Analysis: Who's Backing Who As Syria's Civil War Threatens To Spread [View all]

[Purveyor]

By Mandy Clark and Paul Nassar, NBC News
News analysis

Syria’s two-year civil war has claimed more than 100,000 lives and sent at least 1.7 million refugees spilling across its borders.

It has already affected neighboring countries, and now threatens to drag in the United States.

What began as a popular movement, demanding the removal of autocratic President Bashar Assad, has become an increasingly sectarian conflict.

About three-quarters of Syria's Muslims are from the Sunni sect. However, the Assad dynasty, which has ruled the country since 1970, is from the minority Alawite sect which is close to Shiite Islam.

The sectarian divide is important because it lies at the root of instability not only within Syria but also in Iraq and other pockets of the Middle East.

ASSAD’S FRIENDS

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http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/28/19679903-analysis-whos-backing-who-as-syrias-civil-war-threatens-to-spread