Factional fight

摘要

1. Syria has been beset by violent clashes between anti-government groups and the country's security forces, effectively consisting armed conflict in certain areas of the country. 2. Although political and armed opposition groups to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have stated that their aims remain secular and non-sectarian, there is growing evidence of emerging sectarian influences behind the violence, as well as the possible involvement of radical Islamist elements in the fighting. 3. With political efforts to halt the violence remaining fragile, there appears little hope that the violence afflicting Syria will die down over the short term, with the danger that the increasingly complex security situation will only become worse should sectarian and religious influences take hold.