FROM ARAB SPRING TO CIVIL WAR "SYRIA"

Syria: from Arab spring to civil war

More than two years into an uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, violence in the country shows no sign of abating. The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have been killed in vicious fighting between Assad loyalists and rebel forces, who control roughly half of the country. Both sides have accused each other of using chemical weapons and the UN has dispatched inspectors to investigate the claims. Almost two million Syrians displaced by the fighting have sought refuge along the country's borders, in what the UN has described as the worst refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. While the Assad regime can count on the unwavering support of Russia, which has shot down all UN resolutions on Syria, the rebels are backed by wealthy Gulf states Qatar and Saudi Arabia. On the ground, Lebanese militia Hezbollah has joined forces with Syria’s regular army, whereas thousands of foreign fighters – some linked to al Qaeda – have sided with the rebels. In a bid to stem the rise of Islamist factions within an increasingly fractious rebel camp, some Western powers, among them France and the US, have said they plan to send weapons to more secular groups, including the Free Syrian Army.