Divided they stand : an overview of Syria's political opposition factions / Aron Lund

SIP1622

"FEPS in cooperation with the Olof Palme International Center"

The uprising which erupted in Syria in March 2011 has become the most protracted and destabilizing of all the revolutions now sweeping the Arab world. With the government weakened but the regime largely intact, the opposition has little hope of defeating Assad on its own. He, in turn, seems equally unable to extinguish the protests. As the conflict grinds on, the anti-regime movement has increasingly turned to armed struggle, while sectarian sentiment is inflamed by conflict and violence as the country enters the early stages of a civil war.