Syria Map

• Syria's human rights situation is among the worst in the world, according to human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch.

• The authorities arrest democracy and human rights activists, censor websites, detain bloggers, and impose travel bans. Arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances are widespread. Although Syria's constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal statutes laws and the penal code discriminate against women and girls. Moreover, it also grants leniency for so-called honor crimes.

• Protests in Syria started on 26 January and were influenced by other protests in the region; on the same day, one case of self-immolation was reported. Protesters have been calling for political reforms and the reinstatement of civil rights, as well as an end to the state of emergency which has been in place since 1963. One attempt at a "day of rage" was set for 4 – 5 February, though it ended up uneventful.

• On March 15, demonstrations took place in many cities across Syria. Thousands of protestors gathered in al-Hasakah, Aleppo, Damascus, Daraa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hama. Recently released politician Suhair Atassi became an unofficial spokesperson for the "Syrian revolution" Atassi paid tribute to "the Syrian people who took the initiative ahead of the opposition," recalling the popular uprisings that shook Tunisia and Egypt. After the first day of the protests there were reports of approximately 3000 arrests and a few "martyrs", but there are no official figures on the number of deaths.

• On 16 March, Syrian authorities forcibly dispersed a demonstration in front of the Syrian Interior Ministry. al-Arabiya reported that protesters were a mix of activists and jurists, writers, journalists, young academics and family members to people detained in Syrian prisons. The security forces arrested a number of protestors, Al Jazeera reported 25, while Al Arabiya said 32 including activist and lawyer Suhair Atassi and Kamal Cheikho, an activist who had been released two days earlier. Mohamed al-Ali, a spokesman for the Syrian Interior authority denied that any demonstrations have happened in Syria and that the Facebook campaign has been proved unsuccessful. According to the spokesperson, the "claimed protests" consisted of a few people who were "hiding" among the already packed souq (i.e. market) and tried to make it look like a demonstration. In another statement, he went further by saying that the demonstration that took place outside the Interior authority was actually in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

• On 18 March, thousands of protesters in several Syrian cities took to the streets after the Friday prayers and chanted "God, Syria, Freedom, that is enough", challenging the classical pro-regime slogan "God, Syria, Bashar, that is enough". In Damascus, security forces broke into the Omayyad Mosque and violently attacked protesters. Several people were injured, and several others were arrested. In the southern city of Daraa, people chanted against Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of the Syrian president. The regime replied by sending helicopters and water cannons to confront the protesters. At least three people were killed by security forces.

• On 22 March, as a result of the protests, the Governor of Daraa was fired, but this did not satisfy the protesters. Demonstrations increased, and on 24 March, it was reported that more than a hundred had been killed. in marches at Daraa that exceeded 20,000.

• On 29 March, the entire Syrian cabinet was asked to resign by the president. Adel Safar was named the new prime minister and his new cabinet was sworn into office on 14 April 2011. The Emergency Law was rescinded on 21 April 2011.

• Since 25 April city of Deraa is under a siege by Syrian army, communication and electricity is down in the city, essential food supply is not allowed to be brought inside Deraa. It is believed that hundreds have been killed by government forces, specifically by the brigade led by Maher Al-Assad.

• The cities of Baniyas and Homs have also fallen under siege by government forces. Army tanks have begun heavy shelling of residential areas. Deaths and mass imprisonment of local youths have been reported.

• On May 18, 2011, United States president Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian officials as a response to Syria's bloody crackdown on political protests. Additional sanctions were imposed by the Treasury Department against Syrian and Iranian intelligence services and commanders.

• As a result of the violent crack down and the forced detainment of thousands of protesters, an increasing number of refugees are trying to escape to Turkey, which is planning to build a second refugee camp in the border town of Yayladagi. At the same time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Syrian authorities to stop the “assault on its own people”.

• On 17 June 2011 Syrian troops and Gunmen loyal to President Bashir al Assad arrested 70 people and set houses on fire after tanks entred a town near the Turkish border. 19 people were shot dead in the assault.

• Muslim 86% (Sunnis account for 74% of the population, while the remaining 13% are Shia – Alawite, Twelvers, and Ismailis combined), Druze 3%, Christian 10% (majority Antiochian Orthodox, other Christian include Greek Catholic, Assyrian Church of the East, Armenian Orthodox, Protestants and other various denominations).

• Christians, a sizable number (2.5 million) of which are also found among Syrian Palestinians, are divided into several groups. Chalcedonian Antiochian Orthodox ("Greek Orthodox"; Arabic: الروم الارثوذكس‎, ar-Rūmu 'l-Urṯūḏuks) make up 45% of the Christian population; the Catholics (Melkite, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Catholic, Maronite, Chaldean Catholic and Latin) make up 16%; the Syriac Orthodox Church 27%, the Armenian Apostolic Church 8%, Assyrian Church of the East and several smaller Christian denominations account the remainder. Many Christian monasteries also exist. Many Christian Syrians belong to a high socio-economic class.

• Syria's capital, Damascus, has long been one of the Arab world's centers for cultural and artistic innovation, especially in the field of classical Arab music. Syria has also produced several pan-Arab stars, including Asmahan, Farid al-Atrash and singer Lena Chamamyan. The city of Aleppo is known for its muwashshah, a form of Andalous sung poetry popularized by Sabri Moudallal, as well as popular stars like Sabah Fakhri.

• Also, Syria was one of the earliest centers of Christian hymnody, in a repertory known as Syrian chant, which continues to be the liturgical music of some of the various Syrian Christians.

• There was formerly a distinctive tradition of Syrian Jewish religious music, which still flourishes in the Syrian-Jewish community of New York: see The Weekly Maqam, Baqashot and Pizmonim.

• Syria has three international airports (Damascus, Aleppo and Lattakia), which serve as hubs for Syrian Air and are also served by a variety of foreign carriers.

• The majority of Syrian cargo is carried by Chemins de Fer Syriens (the Syrian railway company), which links up with Turkish State Railways (the Turkish counterpart). For a relatively under developed country Syria's railway infrastructure is of a high quality with many high speed services.