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Syrian Independence From France
Syria ended up getting their independence from France after World War II (Sameer). The country was in turmoil after they became indpendent (Sameer). -
Formation of the United Arab Republic
After the Palestinian War, Syria started to lose confidence in their government (Syria, Junior Worldmark). The lack of trust in their government led to Syria joining with Egypt and creating the United Arab Republic (Syria, Junior Worldmark). -
Succesion from the UAR
Syria became unhappy with Egypt and left the United Arab Republic (Syria, Junior Worldmark). -
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Emergency Law Goes into Place
The Emergency Law took away the basic protection Syrians had from the government (Sameer). This government justified this with the fact that they were at war with Israel and had, "given the security forces unquestioned powers of arrest and detention" (qtd. In Sameer). -
Hafiz Al-Assad becomes Syrian President
Hafiz al-Assad, Syria’s Minister of Defence, assumed the role as the Syrian president on November 13, 1970 in a military coup (Sameer). Assad then banned all opposing parties for future elections (Sameer). -
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Hafiz Al-Assad's rule as Syrian President
Hafiz created a legislature dominated by the Ba'ath Party (Sameer). The Ba'ath Party had similar socialist/communist views as Hafiz did (Galvani).Syria suffered little development because Al-Assad chose to spend the national budget on building up the army (Syria, Encyclopedia). Hafiz wanted his rule over Syria to be marked down in history (Siegman). -
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Hama Massacre
After many years of Sunni Muslim revolt, Assad used "brute force and military ammunition" to quell the revolt (Sameer). Around 10,000 to 80,000 civilians were killed (Sameer). -
Hafiz Al-Assad Dies
Hafiz Al-Assad died of pulomnary fibrosis (Sameer). After his death, the Syrian Constitution was amended to reduce the minimum age for presidency to 34 (Sameer). This allowed for Hafiz's son, Bashar Al-Assad, to become president (Sameer).
Bashar had no competition for the presidency because there was an, "absence of an opposing party or any opposing candidate" (qtd. in Sameer). -
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Bashar Al-Assad's Rule over Syria
Bashar continued his father’s authoritarian style of government (Syria, Encyclopedia). Bahar al-Assad used a powerful military to suppress political dissent (Syria, Encyclopedia). -
Syrian Uprising Begins
The Syrian Uprising began in early 2011 (Sameer). The Syrian citizens demanded the release of political prisoners and the resignation of the president and the presidential cabinet (Sameer). -
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Syrian Uprising
Syrian Cabinet resigned (Sameer).
Bashar al- Assad continues to employ brutal tactics to restrain anti-government demonstrations (Brown).
The capital of the revolution is considered to be Homs (Thompson). -
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Mass Killings in Syria
The United Nations has said that between March and August about 2,200 Syrian civilians have been killed (Syria, Worldmark). -
United Nations Prepare Draft Resolution
The U.N. prepared a resolution condeming the Syrian government's actions (Syria, Worldmark). They have asked for Assad to step down (Syria, Worldmark). However, Russia and China vetoed the resolution (Syria, Worldmark). -
Protesting Begins in Damascus
Pres. Bashar Assad released more than 1,000 political detainees (Syria, Britannica). Two dozen women gathered in front of the Interior Ministry to demand the release of additional prisoners, sparking a protest in central Damascus (Syria, Britannica). -
Bombings in Damascus
In an assault against the government, two explosions went off in Damascus (Syria: 70 killed). The blasts occurred at around 7:50, when people are usually arriving at work (Syria: 70 killed).An estimated 70 people were killed and 372 were wounded (Syria: 70 killed). The Syrian government blamed terrorists for these bombings (Syria: 70 killed). However, the leading opposition group, the Syrian National Council, blamed the government as they have for previous bomb attacks (Syria: 70 killed).
