The Corrupt Regime is responsible for Civil War in Syria. 

 

                                 

The war in Syria has gone on for over five years and has claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

It is being fought between soldiers who support the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and a group of fighters known as rebels, who don't want him to be in power anymore.

The trouble began in 2011 in the Syrian city of Deraa.

It began because local people decided to protest after 15 schoolchildren were arrested - and reportedly tortured - for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall.

The protests were peaceful to begin with, calling for the release of the children, democracy and greater freedom for people in the country.

The government responded angrily and, on 18 March 2011, the army opened fire on protesters, killing four people.

The following day, they shot at mourners at the victims' funerals, killing another person.

People were shocked and angry at what had happened and soon the unrest spread to other parts of the country.

When the war first began, the protesters just wanted democracy and greater freedom.

But once government forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrations, people demanded that President Bashar al-Assad resign. However, he refused to do this which made the protestors extremely angry.

As the violence got worse, he offered to change some things about the way the country was run, but the protesters didn't believe him.

 

A little confusingly, there isn't one single group of rebels fighting against President Assad and the government's army. It is thought there could have been as many as 1,000 different groups opposing the government since the conflict began, with an estimated 100,000 fighters.

The opposition - that is, those who all want the president to step down - is made up of several kinds of people. These include groups of rebel fighters, political parties who disagree with Assad, and those living in exile who cannot return to the country.

Complicating the situation further, the crisis in Syria has become more than just a war between people who are for or against President Assad.