Syria's civil war: Country divided between groups and communities?Even after a few months of the removal of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power, the violence in the country has not decreased. Now the supporters of the new Islamic government are taking action against the Alawite rebels of Assad's community, due to which the conflict has intensified.This conflict has erupted in Assad's stronghold coastal areas, where more than 1000 people have lost their lives. In the violence that erupted in the coastal areas of syria (cities like Latakia and Tartous), most of the deaths have been of the people of the Alawite community. people of this community are considered to be supporters of Assad. The dead include 745 civilians, 125 Syrian security personnel and 148 Assad-supporting fighters.After the change of power in syria, it was expected that the situation would improve, but it did not happen. There is now an interim government here, which is in the hands of Sunni Islamist leaders. Its interim president is ahmed al-Shara.How big is Syria?According to the US Department of State website, the area of syria is 185,170 square kilometers, which is almost equal to North Dakota (America). This also includes 1295 square kilometers of Israeli-occupied area. The capital of syria is Damascus (population 5 million). Other big cities are Aleppo (4.5 million), Homs (1.8 million), Hama (1.6 million), Latakia (1 million), Idleb (1.2 million), Al-Hasakah (1.3 million).Syria is one of the most densely populated countries in the Middle East. In 1986, 57 people lived in every square kilometer and in 2004 this number increased to 363. But the population is different in different areas. Most people live along the coast in the west, around Damascus in the south, and in the Euphrates River valley in the northeast. At the end of 2012, there were 499,189 Palestinian refugees in syria (according to UNRWA). 1.2 million Iraqi refugees have also been living in syria since the US invasion of iraq in 2003. According to the World Bank, about 20.8 million people lived in syria in 2011.
