INDEPTH: SYRIA
Timeline
CBC News Online | Updated October 12, 2005
Oct. 12, 2005
Syria's interior minister, Brig.-Gen. Ghazi Kanaan, commits suicide in his office, according to the official state news agency.
Hours earlier, Kanaan called the radio station Voice of Lebanon. "I think this is the last statement I might give," he told the interviewer.
"I want to make clear that our relation with our brothers in Lebanon was based on love and mutual respect ... We have served Lebanon's interest with honour and honesty."
Sept. 20, 2005
A UN investigator travels to Damascus to begin questioning Syrian officials about the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Among the officials questioned is Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan.
June 10, 2005
The White House accuses Syria of having intelligence agents in Lebanon who are interfering in elections there.
April 26, 2005
Syria pulls the last of its troops from Lebanon.
March 24, 2005
A UN investigation blames both Syrian and Lebanese security for allowing the attack on Hariri, and concludes that an independent international commission will be needed to determine who is responsible for the assassination.
March 17, 2005
Syria completes the first stage of its troop pullout from Lebanon.
Feb. 26, 2005
Israel blames Syria for the suicide attack at a Tel Aviv nightclub that killed four Israelis and threatened to shatter the recent fragile truce between Israelis and Palestinians. The leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, blames a "third party" for the bombing. Israel says it will present evidence of Syria's part in the bombing and threatens to retaliate against militant leaders.
» CBC STORY: Israel blames Syria for Tel Aviv blast
Feb. 25, 2005
In its first statement since the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, Syrian government says it will withdraw troops from Lebanon. Lebanese demonstrations against Syrian presence have been gaining strength since Hariri's death, which many in Lebanon blame on Syria. In the meantime, international pressure for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon has been mounting.
» CBC STORY: Syria repeats pledge to pull out of Lebanon
Feb. 16, 2005
The governments of Syria and Iran announce they will form a common front against threats from overseas. The announcement comes on the same day a U.S. assistant secretary of state calls for Syria's immediate withdrawal from Lebanon.
» CBC STORY: Syria and Iran to form 'common front'
Feb. 15, 2005
The U.S. recalls its ambassador to Syria following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
» CBC STORY: U.S. recalls ambassador to Syria after Beirut bomb
Sept. 21, 2004
Syria moves its troops from the Beirut area back toward its border with Lebanon. The government has been under pressure from the United Nations to withdraw its estimated 20,000 from Lebanon, and to refrain from interfering in the country's politics.
» CBC STORY: Syria moving troops in Lebanon
Aug. 10, 2004
Lawyers for Ottawa engineer Abdullah Almalki, detained in Syria for two years and allegedly tortured, say he returned to Canada over the weekend. They would not say how Almalki managed to get out of Syria.
» CBC STORY: Syrian-Canadian home after 2-year ordeal
July 25, 2004
Almalki is acquitted of charges in a Syrian court. But the judge orders Almalki to perform 30 months of military service before returning to Canada.
» CBC STORY: Ottawa man facing Syrian military stint begs PM for help
April 27, 2004
Four people are killed in a bombing attack in the diplomatic district of Damascus. Syrian security forces battle gunmen near several diplomatic buildings, including the Canadian Embassy.
» CBC STORY: Explosions, gunfire erupt near Canadian Embassy in Syria
Nov. 27, 2003
A judge rules that Hassan Almrei, a Syrian who came to Canada illegally in 1999 and was arrested on a security certificate in 2001, can stay in Canada during a review of his case. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service alleges Almrei has links to Osama bin Laden.
More on Hassan Almrei
Oct. 5, 2003
Israel bombs an area near Damascus, calling it a training camp used by Islamic Jihad, the group that claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing the previous day. The Syrian government says it will lodge an "urgent complaint" with the UN, and would later say it has the right to defend itself against attacks within its borders.
» CBC STORY: Israel attacks base in Syria
April 14, 2003
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell warns Syria against assisting the Iraqi war effort. The warning comes amid speculation that Iraqi officials could have fled to Syria to avoid invading U.S. forces. The same day, U.S. forces shut down an oil pipeline connecting Iraq with Syria, and cite it as a violation of UN sanctions on Iraqi oil exports.
» CBC STORY: Powell warns Syrians to 'review their behaviour'
» CBC STORY: U.S. troops stop Iraqi oil to Syria
Sept. 26, 2002
Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, is detained by U.S. officials in New York who claim he has links to al-Qaeda. The U.S. would later deport him to Syria.
» More on Maher Arar
June 10, 2000
President Hafez al-Assad dies. Ten days later, the Ba'ath party nominates his son, Bashar al-Assad, for president, and he is elected.
» CBC STORY: Syria mourns Hafez al-Assad
1979-1981
Syrian opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, launches guerrilla attacks and armed uprisings against the government to protest Syrian oppression of Palestinian peoples in occupied Lebanon.
1976
Syrian troops begin occupying parts of Lebanon, including Beirut.
1970
Hafez al-Assad becomes leader of Syria after a bloodless coup. Begins transferring party power to himself through direct control of the army and police.
1967
Syria loses the Golan Heights to Israel in the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War. The Arab unity movement, supported by Syria, loses steam.
1963
Military rule begins in Syria as officers replace civilians in command of the Ba'ath party. This comes after five years of failed attempts by the deposed civilian leaders to promote Syria-Egypt unity. The military regime has endured until modern times, and has been dominated by officers of Syria's Alawi peoples – an ethno-religious community of Arabs whose unique religion is a blend of pagan, Christian and Gnostic. Most of these officers come from small communities and rural areas of Syria's north, and maintain their strong rural roots.
1961
Syria withdraws from UAR after a military coup of the government.
1958
Syria joins Egypt politically in forming the United Arab Republic (UAR). The union comes under the leadership of Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. The same year, agrarian reform begins in Syria with the dismantling of large estates and farms. Ownership is restricted to a maximum of 50 hectares of irrigated and 300 hectares of non-irrigated land. In the years following, land is redistributed to peasant classes and agricultural co-operatives are established.
1955
In light of efforts by the U.S. to align Arab countries into a treaty organization known as the Baghdad Pact, Syria instead joins Egypt in accepting Russian guarantees for its security.
1946
Amid pressure from Syrian nationalist groups, France withdraws its occupying troops and grants Syria independence.
April 1920
Only months into his leadership of Syria, King Faysal of the Hashemites is unseated after his forces clash with French forces. The League of Nations establishes Syria as a French protectorate.
1916
Arab Kingdom of Syria established under France with the signing of the French-British Sykes-Picot Agreement. The aim of the agreement is to partition the Middle East into French and British spheres of influence.
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Population: 17,155,814 (Jul 2002 est.)
Area: 185,180 sq km
Borders: Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey
Languages: Arabic is the official language, while Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic and Circassian are widely used. French and English are used to a lesser extent.
Religion: 74 per cent Sunni Muslim, 16 per cent Alawite, Druze and other Muslim sects. 10 per cent Christian.
Government: Republic under military regime.
Source: CIA World Factbook 2002 – Syria
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