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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

How did Syria's internal conflict begin?

Northampton Community College political science professor Vasiliki Anastasakos has described the civil war in Syria as sectarian and idealogical, and having simmered for decades before the Arab Spring brought it to a head.

"What is happening in Syria is a re-balancing of power along religious and ethnic lines. The majority of Syrians are Sunni Arabs but within the Assad regime most belong to a minority sect known as Alawites (a smaller sect within Islam).

"So many (although not all) Sunni Arabs don't like Assad, who became head of government in Syria in 2000 after his father died. When Arab Spring-related protests started in Syria in 2011, Bashar al-Assad's regime reacted ruthlessly, killing protesters and the violence escalated along sectarian/religious lines since then.

"The Soviet Union and Syria have ties that go back to the Cold War, and Syria has followed an anti-Western, anti-imperialist attitude since then. Russia today is Syria's most powerful ally and would block any international action through the U.N. Security Council.

Syria still buys Russian military equipment and Russia still has a naval base in Syria, the last since the Cold War.

So, if this stalemate brings back memories of the Cold War, yes, this conflict''s roots date back to that period."