Four Years of a Civil War

With much of the Arab Spring infiltrating all news sources and media outlets for a extended period of my adult life, it is important to recognize one of the most expansive and bloody civil wars that is a result. The war between rebel forces and President Bashar al Assad has drawn global attention, with over 9 million Syrians displaced, and 200,000 people dead. This week marking four years since the beginning of the war calls for reflection on the series of events that have taken place since. Although the war most evidently affected the climate of Middle Eastern nations, it called for global attention when chemical warfare was supposedly taking place. Has time as gone on, these rumors have gained more and more validity as more cases arise of chemical warfare. However, the Syrian war is one that tells the same story as many other nations facing a disliked leader. Similar to the removal of Hosni Mubarak, or Muammar Gaddafi, the Assad regime had imposed severe rights' violations, of all kinds, onto its citizens. With the uprising, hope was brought to the Syrian people that change could occur. However, as we look back four years later, the Syrian atmosphere is catastrophically worse than it was prior to the uprising. As a immense portion of the population has fled to nations such as Turkey and Jordan, it begs the question as to what will be left if either side shall win this bloody war?

Yoomna Rahim
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/articles/2015/3/9/this-week-marks-four-year-since-start-of-uprising-in-syria.html