Syria’s Civil War Escalates Global Tensions

The nation of Syria has been involved in a civil war for well over four years now with no discernible end in sight. BBC News reports that at least 200,000 men, women, and children have lost their lives in Syria during this war. The violence in Syria began back in 2011 when a group of teenagers tagged the walls of a school with revolutionary epitaphs. The teens were then arrested and tortured, which prompted pro-democracy protests in the city of Deraa, which lies in southern Syria. The government of Syria, under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad, sent troops in to quell the protests, who then opened fire on protesters, killing and injuring many. Over the next four years Syria would see outright civil war erupt in the nation.

This war has impacted more than just the nation of Syria over these last four years, however. Between the rise of the terrorist group ISIS which has exploited the instability in Syria to grow into one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations on the planet, and the heated arguments between outside nations over what type of support is appropriate and which side should be supported, the impact of this war in Syria is affecting much of the rest of the world as well. One notable example is the argument between the U.S. and Russia over the Russian government sending the military of Syria equipment and military aide. As reported by the New York Times, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria V. Zakharova stated most recently, “We are supporting them, we were supporting them and we will be supporting them,” in what is presumably a “struggle against terrorists” by the military of Syria. However, many believe that this equipment is not being used to fight terrorism, but is instead being used to murder many of the citizens of Syria who are fighting for democracy.

Another consequence of this civil war is an influx of refugees entering EU nations such as Germany to escape the violence in Syria, as reported in a separate Inquisitr article. Many EU nations, as well as Middle Eastern nations, are worried that members of ISIS are mixing in with refugees from Syria and entering neighboring nations who are accepting these migrants. Nearly 4 million refugees have fled Syria since this war began, in what is perhaps the greatest refugee exodus in a decade.

This war in Syria has come to highlight the fact that such events have a very serious effect on the entire world.

[Image by Gokhan Sahin/Stringer via Getty Images]