Civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war The Civil uprising phase of the Syrian civil war was an early stage of protests and violence in the Syrian conflict , lasting from March to end of July 2011 . The uprising evolved from initially minor protests , beginning as early as January 2011 , as a response to the regional Arab Spring , government corruption and human rights abuses . The uprising phase was marked by massive anti - regime opposition demonstrations against the Ba ' athist regime of Bashar al - Assad , meeting with police and military violence , massive arrests and brutal crack down , resulting in hundreds of mortal casualties and thousands of wounded . Despite Bashar al - Assad ' s attempts to pacify the protests with massive crackdown and use of censorship on one hand and concessions on the other , by the end of April , it was clear the situation was getting out of his control and the Syrian government deployed numerous troops on the ground . The civil uprising phase created the platform for emergence of militant opposition movements and massive defections from the Syrian Army , which gradually transformed the conflict from a civil uprising to an armed rebellion , and later a civil war . The rebel Free Syrian Army was created on July 29 , 2011 , and marked the establishment of formal military resistance to the Assad government . From then on , the struggle took shape of armed insurgency with civil resistance disbanded and opposition members turning to arms . Background . Before the uprising in Syria began in mid - March 2011 , protests were relatively modest , considering the wave of unrest that was spreading across the Arab world . Syria until March 2011 for decades had remained superficially tranquil , due to fear under the people for the secret police arresting critical citizens . Minor protests calling for government reforms began in January , and continued into March . A " Day of Rage " was called for on 3 February by activists in Syria to occur on Friday 4 February via websites Facebook and Twitter . This did not result in protests in Syria . Civil uprising ( March – July 2011 ) . March 2011 unrest . The unrest began on 15 March in Damascus , in Aleppo , and in the southern city of Daraa , sometimes called the " Cradle of the Revolution " . Daraa had been straining under the influx of internal refugees who were forced to leave their northeastern lands , due to a drought exacerbated by the government ' s lack of provision . The protests were triggered by the incarceration and torture of several young students , who were arrested for writing anti - government graffiti in the city . Demonstrators clashed with local police , and confrontations escalated on 18 March after Friday prayers . With thousands protesting , the clashes resulted in several civilian deaths . On 20 March , a mob burned down the Ba ' ath Party headquarters and other public buildings . Security forces quickly responded , firing live ammunition at crowds , and attacking the focal points of the demonstrations . The two - day assault resulted in the deaths of fifteen protestors . Meanwhile , minor protests occurred elsewhere in the country . Protesters demanded the release of political prisoners , the abolition of Syria ' s 48 - year emergency law , more freedoms , and an end to pervasive government corruption . The events lead to a " Friday of Dignity " on 18 March , when large - scale protests broke out in several cities , including Banias , Damascus , al - Hasakah , Daraa , Deir az - Zor and Hama . Police responded to the protests with tear gas , water cannons , beatings . At least 6 people were killed and many others injured . On 25 March , mass protests spread nation - wide , as demonstrators emerged after Friday prayers . Over 100 , 000 people reportedly marched in Daraa , but at least 20 protesters were reportedly killed . Protests also spread to other Syrian cities , including Homs , Hama , Baniyas , Jasim , Aleppo , Damascus and Latakia . Over 70 protesters in total were reported dead . Crackdown . Even before the uprising began , the Syrian government conducted numerous arrests of protesters , political activists and human rights campaigners , many of whom were labeled " terrorists " by Assad government . In early February , authorities arrested several activists , including political leaders Ghassan al - Najar , Abbas Abbas , and Adnan Mustafa . The police often responded to the protests violently , not only using water cannons and tear gas , but also beating protesters and firing live ammunition . As the uprising began , the Syrian government waged a campaign of arrests that had caught tens of thousands of people , according to lawyers and activists in Syria and human rights groups . In response to the uprising , Syrian law had been changed to allow the police and any of the nation ' s 18 security forces to detain a suspect for eight days without a warrant . Arrests focused on two groups : political activists , and men and boys from the towns that the Syrian Army would start to besiege in April . Many of those detained experienced various forms of torture and ill - treatment . Many detainees were cramped in tight rooms and were given limited resources , and some were beaten , electrically jolted , or debilitated . At least 27 torture centers , run by Syrian intelligence agencies , were revealed by Human Rights Watch on 3 July 2012 . President Assad has characterized the opposition as armed terrorist groups with Islamist " " takfiri " " extremist motives , portraying himself as the last guarantee for a secular government form . Early in the month of April , a large deployment of security forces prevented tent encampments in Latakia . Blockades were set up in several cities , to prevent the movement of protests . Despite the crackdown , widespread protests remained throughout the month in Daraa , Baniyas , Al - Qamishli , Homs , Douma and Harasta . Concessions . During March and April , the Syrian government , hoping to alleviate the unrest , offered political reforms and policy changes . Authorities shortened mandatory army conscription , and in an apparent attempt to reduce corruption , fired the governor of Daraa . The government announced it would release political prisoners , cut taxes , raise the salaries of public sector workers , provide more press freedoms , and increase job opportunities . Many of these announced reforms were never implemented . The government , dominated by the Alawite sect , made some concessions to the majority Sunni and some minority populations . Authorities reversed a ban that restricted teachers from wearing the niqab , and closed the country ' s only casino . The government also granted citizenship to thousands of Syrian Kurds previously labeled " foreigners " . A popular demand from protesters was an end of the nation ' s state of emergency , which had been in effect for nearly 50 years . The emergency law had been used to justify arbitrary arrests and detention , and to ban political opposition . After weeks of debate , Assad signed the decree on 21 April , lifting Syria ' s state of emergency . However , anti - government protests continued into April , with activists unsatisfied with what they considered vague promises of reform from Assad . Military operations . April 2011 . As the unrest continued , the Syrian government began launching major military operations to suppress resistance , signaling a new phase in the uprising . On 25 April , Daraa , which had become a focal point of the uprising , was one of the first cities to be besieged by the Syrian Army . An estimated hundreds to 6 , 000 soldiers were deployed , firing live ammunition at demonstrators and searching house to house for protestors , arresting hundreds . Tank s were used for the first time against demonstrators , and snipers took positions on rooftops . Mosques used as headquarters for demonstrators and organizers were especially targeted . Security forces began shutting off water , power and phone lines , and confiscating flour and food . Clashes between the army and opposition forces , which included armed protestors and defected soldiers , led to the death of hundreds . By 5 May , most of the protests had been suppressed , and the military began pulling out of Daraa , with some troops remaining to keep the situation under control . May 2011 . During the crackdown in Daraa , the Syrian Army also besieged and blockaded several towns around Damascus . Throughout May , situations similar to those that occurred in Daraa were reported in other besieged towns and cities , such as Baniyas , Homs , Talkalakh , Latakia , and several other towns . After the end of each siege , violent suppression of sporadic protests continued throughout the following months . By 24 May , more than 1 , 000 people have been killed in the uprising according to the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria . June – July 2011 . When the uprising began in mid - March , many analysts believed that the Syrian government would remain intact , partly due to strict loyalty tests and the fact that most top - position officials belonged to the same sect as Assad , the Alawites . However , in response to the use of lethal force against unarmed protesters , many soldiers and low - level officers began to desert from the Syrian Army . Many soldiers who refused to open fire against civilians were summarily executed by the army . The first defections occurred during the April Daraa operation . The number of defections increased during the following months , as army deserters began to group together to form fighting units . As the uprising progressed , opposition fighters became more well - equipped and organized . Until September 2011 , about two senior military or security officers defected to the opposition . Some analysts stated that these defections were signs of Assad ' s weakening inner circle . The first instance of armed insurrection occurred on 4 June 2011 in Jisr ash - Shugur , a city near the Turkish border in Idlib province . Angry protesters set fire to a building where security forces had fired on a funeral demonstration . Eight security officers died in the fire as demonstrators took control of a police station , seizing weapons . Clashes between protesters and security forces continued in the following days . Some security officers defected after secret police and intelligence agents executed soldiers who refused to shoot civilians . On 6 June , Sunni militiamen and army defectors ambushed a group of security forces heading to the city which was met by a large government counterattack . Fearing a massacre , insurgents and defectors , along with 10 , 000 residents , fled across the Turkish border . In June and July 2011 , protests continued as government forces expanded operations , repeatedly firing at protesters , employing tanks against demonstrations , and conducting arrests . The towns of Rastan and Talbiseh , and Maarat al - Numaan were besieged in early June . On 30 June , large protests erupted against the Assad government in Aleppo , Syria ' s largest city . On 3 July , Syrian tanks were deployed to Hama , two days after the city witnessed the largest demonstration against Bashar al - Assad . On 29 July , a group of defected officers announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army ( FSA ) , which would become the main opposition army . Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and civilian volunteers , the rebel army seeks to remove Bashar al - Assad and his government from power . This began a new phase in the conflict , with more armed resistance against the government crackdown . The FSA would grow in size , to about 20 , 000 by December , and to an estimated 40 , 000 by June 2012 . During the first six months of the uprising , the inhabitants of Syria ' s two largest cities , Damascus and Aleppo , remained largely uninvolved in the anti - government protests . The two cities ' central squares have seen organized rallies of hundreds of thousands in support of president Assad and his government . Censorship of events . Since demonstrations began in March , the Syrian government has restricted independent news coverage , barring foreign free press outlets and arresting reporters who try to cover protests . Some journalists had been reported to have gone missing , been detained , been tortured in custody , or been killed on duty . International media have relied heavily on footage shot by civilians , who would often upload the files on the internet . The government disabled mobile phones , landlines , electricity , and the Internet in several places . Authorities had extracted passwords of social media sites from journalists through beatings and torture . The pro - government online group the Syrian Electronic Army had frequently hacked websites to post pro - regime material , and the government has been implicated in malware attacks targeted at those reporting on the crisis . The government also targeted and tortured political cartoonist Ali Farzat , who had been critical of the crackdown . Propaganda . Many observers of the conflict have stated that propaganda has been used by both the Syrian government and opposition factions since the beginning of the conflict . Although there are extremists fighting against the government , most independent media sources do not refer to the opposition as terrorists . However , SANA , the Syrian government ' s official news agency , often refers to the opposition as " armed gangs " or " terrorists " . The Syrian foreign ministry and Russia ' s foreign minister , Sergey Lavrov , viewed the U . S . government ' s statements concerning the danger of the Syrian government using chemical weapons against civilians as propaganda . Similarly , other observers speculated that such U . S . statements might be used as a pretext to launch a military intervention in Syria . Jonathan Steele , a " Guardian " columnist , asserted that all of the " western media ' s " reporting on the conflict is biased propaganda . It is also reported that SANA television interviews sometimes use government supporters disguised as locals who stand near sites of destruction and claim that they were caused by rebel fighters . Syrian public school instructors teach students that the ongoing conflict is a foreign conspiracy – something which many people regard as propaganda . There have been several occurrences of videos of violence circulated by social media on both sides that have turned out to be footage from conflicts in other countries .