By Nicole Rojas | n.rojas@latinospost.com | @nrojas0131 (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Dec 03, 2012 11:06 PM EST

The Syrian conflict has dominated international headlines since starting in March 2011 on the heels of the Arab Spring. Since then, tens of thousands of Syrian civilians, soldiers and rebels have been hurt or killed in the battle between pro-democracy rebels and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A lot has happened in the 20 months of fighting-cities and villages have been destroyed, major political and military officials have defected and the international community has yet to agree over what action should be taken there. While many know that there is a major civil war occurring in the Middle Eastern country, not everyone understands why it is happening.

In a five part series, Latinos Post hopes to breakdown the different facets of the Syrian conflict and report the latest news coming from the war-torn nation. The first part of this series, called "Battle for Syria," we will look into who the major players are in the conflict as well as some key facts regarding the rising death toll and increasing number of refugees leaving Syria. 

President Bashar al-Assad vs. Syrian Rebels

The conflict first began as a series of pro-democracy protests around the country that were first triggered by a protest in the southern city of Deraa in March 2011. According to the BBC, by July 2011 hundreds of thousands of Syrians took to the streets to demand President Bashar al-Assad's resignation.

Assad first came to power in 2000 following the death of his father Hafez and billed himself as a reformer who would lead the country towards political liberalization. However, soon after taking the presidency the country underwent a period of "liberalized authoritarianism," the BBC reports. The president, who is part of the Baath Party, has led with an iron fist since assuming office despite promising reform.

Since March 2011, Assad has vowed to crush the revolution that aims to topple him and his government.

The Syrian rebel opposition is a divided group consisting of several coalitions and armies, all looking to overthrow Assad and his government. Two prominent groups found among the opposition are the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and the Free Syrian Army.

The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which was created in Nov. 11, 2012, is a 60-member leadership council that hopes to be recognized as Syria's legitimate representative. The National Coalition is led by Moaz al-Khatib, a Sunni Muslim cleric, and has been given the support of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is the fighting arm of the Syrian opposition that is led by Riyad al-Asaad, a former Syrian air force colonel. The FSA was formed in August 2011 and is relatively poorly armed and trained. However, it has managed to gain control of different areas of the country. According to the BBC, Western powers have supported the FSA will "non-lethal" aid, while Gulf states have provided monetary aid.

Both the government's army and the FSA have been accused of human rights violations. 

Facts and Figures

According to the latest statistics by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 40,000 people have been killed since the fighting began in March 2011. In an interview with Reuters, Rami Abdelrahman, head of the violence-monitoring group, said that nearly half of the fatalities were civilians, while the other half was almost evenly split between rebels and government soldiers.

Abelrahman told Reuters that the death figure may even be higher. "The figure is likely much higher as the rebels and the government lie about how many of their forces have died to make it look like they are winning."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which began keeping records on the dead since the government shot at pro-democracy protesters in March 2011, only counts the deaths that are confirmed by friends or relatives, Abelrahman said. "There are 10,000 to 15,000 people who were arrested months ago so we can't use that number as we don't know if they are dead or alive," he added.

According to statistics by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 475,280 Syrians are registered refugees are awaiting registration. That number is a dramatic increase from the 8,000 registered Syrian refugees recorded by the UNHCR in December 2011.

Neighbor nations Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq register the largest number of Syrian refugees, the UNHCR's statistics show. As of Nov. 26, 123,747 Syrian refugees were registered in Turkey. Those numbers were slightly less in Lebanon, 103,160 refugees as of Nov.11. However, the UNHCR notes that an additional 30,735 Syrians have requested to be registered, bringing the total number of Syrian refugees to 133,895 in Lebanon.

In neighboring Jordan, the UNHCR reports that the total number of Syrian refugees registered or in the process of being registered is 138,889. In Iraq, the number is significantly lower, with 62,148 refugees recorded as of February 12.

As the conflict continues, it can be expected that both the number of fatalities and the number of Syrians seeking refuge in neighboring nations will rise steadily.

In the next installment of "Battle for Syria," we will delve into the international community's response to the Syrian conflict. What are countries saying and where do countries' alliances lay.  

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