From Clashes to Civil War
However, the growth was not felt uniformly, and by 2010 the youth
unemployment rate was still around 20 percent. In 2011, discontent among
Syrians in response to economic pressures and the lack of political reform
reflected the mood elsewhere in the Middle East—Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen,
Bahrain, and Libya—where popular protests had already begun to topple
governments. In March, the so-called “Arab Spring” came to Syria, as children and
teenagers in the city of Daraa were arrested for painting anti-government graffiti
on the walls of a school. When demonstrators demanded that they be released,
the police cracked down and dozens of protesters were killed. The president,
facing calls for his resignation, promised changes, but then the regime ordered
troops into Daraa to clamp down on the protests. Since that time violence has
increased between Assad’s forces and rebel groups fighting to bring down the
government. In July 2012 the Red Cross declared the conflict a civil war.