The Syrian civil war has been a prominent issue in the world since its beginning in 2011. Syria’s diverse ethnic groups are what have helped to fuel this country into one of the worst civil war of the 21st century because they can’t compromise. After gaining independence from France in 1946, Syria saw many years of political instability. Dating back to 1947, the Baathist party has ruled Syria for the vast majority of the country's existence. The modern Ba'ath party is identified as a socialist movement and is currently led by Bashar al-Assad, who came to power after the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad. This party has maintained significant political power throughout its reign just furthering the need for a voice of the people. Syria in Recent years has become more isolated due to its choosing in allies, such as Iraq and Lebanon. The Syrian government's inability to negotiate and work peacefully with its citizens is what has ultimately caused this gruesome civil war.
The prelude to the Syrian conflict was the widely publicized activism in Egypt in Tunisia. These uprisings showed the people of Syria that it was possible to create the change that they wanted in the government. The first event that caused the initial protests of the Syrians was the arrest of 15 children and suspected torture of them for graffiting anti-government statements on a public wall. The protests started of peaceful, asking for the release of the children and in the long run more freedom for the citizens. The government responded with violence, killing 4 innocent people on March 18, 2011. Even more heartless and shocking was the fact that the next day the armed militants gunned down one mourner at the funeral of the victims of the previous day. Word spread throughout Syria of these inconsiderate and callous acts, causing many people to call for Bahsar al-Assad’s resignation. This request was immediately shut down by government officials. Due to the diversity previously stated, there is not one main opposition group in this fight. The rebel groups range from extremely peaceful and amicable, to pure violence and hate for the government. This is what causes the government so many problems in how to handle the situation at hand. In August of 2013 a chemical attack was conducted on innocent Syrian citizens causing global controversy as an 100 year war standard was broken. The source of this attack was under mass speculation as to whether Bahsar al-Assad had overseen it or not. World powers quickly chose sides with the most powerful of the two, Russia and The United States, choosing opposite parties.
Vladamir Putin later came out with the statement: “No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used, not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists.”
Joe Biden then spoke for his country, voicing his disapproval: “No one doubts that innocent men, women and children have been the victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. And there's no doubt who is responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in Syria: the Syrian regime.”