Syrian Conflict

​The Syrian Civil War is an ongoing multi-sided armed conflict in Syria fought between the Ba'athist Syrian Arab Republic led by President Bashar al-Assad, along with domestic and foreign allies, and various domestic and foreign forces opposing both the Syrian government and each other in varying combinations.
The unrest in Syria, part of a more extensive wave of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, grew out of discontent with the Syrian government and escalated to armed conflict after protests calling for Assad's removal were violently suppressed. The war is being fought by several factions:​
  • Syrian government and Syrian Armed Forces and its international allies, a loose alliance of majorly Sunni opposition rebel groups, including the Free Syrian Army.
  • Majority-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces
  • ​The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
 PictureAlan Kurdi was a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish ethnic background whose image made global headlines after he drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, as part of the Syrian refugee crisis. Photographs of his body were taken by Turkish journalist Nilüfer Demir and quickly spread around the world, prompting international responses.
Supplemental Reading

location of syria on a map

As you go through the activity, consider using Google Maps or Google Earth (requires Google Chrome) so that you have a geographic reference to the region. It will help you spatially understand the physical landscape and the regional powers in play that are directly or indirectly influencing the conflict. ​Specifically, locate Syria, Iraq, Russia, were the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is located, and the United States. These nations will be key players in understanding the Syrian civil war. ​

History of Syrian
Using the information from the Uprooted Story Map, and the videos above, and the timeline of events from Syrian Refugees, write a narrative the explains the following:
  • Summarize and describe how you would explain the Syrian crisis to your friends.
  • Describe the difference between refugees and internally displaced people. Does the world have more refugees or internally displaced people?
  • Based on the map from Uprooted, which country has the highest number of refugees? Internally displaced people? ​
  • Describe the spatial distribution of the internally displaced camps in Syria. 
  • Describe the living conditions in the 5th largest city in Jordan.

Key Players in the Syrian Civil War
Using the information from the Uprooted Story Map, and the videos above, and the timeline of events from Syrian Refugees, write a narrative the explains the following:
  • Describe the rise of ISIS and how it spread around the region.
  • Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between ISIS and al Qaeda.
  • Compare and contrast the physical and geopolitical reasons why United States and Russia are involved in Syria.
  • What, if any, evidence is there that the United States and Russia are entering a new Cold War? 

Refugee Crisis
Using the information from the Uprooted Story Map and the videos above, write a narrative the explains the following:
  • Describe the push and pull factors that are causing Syrians to migrate.
  • Describe the impact the Syrian refugee crisis is having on Europe.

Chemical Attacks on Civilians
Often times, when a government wants to eliminate people, without destroying the buildings and infrastructure of a city or town, they will use gas weapons. The Russian government, who wants to protect the current Syrian government, has used social media and "fake news" in an attempt to discredit news reports and military intelligence that chemical weapons were used by the Assad-led government.

​Snoops has an excellent article on the disinformation campaign being used to convince people that the chemical attack on citizens never happened. The United States Pentagon has said it has proof that chemical weapons were used on the Syrian people. 
  • Describe the evidence the world has that the Syrian government chemically gassed its people. 

Impacts on Syrians

Using the population pyramid and CIA World Factbook for the Syrian Arab Republic, answer the following questions.
  • Provide a summary of the geography, people and society, and terrorism of the nation. 
  • What other information from the CIA World Factbook stood out for you? Explain why.
  • Compare and contrast the demographic trends and dynamics between 1950-2019 in 10 year increments. What can the demographic data do to help you understand the civil war occurring in Syria?

The Syrian People
  • Which parts of the stories stood out to you? Why?
  • How do these stories make the political personal, and the personal political?
  • What questions would you want to ask them? Why?
  • What do these stories encourage us to pay attention to in geography? 
The evidence is clear that the Assad government, ISIS, and rebel groups all want control of Syria. The United States has funded financially or with weaponry the rebel groups who will fight the Assad government and ISIS. Russia has been funding, financially and with weaponry, the Assad government to attack ISIS and the rebel groups (who are funded by the United States. 
  • What evidence is there that the United States and Russia are entering a new cold war?
  • Should the United States remain in Syria? Explain your answer. ​

References


ABC News. (n.d.). Hell on Earth: Horrific aftermath of alleged Syria chemical attack. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI3-0xIcvgI

Al Jazeera English. (n.d.). 🇸🇾 Syria chemical attack: “Many children have been killed” | Al Jazeera English. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wmhbxUTh4M

Berti - 2015 - The Syrian Refugee Crisis Regional and Human Secu.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.inss.org.il/he/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/systemfiles/SystemFiles/adkan17_4ENG_7_Berti.pdf

Berti, B. (2015). The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Regional and Human Security Implications, 17(4), 13.
Business Insider. (n.d.). Spread of ISIS through Iraq and Syria. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHqvKYanuZw

CNN. (n.d.). The challenge for US with Russia in Syria. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIGhEmKZ-eE
​
Maps, E. S. (n.d.). The World’s 10 Largest Refugee Camps. Retrieved March 4, 2019, from http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2016/refugee-camps/

Ostrand - The Syrian Refugee Crisis A Comparison of Respons.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241500300301

Ostrand, N. (n.d.). The Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Comparison of Responses by Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 25.

Political Geography – Introduction to Human Geography. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2019, from https://humangeography.pressbooks.com/chapter/chapter-4/

Population of Syrian Arab Republic 2017 - PopulationPyramid.net. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2019, from https://www.populationpyramid.net/syrian-arab-republic/2017/

Syrian Civil War. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2019, from https://www.opengeography.org/syrian-civil-war.html

The Atlantic. (n.d.). The Harrowing Personal Stories of Syrian Refugees, in Their Own Words. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=107&v=6b5H7je4m1A

The Daily Conversation. (n.d.). Europe’s Refugee Crisis Explained. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v13kTeAHY4c

The Guardian. (n.d.-a). Syria’s child refugees: “You feel that they have lost their hearts.” Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WARQID-U-Jg

The Guardian. (n.d.-b). The war in Syria explained in five minutes | Guardian Animations. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5H5w3_QTG0

The Strategic Implications of the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Survival: Vol 57, No 6. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2019, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00396338.2015.1116144

The Uprooted. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2019, from http://storymaps.esri.com/stories/2016/the-uprooted/index.html

VICE News. (n.d.). How the US Created the Islamic State: Talking Heads. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU2avVIHde8

vlogbrothers. (n.d.-a). Syria in Five Minutes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exrqMPJ1Bts

vlogbrothers. (n.d.-b). Understanding the Refugee Crisis in Europe, Syria, and around the World. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVV6_1Sef9M

Vox. (n.d.-a). Syria’s war: Who is fighting and why. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFpanWNgfQY

Vox. (n.d.-b). The rise of ISIS, explained in 6 minutes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzmO6RWy1v8

Wall Street Journal. (n.d.). ISIS vs. al Qaeda: The Jihadist Divide. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ3wRIgTSCw

Washington Post. (n.d.). What you need to know about Russia, Syria and the complex war that’s lead to U.S. airstrikes. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXZcE-ZmgdY

Why Russia Is So Involved With The Syrian Civil War - YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpuLQWwzZGw