliance by improving relations with Iraq, strengthening ties with Iran, and collaborating more closely with Saudi Arabia. In Dec. 1999, Israeli-Syrian talks resumed after a nearly four-year hiatus, but they soon broke down over discussions about the Golan Heights.
On June 10, 2000, President Hafez al-Assad died. He had ruled with an iron fist since taking power in a military coup in 1970. His son, Bashar al-Assad, an ophthalmologist by training, succeeded him. He has emulated his father's autocratic rule.
In the summer of 2001, Syria withdrew nearly all of its 25,000 troops from Beirut. Syrian soldiers, however, remained in the Lebanese countryside.
Syria is Repeatedly Accused of Supporting Terrorist Groups
The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on the country in May, accusing it of continuing to support terrorism.
In Sept. 2004, a UN Security Council resolution asked Syria to withdraw its 15,000 remaining troops from Lebanon. Syria responded by moving about 3,000 troops from the vicinity of Beirut to eastern Lebanon, a gesture viewed by many as merely cosmetic.
On Feb. 14, 2004, Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated. Many implicated Syria in the death of the popular and independent leader, who staunchly opposed Syrian involvement in Lebanon. Huge Lebanese protests called for Syria's withdrawal from the country, a demand backed by the U.S., EU, and UN. In addition to the anti-Syrian demonstrations, however, there were a number of massive pro-Syrian rallies in Lebanon sponsored by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah. By the end of April, Syria had withdrawn all its troops, ending a 29-year occupation. In October, the UN released a damning report on Hariri's slaying, concluding that the assassination was carefully organized by Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials, including Syria's military intelligence chief, Asef Shawkat, who is the brother-in-law of President Assad. Syria vehemently denied the charges.
In July 2006, during the Hezbollah-Israeli conflict in Lebanon, Syria was strongly suspected of aiding Hezbollah.
Israeli jets fired on targets deep inside Syria in September 2007. American and Israeli intelligence analysts later said that Israel had attacked a partially built nuclear reactor. Several officials wondered aloud if North Korea had played a role in the development of the nuclear plant. Syria denied that any such facilities exist and protested to the United Nations, calling the attack a "violation of sovereignty." After the attack, Syria destroyed the building that had been targeted. In January 2008, satellite photographs revealed that another, similar building was under construction on the same site.
Syria and Israel Begin Negotiating, but Terrorism and Conflict Continue
For the first time in eight years, Syria and Israel returned to the bargaining table in May 2008. Syria wants to regain control over the Golan Heights, which was taken by Israel in 1967, and Israel hopes an agreement will distance Iran from Syria and diminish some sway Iran holds over the Middle East. Syria also reached out to the West, meeting with French president Nicolas Sarkozy in July.
A powerful bomb, made of more than 400 pounds of explosives, exploded near a Shiite shrine in Damascus in September, killing 16 people. It was Syria's worst attack in more than 20 years. Terrorism was suspected, but no one claimed responsibility.
In October, American Special Operations Forces launched an air attack into Syria, killing a leader of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia near the Iraqi border. U.S. officials say the militant, Abu Ghadiya, smuggled weapons, money, and fighters into Iraq from Syria. The Syrian government accused the Americans of committing a war crime, saying that eight civilians, including a woman and three children, had been killed in the attack.
Relations between the U.S. and Syria thawed in December 2010 when President Barack Obama appointed diplomat Robert Ford as the ambassador to Syria. It was a recess appointment as Ford's confirmation was held up in the Senate. The U.S. hasn't had an ambassador to Syria since the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Ford was quickly confronted with
Government Forces Crack Down on Protesters
The anti-government protest movement that swept through the Middle East in early 2011 also engulfed Syria. Syria, however, was spared the unrest until mid-March, when the arrest of about a dozen school-age children for painting anti-government graffiti in the southeast town of Dara'a sparked outrage, prompting citizens to take to the streets in protest. Demonstrations broke out throughout the country, with protesters calling for the release of political prisoners, an end to pervasive corruption, the lifting of the emergency law that has stood since 1963, and broader civil rights. On March 25, the government reneged on a promise not to use force against the protesters, opening fire on demonstrators in the south. As many as 60 people were killed.The political crisis deepened in the following days, and on March 29, President Assad's cabinet resigned. Massive protests and the crackdown by police continued, and by April 18 as many as 200 protestors had been killed. As the opposition movement gained strength, President Assad tried to balance suppression and compromise, offering some reform and lifting the emergence law while forbidding protests "under any banner whatsoever."
Assad in fact did attempt to thwart protests, deploying troops to several cities across Syria and brutally cracking down on protesters. By late May about 850 protesters had been killed by forces. The continued suppression led the Obama administration to impose sanctions on Assad and six other high-ranking officials. Assad intensified the attacks on protesters in early August, unleashing tanks, armored vehicles, and snipers on the restive city of Hama, historically a breeding ground for anti-government sentiment. By the end of the siege, casualties reached about 1,700. The particularly brutal assaults prompted widespread international condemnation, even from Syria's Arab neighbors. Indeed, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait removed their ambassadors from Damascus. In mid-August, Obama issued a statement demanding that Assad resign and increased sanctions against Syria, freezing all Syrian assets held under U.S. jurisdiction and banning U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with the Syrian government. In addition, the UN released a report accusing Syria of crimes against humanity.
As international condemnation of Assad intensified, the opposition, which had previously lacked organization, in October formed the Syrian National Council, a diverse group of dissidents and opposition leaders who had the shared goal of ousting Assad. Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, endorsed the council and allowed members of the Free Syrian Army, a militia of army deserters, to set up camp within its borders. On Nov. 2, Assad agreed to a deal brokered by the Arab League to stop killing civilians, begin talks with the opposition, and withdraw forces from the streets. But Assad flouted the agreement and actually increased the attacks. In response, the Arab League suspended Syria's membership and later imposed sanctions on Syria, which included a travel ban on several high-ranking officials, the freezing of Syrian government assets in other Arab nations, and a halt on all commercial transactions with the Syrian government and central bank. It was the first time the group has taken such action against a member. In addition, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called for Assad to step down.
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
Islam Facts Pictures Islam Facts For Kids Pictures About Religion Wikipedia And History And Beliefs Worksheet On Women Today And Information Images Wallpapers
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