What began as a peaceful uprising against the president of Syria seven years ago sadly turned into a full-scale civil war which has left about 400,000 people dead
The Syria conflagration has devastated cities and drawn in several other countries.
Before the conflict began, many Syrians simply complained about high unemployment, corruption and a lack of political freedom under President Bashar al-Assad. The young Bashar had succeeded his late father Hafez in 2000.
Then, in March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa. These were inspired by the "Arab Spring" in several neighbouring countries.
Surprisingly, the government used deadly force to crush the dissent. This led to nationwide protests demanding the president's resignation.
The unrest became widespread and the government crackdown intensified. The Opposition took up arms, initially to defend themselves and later to rid their areas of security forces. It was then that Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush what he called "foreign-backed terrorism".
The violence quickly escalated and the country descended into civil war.
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Unfortunately, the situation is now more than a battle between those for or against Bashar al-Assad.
Several groups and countries - each with their own agendas - are presently involved, making the situation far more complex and prolonging the fighting.
