Syria’s War: The Descent Into Horror

In the five years since protestors in Syria first demonstrated against the four-decade rule of the Assad family, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in the ensuing violence and some twelve million people—more than half the country’s pre-war population—have been displaced. The country has descended into an ever-more-complex civil war: Jihadis promoting a Sunni theocracy have eclipsed many opposition forces fighting for a democratic Syria. Regional powers have backed various local forces to advance their geopolitical interests on Syrian battlefields. The United States has been at the fore of a coalition conducting air strikes on the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Russia too has carried out air strikes in Syria; though it claimed to be primarily targeting the Islamic State, it appeared to have more often targeted militants who seemed to pose a more immediate threat to the regime.- LEGGI L’ARTICOLO