Map of syria

War TImeline

By ericmancebo

  • Day of Dignity

    Protest start in Damascus

  • Security Forces Kill People In Deeraa

    Thousands of people took to the streeet calling for freedom

  • Goverment Resigns

  • "The Great Friday" Protests

    Tens of Thousands took to the streets in Deraa, Damascus and other cities.

  • "Friday of the Children" Protests

    The largest protest outside Daraa takes place in Hama with about 50,000 protestors. The Syrian government disconnects access to the Internet and reduces Syria's online acitivities by nearly two-thirds.

  • President Assad gives his third major speech since the uprising began.

    He offers to extend amnesty to protestors but warns of "saboteurs" in the country. He blames "vandals," "radical and blasphemous individuals," and "foreign conspiracies" for the unrest - what will remain the regime's storyline throughout the crisis.

  • More than 500,000 people protested in the city of Mama

  • Activists groups say 136 are killed in Hama, Dier ez-Zor, Harak, and Abu Kamal.

    It marks the new bloodiest day of the uprising to date.

  • Leaders in the US, France, Germany, and Britain call for Assad to resign.

    It is their first clear call for regime change. The government of Canada follows suit. Switzerland also recalls its ambassador and condemns the violence.

  • The European Union bans imports of Syrian oil.

    The move will squeeze Syria's economy and starve the regime of a major source of income. Until then, Europe had been Syria's largest client for crude oil exports.

  • Ambassadors from the US, EU, Canada, Japan, the UK take part in a vigil to support the protest movement.

    The vigil is held for a prominent human rights activist, Ghiyath Mattar, who is believed to be killed by Syrian security forces.

  • China and Russia use their veto power at the UN to block potential sanctions on Syria.

    That creates a rift across global powers that will continue for months -- the US and Europe pushing for harsher action at the UN, Russia and China opposing it.

  • The Arab League announces sanctions on Syria.

    The measures cut off transactions with Syria's Central Bank, limit the travel of Syrian officials, and freeze assets related to the Assad regime.

  • U.N. says more than 5,000 people were killed in Syria's conflict.

    All forms of peaceful protests continue to be crushed by the regime, including general strikes. Soldiers and security agents force open shops in Daraa as the video to the left shows and threatened to break into shops in Hama.

  • Syrian Goverment Signed Peace Agreement With The Arab League

  • Arab League monitors arrive in Syria.

    It’s the first time the organization embarked on such a mission and the inexperience was evident. Observers would spend less than a month in the country and produced a report that was short on details which disappointed activists and regime supporters.

  • An estimated 500,000 people participate in protests around the country

    Emboldened by Arab League monitors, protesters launch the largest mass demonstration to date.

  • Suicide bomber in Damascus killed 26 and injured 63

  • A student protest at Aleppo University leads security forces to raid the campus.

    The city had thus far remained mostly immune to protests.

  • The Head Of SARC Killed

  • Arab league suspends monitoring mission

  • Russia and China veto a UN Security Council resolution backing an Arab League peace plan.

    Analysts say the veto will embolden the Assad regime, and indeed the government used this international cover to escalate the violence in Homs and later in Idlib.

  • US Embassy suspends operations and closes consular services

    The US pulls its remaining diplomats out of Syria. The UK also recalls its ambassador to the country.

  • Two car bombs at a security complex in Aleppo kill 28 people.

    A security building and the Military Intelligence Directorate are attacked, according to state TV. The death toll is reported at approximately 28 people, with over 200 injured. Meanwhile, supporters and opponents of Assad clash in Tripoli, Lebanon.

  • Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda, calls on all Muslims to help overthrow Assad.

    Al Qaeda, searching for relevance in the Arab Spring, positions itself on the side of the protesters. A contingent of Al Qaeda linked groups join the fight against Bashar al Assad -- which then bolsters his argument that the revolution is led by 'terrorists.'

  • UN General Assembly passes a non-binding resolution calling for the resignation of Bashar Assad.

    The General Assembly condemns the continued 'widespread and systematic' human rights violations by Syrian authorities. UN officials estimate well over 5,400 have been killed in the conflict.

  • Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is appointed special envoy to Syria.

    Annan will serve as joint envoy of the UN and the Arab League, seeking a diplomatic solution to the Syria crisis.