WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Hafez al-Assad seized control from a Baathist military junta in 1970, centralizing power in the presidency. He came from the Alawi minority, a heterodox Shia sect that had long been persecuted in Syria and was elevated to privileged positions under the post–World War I French mandate.

Detailed explanation-2: -In March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by uprisings in neighbouring countries against repressive rulers. When the Syrian government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests demanding the president’s resignation erupted nationwide.

Detailed explanation-3: -New diplomatic relations established in November 2006, were heralded as the beginning of an era of close cooperation between Iraq and Syria. Both countries fought against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In the Syrian Civil War, Iraqi volunteers have been fighting in Syria alongside the Syrian Army.