A coalition of rebel groups have said they will "disengage" from the "cessation of hostilities" if the government continues its attacks in Aleppo. More than 50 people have been killed in the latest flare up of violence.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V.Sharifulin
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 14 people were killed in rebel and government bombardment in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday.
At least eight civilians were killed when government airstrikes struck rebel-held parts of Aleppo, while six died from rebel shelling of government-held areas.
Since Friday, more than 50 people have been killed by renewed violence in Aleppo between Syrian government forces and rebel groups vying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, according to the Observatory.
The Aleppo Conquest, a coalition of rebel groups in the northern city, late Saturday threatened to dissolve the "cessation of hostilities" brokered by the US and Russia.
The UN-backed cease-fire went into effect on February 27 in a bid to bolster peace talks between Damascus and the Saudi-backed opposition alliance High Negotiations Committee (HNC).
"We will fully disengage from the truce" if Damascus does not halt its attacks on the city, the group said in an online statement published in Arabic.
'Not suitable'
The Aleppo Conquest's statement comes on the heels of the HNC suspending its participation in UN-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the five-year conflict in the Middle Eastern nation.
"It is not suitable, neither morally nor on the humanitarian side, to be part of negotiations when Syrians are dying daily from sieges, hunger, bombings, poisonous gases and barrel bombs," said HNC leader Riad Hijab.
In March 2011, government forces violently cracked down on pro-democracy protesters calling for al-Assad to step down, which led to a multiple-front conflict that has left more than 270,000 people dead and half the population displaced, according to the UN.
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Image: AP
The "Arab Spring" effect
In 2011, as regimes crumble across the region, tens of thousands of Syrians take to the streets to protest against corruption, high unemployment and soaring food prices. The Syrian government responds with live ammunition, claiming some 400 lives by May.
Image: dapd
Condemnation without consensus
At the urging of Western countries, the UN Security Council condemns the violent crackdown. The EU and US implement an arms embargo, visa bans and asset freezes in the months that follow. With the backing of the Arab League, calls eventually grow for the Syrian president's departure. But not all UN members agree with this demand.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Szenes
Assad refuses to back down
Bashar al-Assad - who has been in power since the death of his father in 2000 - sees his reputation wane with the continuing unrest. He refuses to end decades-long emergency rule, which allows for surveillance and interrogation. Russia backs its ally, supplying weapons and vetoing UN resolutions on Syria multiple times.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Badawi
The opposition gets organized
By the end of the year, human rights groups and the UN have evidence of human rights abuses. Civilians and military deserters are slowly beginning to organize themselves to fight back against government forces, which have been targeting dissidents. More than 5,000 have died so far in the fighting. It will take another six months before the UN acknowledges that a war is taking place on Syrian soil.
Image: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Outside intervention
In September 2012, Iran confirms that it has fighters on the ground in Syria - a fact long denied by Damascus. The presence of allied troops underscores the hesitance of the US and other Western powers to intervene in the conflict. The US, stung by failed interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, sees dialogue as the only reasonable solution.
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Fleeing the conflict
As the death toll nears 100,000, the number of refugees in neighboring countries - such as Turkey and Jordan - hits one million. That number will double by September 2013. The West and the Arab League have seen all attempts at a transitional government fail in the two years of war, watching as fighting spills over into Turkey and Lebanon. They fear Assad will stay in power by any means possible.
Image: Reuters/B. Khabieh
No united front against Assad
Assad has long claimed he's combatting terrorists. But it's not until the second year of war that the fragmented Free Syrian Army is definitely known to include radical extremists. The group Al-Nusra Front pledges allegiance to al Qaeda, further splintering the opposition.
Image: Reuters/A. Abdullah
From brute force to chemical warfare
In June 2013, the White House says it has evidence that Assad has been using sarin nerve gas on civilians - a report later backed by the UN. The discovery pushes US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders toward considering the use of military force. However, Russia's proposal to remove the chemical weapons ultimately wins out.
Image: Reuters
Islamic State emerges
Reports of a new jihadist group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) emerge in the final weeks of 2013. Taking land in northern Syria and Iraq, the group sparks infighting among the opposition, with some 500 dead by early 2014. The unexpected emergence of IS ultimately draws the US, France, Saudi Arabia and other nations into the war.
