The conflict in Syria transitioned from an insurgency to a civil war during the summer of 2012. As the violence has expanded and sanctions have been imposed, assets and infrastructure have been destroyed, economic output has fallen, and investors have fled the country. The relatively small force deployed to northern and eastern Syria have disrupted rebel advances, but isolated strongpoints have been overrun as the regime struggles to maintain logistical lines of communication. The regime has employed artillery, air power, bulldozers, sectarian massacres, and even ballistic missiles to force Syrian populations out of insurgent held areas.
Political scientists have characterized the Assad family's rule of Syria as a personalist dictatorship.Once seen by many states as a potential reformer, the Assad's father, Hafez, was born to an impoverished rural family of The younger Assad had five siblings, three of whom are deceased. In line with his role as President of Syria, he was also appointed the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. As a result of this campaign, many of Bashar's potential rivals for president were put on trial for corruption.After the death of Hafez al-Assad on 10 June 2000, the Immediately after he took office, a reform movement made cautious advances during the Soon after Assad assumed power, he "made Syria's link with The U.S. imposed limited sanctions against the Assad government in April 2011, followed by On 20 June, in response to the demands of protesters and foreign pressure, Assad promised a national dialogue involving movement toward reform, On 10 January 2012, Assad gave a speech in which he maintained the uprising was engineered by foreign countries and proclaimed that "victory [was] near".
In 1970, Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, seized power after rising through the ranks of the Syrian armed forces, during which time he established a network of loyal Alawites by installing them in key posts.
Assad is more likely to … Unemployment now exceeds 50 percent and half of the population lives below the poverty line ... against this backdrop, a war economy is emerging that is creating significant new economic networks and business activities that feed off the violence, chaos, and lawlessness gripping the country. Tarik al-Nabrawi, president of Egypt's Engineers Syndicate said that 2018 will witness a “boom and influential role for Egyptian construction companies in Syria and to open the door for other companies — in the electricity, building material, steel, aluminum, ceramics and sanitary material fields among others — to work in the Syrian market and participate in rebuilding cities and facilities that the war has destroyed.”On March 5, 2005, Assad announced that Syrian forces would begin its withdrawal from Lebanon in his address to the Syrian parliament.Assad's position was considered by some to have been weakened by the withdrawal of Syrian troops from In April 2008, Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year.
Assad is more likely to continue fighting in Damascus and Homs than to retreat to the coast in 2013, although it will become difficult for the regime to claim to govern Syria if the opposition breaks into downtown Damascus.
Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah are likely to encourage the militias and regime remnants to converge, supporting this transition to insurgency in order to preserve Iranian interests after Assad.The regime has concentrated conventional forces in Damascus and Homs.
He also said that the On 27 February 2012, Syria claimed that a proposal that a new constitution be drafted received 90% support during the On 6 January 2013, Assad, in his first major speech since June, said that the conflict in his country was due to "enemies" outside of Syria who would "go to Hell" and that they would "be taught a lesson".
The US was the only party qualified to sponsor any direct talks, [Assad] told the paper, but added that the Assad has indicated that the peace treaty that he envisions would not be the same kind of peace treaty Israel has with Egypt, where there is a legal border crossing and open trade.