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The first shots of the Syrian War were fired in March of 2011. The Syrian government opened fire on citizens who were peacefully protesting Arab Spring.
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Bashar al-Assad's violence killed thousands of citizens in peaceful protests, and they finally decided to fight back.
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A new branch of the terrorist group al-Qaeda has now formed in Syria, calling itself Jabhat al-Nusra.
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The Kurdish people have been asking for autonomy for a long time. Finally, around the same time Jabhat al-Nusra was formed, they decided to secede from Bashar al-Assad's rule in the North.
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Extremists begin to enter Syria to back the rebels. Assad himself encourages this by letting some jihadists prisoners go free, giving the rebellion the tinge of extremism it really doesn't need.
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Iran is Syria's biggest ally. Iran decided to intervene for Assad, sending a few troops and a bit of funding as well.
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Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia group that is backed by Iran, invaded to fight alongside Assad--against the rebels.
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By the end of 2012, Iran was sending daily cargo flights and troops to Syria. Iran's officers are on the ground by the hundreds.
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Oil-rich Arab states- specifically Saudi Arabia, are now sending money and troops to the rebels in Syria. This is mainly to combat Iran's presence.
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Much of the Middle East is split-- generally Sunni powers on one side backing the rebels, and many Shias on the other side, supporting Assad.
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Obama, horrified by the actions of Assad, begins a mission to train and equip Syrian rebels.
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In August, Assad used SARIN gas on his own citizens. Mainly women and children were affected by the toxic gas. Obama Administration is horrified.
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Obama decides to retaliate for the gas attacks. He says, "It is in the national security interest of the United States to respind to the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons."
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in February of 2012, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Iraq breaks away due to conflicts over Syria. The group calls itself ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. ISIS does not fight Assad, instead fighting Kurds and rebels.
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The CIA has people in Syria, training rebels to fight against Assad, giving them weapons and funding. The CIA only trains rebels that fight against ISIS, not those against Assad.
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Turkey begins bombing the Kurds in Northern Syria, Iraq, and Turkey, even though the Kurds have begun fighting ISIS in Syria.
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Assad had been losing ground to the rebels and to ISIS, so Russia intervenes on his behalf.
