Post by shinseiki on Mar 17, 2006 17:48:22 GMT -5
Background: Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic, but in September 1961 the two entities separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-Asad, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel, and over the past decade Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-Asad in July 2000, his son, Bashar al-Asad, was approved as president by popular referendum. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005.
Modern Background: Concerned with Bashar al-Asad's apparent weakness in the face of Western influences, the Ba'ath Party force an early presidential referendum. The referendum results in Bashar being deposed in favour of Kamil al-Asad, his younger brother. Kamil is well-known for his nationalist beliefs, and is regarded by the Party as the man to take Syria back to prominence.
Area: total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km
water: 1,130 sq km
note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Terrain: Primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Population: 18,448,752
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
Nationality:
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian
Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9%
Government type: republic under an authoritarian, military-dominated regime since March 1963
Capital: Damascus
Modern Background: Concerned with Bashar al-Asad's apparent weakness in the face of Western influences, the Ba'ath Party force an early presidential referendum. The referendum results in Bashar being deposed in favour of Kamil al-Asad, his younger brother. Kamil is well-known for his nationalist beliefs, and is regarded by the Party as the man to take Syria back to prominence.
Area: total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km
water: 1,130 sq km
note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Terrain: Primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Natural resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Population: 18,448,752
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
Nationality:
noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian
Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.9%
Government type: republic under an authoritarian, military-dominated regime since March 1963
Capital: Damascus