Major ethnic groups: (click here) Arabs (90%), Kurds (9%), Armenians, Circassians, Turkomans.
Religions: Sunni Muslims (74%), Alawis (12%), Christians (10%), Druze (3%), and small numbers of other Muslim sects, Jews, and Yazidis.
400,000 Palestinian refugees
The Kurds, many of whom speak Kurdish, make up 9% of the population and live mostly in the northeast corner of Syria, though sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well. Armenian and Turkic are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkoman populations.
Assad is a religious minority in Syria. One of the reasons Hezbollah and other Shi'ite groups have been involved with Syria is due to the fact they are the minorities. Assad always had power because of the minority extremist groups throughout Syria and Lebanon.
What is of concern is the elimination of minorities in Syria due to the new threat of radical Sunni militias. The most extreme of these militias is IS/IS/L. The methodology will eliminate any minority in Syria.
When the USA states Assad does not have the backing of the Syrian people they are also fueling anti-Shea motives by Sunni militia.
When dealing with decent in the Middle East it is extremely complicated and it is that nuance the USA never gets right. The USA has always considered itself as a "Melting Pot" and boasts diversity. The people of the USA does not realize how that is rather unique in the real world. The people of the USA and it's government believes the entire world should reflect the USA's uniqueness and exclusivity. That is very naive and under assessed.
The Middle East is a powder keg on even the best of days because of the lack of acceptance of diversity.
The Assad regime has, (click here) until now, refused to allow United Nations humanitarian assistance to flow through border crossings it does not control, something members of this Security Council address with this resolution.
Today, aid workers are kidnapped by IS/IS/L and brutally killed. It may be the only way to safely provide humanitarian aid is by helicopter. The idea helicopters would be successful without being downed is naive. So, the safest statement is that Syria is facing famine and death of citizens due to it's chaos and anarchy.
The USA has to be very careful as does NATO when the political rhetoric is backing Sunni forces in Syria. The reason there is a civil war is because Assad is Shi'ite. When the USA backs rebels of any vernacular in Syria it has to also protect the people within Syria that are Shi'ite. Their status will be tentative if they are not included in concern by The West.
Religions: Sunni Muslims (74%), Alawis (12%), Christians (10%), Druze (3%), and small numbers of other Muslim sects, Jews, and Yazidis.
400,000 Palestinian refugees
The Kurds, many of whom speak Kurdish, make up 9% of the population and live mostly in the northeast corner of Syria, though sizable Kurdish communities live in most major Syrian cities as well. Armenian and Turkic are spoken among the small Armenian and Turkoman populations.
Assad is a religious minority in Syria. One of the reasons Hezbollah and other Shi'ite groups have been involved with Syria is due to the fact they are the minorities. Assad always had power because of the minority extremist groups throughout Syria and Lebanon.
What is of concern is the elimination of minorities in Syria due to the new threat of radical Sunni militias. The most extreme of these militias is IS/IS/L. The methodology will eliminate any minority in Syria.
When the USA states Assad does not have the backing of the Syrian people they are also fueling anti-Shea motives by Sunni militia.
When dealing with decent in the Middle East it is extremely complicated and it is that nuance the USA never gets right. The USA has always considered itself as a "Melting Pot" and boasts diversity. The people of the USA does not realize how that is rather unique in the real world. The people of the USA and it's government believes the entire world should reflect the USA's uniqueness and exclusivity. That is very naive and under assessed.
The Middle East is a powder keg on even the best of days because of the lack of acceptance of diversity.
The Assad regime has, (click here) until now, refused to allow United Nations humanitarian assistance to flow through border crossings it does not control, something members of this Security Council address with this resolution.
Today, aid workers are kidnapped by IS/IS/L and brutally killed. It may be the only way to safely provide humanitarian aid is by helicopter. The idea helicopters would be successful without being downed is naive. So, the safest statement is that Syria is facing famine and death of citizens due to it's chaos and anarchy.
The USA has to be very careful as does NATO when the political rhetoric is backing Sunni forces in Syria. The reason there is a civil war is because Assad is Shi'ite. When the USA backs rebels of any vernacular in Syria it has to also protect the people within Syria that are Shi'ite. Their status will be tentative if they are not included in concern by The West.
