USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Struggles between Sunni and Shia forces have fed a Syrian civil war that threatens to transform the map of the Middle East, spurred violence that is fracturing Iraq, and widened fissures in a number of tense Gulf countries.

Detailed explanation-2: -Although Syria has no official religion, 85 percent of the population is Muslim, and of these, 85 percent are members of the Sunni sect (i.e. 72 percent of the total population).

Detailed explanation-3: -In recent years, Sunni–Shia relations have been increasingly marked by conflict, particularly the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict. Sectarian violence persists to this day from Pakistan to Yemen and is a major element of friction throughout the Middle East and South Asia.

Detailed explanation-4: -Religious differences between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam have sparked conflict for over a thousand years. The Sunni-Shia divide is also a primary catalyst of the conflict in Syria, where Sunnis make up 60 percent of the population.