In 2011 15 school children were supposedly arrested and tortured for anti-governmental rhetoric. These government actions launched a debate across the nation and protesting spread city to city. The Syrian government did not respond well to the protesters. On March 18th the army open fired murdering four people. The protesting then turned extremely violent, and on July 2012, it was declared that the country was in a state of civil war. The president Bashar Al-Assad saw the nation slipping into an uncontrollable state, and promised that changes would be made to make the country more democratic. The rebels refused to believe that the government would honor these changes and continue to rebel.
The situation expanded its troubles as a new group called ISIS began entering Syria and taking over large parts of the land. It has become a three-way war, with ISIS claiming land against the rebels and Assad's forces. In recent months world leaders around the developed world and the sphere of ISIS has shrunk. The war has left many displaced people as many of them fled to developed nations, and neighboring countries. Places like the UK and Germany have been relatively welcoming to the new refugees.
In 2013 it was reported and later confirmed that the Syrian government was using chemical weapons on its citizens, something that was banned in warfare. In October 2013 members of the UN went into Syria to destroy these chemical weapons.
