You're listening to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on Syria.

What started as local anti-government protests in southwestern Syria in 2011 has evolved into a fully-fledged war,

those ends is not yet in sight.

The conflict has forced over 4.5 million Syrians to flee the country, many of them seeking

refuge in Europe. In this podcast, we will analyze the roots, evolution and international

response to an external conflict that became EU business.

Every conflict has its roots, and the Syrian conflict roots are in the social and economic unrest that was already widespread as far back as 2011.

The general discontents spurred local anti-government protests that quickly evolved into

nationwide demonstrations.

The response of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who wanted to avoid the fate of his

Tunisian and Egyptian equals, was brutal and merciless.

The conflict has evolved into a full-blown civil war, causing the worst humanitarian crisis

since World War II.

Millions of Syrians have either been internally displaced or have fled the country.

Others have suffered even worse fate.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, 250,000 civilians have been killed in Syria

up to November 2015, 96% of them by government forces.

Anti-government groups and terrorist groups like

ISIL Daesh and Jabhat al-Nusra, which have flourished in the security vacuum created by the

war, are also responsible for the kidnapping, torture and systematic abuse of thousands of

civilians. And even though these practices, including the likely use of chemical weapons against

the population, have been strongly condemned by the international community.

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