In 2010 plummeting water supplies, linked to climate change, resulted in the worse drought that Syria had ever seen. Lack of water, particularly within farming communities sent thousand of people into the cities in search of alternate livelihoods. this coupled with civil unrest and resistance towards an authoritarian government and the successful Arab spring uprising in the middle east created a perfect storm of civil unrest that reached its tipping point in March 2011 with the detention and subsequent torture of 15 boys, 1 of which, Hamzaa El-Khateeb, was killed. The boys were detained for spraying graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. This prompted the peaceful protest of thousands of Syrians against the wrongdoings of Syria 's President Bashar al- Assad and his authoritarian government. The protest quickly turned violent with hundreds of protesters killed and many more imprisoned. July of 2011 saw the creation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group made up of military defectors of Bashar al- Assads government with a goal to overthrow al- Assads government. This is what plummeted Syria into a civil war of regional and international significance. Before 2011 Syria was generally home to a large percentage of educated, middle class citizens, with nearly 100% enrolment in school and an expanding middle class ( Akbarzadeh & Conduit,
In 2010 plummeting water supplies, linked to climate change, resulted in the worse drought that Syria had ever seen. Lack of water, particularly within farming communities sent thousand of people into the cities in search of alternate livelihoods. this coupled with civil unrest and resistance towards an authoritarian government and the successful Arab spring uprising in the middle east created a perfect storm of civil unrest that reached its tipping point in March 2011 with the detention and subsequent torture of 15 boys, 1 of which, Hamzaa El-Khateeb, was killed. The boys were detained for spraying graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. This prompted the peaceful protest of thousands of Syrians against the wrongdoings of Syria 's President Bashar al- Assad and his authoritarian government. The protest quickly turned violent with hundreds of protesters killed and many more imprisoned. July of 2011 saw the creation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group made up of military defectors of Bashar al- Assads government with a goal to overthrow al- Assads government. This is what plummeted Syria into a civil war of regional and international significance. Before 2011 Syria was generally home to a large percentage of educated, middle class citizens, with nearly 100% enrolment in school and an expanding middle class ( Akbarzadeh & Conduit,