Uprising in Syria

In March of 2011, protests erupted in Damascus, the capital of Syria. The protests were led by Syrians who opposed the regime of President Assad, and they demanded the release of political prisoners. Assad released some prisoners, but the unrest in Damascus didn't completely settle, and Assad turned to other tactics in an attempt to end the uprising, sending in tanks and troops. During this time, the opposition formed the Free Syrian Army, and organized the Syrian National Council. Fighting continued, and in August of 2012 the UN formally asked Assad to resign, and president Obama warned against the use of chemical weapons. Later in that year, the different factions of Syrian opposition formed the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which was then recognized by several countries, including the US, as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Early in 2013 Assad's warplanes bombed a rebel-controlled city, and the US and Britain pledged non-military aid to the Syrian opposition. Soon afterwards, reports emerged of chemical weapon use, and the US and Britain demanded investigations. In the fall of 2013, UN investigators concluded that chemical weapons were used, but did not allocate blame. Soon afterward, the US and Russia negotiated an agreement that Syria's chemical weapons would be destroyed. Unrest in Syria is still ongoing.