The Syrian Arab Republic was granted independence by the French in 1946. After a number of coups, the new country united with Egypt in 1958, soon to be separated again in 1961. Throughout the 1990’s peace talks were negotiated with Israel following the forfeit of the Golan Heights area in the Arab-Israeli war, however an agreement was not reached.
More recently, when antigovernment protests broke out in 2011, the Assad government conceded some of the antagonist’s demands regarding electoral liberalisation, but was unwilling to submit to their call for Assad’s resignation. The government’s ongoing use of military force to subdue unrest has seen interminable violence despite international pressure and numerous economic sanctions against the Assad regime. In 2012, the Syrian National Coalition was internationally deemed to be the new legitimate representative of the Syrian People. 2014 UN peace talks between the coalition and the regime were unsuccessful in resolving the conflict which has now put approximately 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance (January 2016 est. World Fact Book, 2016).
