Tuesday, September 17, 2013

1700 killed and more than 9000 injured by chemical bombing 'Syria

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The violence in Syria began in March 2011. The middle eastern country has been crippled by a brutal civil war.

Since then, the United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have died in the clashes between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel forces who want him out.

The UN also says more than two million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries, and over a million of those refugees are children.

In July 2012, the International Red Cross said the violence in Syria had become so widespread that it was in a state of civil war.

But what are the reasons behind the violence? And what is being done to stop it getting any worse?
How did it all start?

The trouble began in 2011 in the Syrian city of Deraa.

Locals took to the streets to protest after 15 schoolchildren had been arrested - and reportedly tortured - for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall.

The protests were peaceful to begin with, calling for the kids' release, democracy and greater freedom for people in the country.

The government responded angrily, and on 18 March, the army opened fire on protesters, killing four people.

The following day, they shot at mourners at the victims' funerals, killing another person.

People were shocked and angry at what had happened and soon the unrest had spread to other parts of the country.
What do the protesters want and what have they got?

At first the protesters just wanted democracy and greater freedom.

But once security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrations, people demanded that the President, Bashar al-Assad, resign.

President Assad refused to step down.

As the violence worsened he offered to change some things about the way the country is run, but the protesters didn't believe him.

President Assad also has quite a lot of people in Syria that still support him and his government.
Suspected use of chemical weapons

There has been increasing pressure on the international community to act after allegations came out that chemical weapons are being used in the war.

Syria, however, has denied using chemical weapons, which are banned under international law because the effects of their use are so horrific.

But in August 2013, a suspected chemical attack just outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, caused a strong reaction from the likes of America, Britain and France.

Now, those countries are debating how best to react to the deepening crisis.

Syria's government categorically denied the use of chemical weapons, saying: "there is no country in the world that uses a weapon of ultimate destruction against its own people."
Is there any help from other countries?

Following the suspected chemical attack, Britain began planning a possible military response. The British and American governments are working together on a plan, which is very unlikely to involve sending soldiers into the country.

The United Nations has been very critical of the violence - but can't agree on how to help the ordinary people of Syria.

They sent peace monitors into Syria in April 2012 as part of a peace plan, but they had to pull out after it became too dangerous.

The UN hasn't sent in any armed troops to Syria.

For that to happen, all the members countries of the UN have to agree - but Russia and China have so far blocked any moves to do this.

Russia in particular has strong ties with President Assad's Syrian government and have helped them by supplying weapons.

Britain and France have been pushing for the ability to send weapons to the rebels, saying it would encourage the Syrian government towards coming up with a solution to the conflict.

But there's a big debate about whether sending weapons is the right way to end the war. There's no way of telling who might get hold of the weapons.
The refugee crisis

Many ordinary Syrian people have been caught up in the violence of the war and have been forced to leave their homes to escape to other countries.

Every day refugees stream across the borders of Syria into the neighbouring nations of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

In August 2013 the United Nations said that the number of Syrian children who'd been forced to flee the country had reached one million.

Millions more have been displaced within Syria and are in desperate need of help. But aid agencies say that getting aid to people inside Syria is too difficult and dangerous.
What happens next?

It doesn't look like the fighting is going to end any time soon.

Neither the Free Syrian Army nor the government forces have been able to defeat the other.

It seems unlikely that Syrian government troops will ever be able to regain full control of the country.

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