Syria officially the Syrian Arab Republic is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
The capital is Damascus. The official language is Arabic. Sunni Muslims make up about 74% of Syria's population. 10% are Christian (the majority Antiochian Orthodox, the rest including Greek Catholic, Assyrian Church of the East, Armenian Orthodox, Protestants and other denominations).
The president is Bashar al-Assad. His family is Alawite and Alawites (Shia Muslims), they dominate the government and hold key military positions.
Pro-democracy protest erupted in March 2011 in the southern city of Deraa after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. After security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing several, more took to the streets. The unrest triggered nationwide protests demanding President Assad's resignation. The government's use of force to crush the dissent merely hardened the protesters' resolve. By July 2011, hundreds of thousands were taking to the streets across the country.
The expanding Syrian refugee crisis highlights the differences among countries that welcome desperate migrants and those that don't. Some 4.1 million Syrians are fleeing a homeland riven by more than four years of civil war. Some countries have taken in so many migrants it's caused a population spike, while others have done little or nothing at all.
9.24.15: Syria's civil war prompts first 'Doomsday Vault' withdrawal. The Global Seed Vault, something of an agricultural Noah's Ark, keeps a seed of just about every known crop in the world inside a frozen vault on the Norwegian island of Svalbard.
2015: Syrian refugees : Which countries welcome them, which ones don't.
8.5.16: U.S. on Track for Syrian Refugee Resettlement Goal. It's Obama administration's goal to welcome 10,000 Syrians by the end of September. From Oct. 1, 2015, through Aug. 4 of this year, 8,004 Syrian refugees who fled violence and persecution in their home country have been resettled in the U.S. They were placed in 38 states: With 887 arrivals, Michigan was the top recipient, followed by California (783), Arizona (651), Texas (565) and Pennsylvania (481).
April 2018 pres. Trump making plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
October 2019, Pres. Trump ordered U.S. troops to pull out of Syria. Kurdish forces backed by U.S. strike a deal with Syria's Assad.
10.7.19: Trump Defends Decision to Pull U.S. Troops from Northern Syria.
10.13.19: Trump Pulls out Remaining Troops from N. Syria; Warns of 'Powerful Sanctions' on Turkey.
10.27.19: ISIS leader,Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, killed in daring U.S. raid in Syria, Trump says. He and Jihadi John are responsible for the killing of Kayla Mueller, and beheadings of James Foley, Steven Sotloff, David Haines, Alan Henning, Peter Kassig, Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.
Pres. Trump said a U.S. special operations forces mission went after the ISIS leader, in Northern Syria, and there were no U.S. deaths during the operation. Several ISIS fighters and companions of Baghdadi were killed, including two women wearing suicide vests and three children. Trump said Baghdadi was chased to the end of a dead end tunnel by dogs, bringing three children with him. At the end of the tunnel, he detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and the children with him. The President said "immediate" and "totally positive" test results proved it was Baghdadi, saying a lab technician on the scene of the raid confirmed the ISIS leader's death. "He died like a dog. He died like a coward. The world is now a much safer place," Trump said. Trump described the situation, saying the ISIS leader "spent his last moments in utter fear, in total panic and dread, terrified of the American forces bearing down on him."
10.28.19: Baghdadi Operation Named After Christian Woman,Kayla Mueller, Who Refused to Give Up Faith Before ISIS Killed Her.
