5 October 2011 Last updated at 05:16 ET

Syria profile

Once the centre of the Islamic Empire, Syria covers an area that has seen invasions and occupations over the ages, from Romans and Mongols to Crusaders and Turks.

A country of fertile plains, mountains and deserts, it is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Christians, Druze, Alawite Shias and Arab Sunnis, the last of who make up a majority of the Muslim population.

Modern Syria gained its independence from France in 1946 but has lived through periods of political instability driven by the conflicting interests of these various groups.

From 1958-61 it united with Nasser's Egypt, but an army coup restored independence before the Alawite-controlled pan-Arab Baath (Renaissance) party took control in 1963. It rules to this day.

Baath government has seen authoritarian rule at home and a strong anti-Israeli policy abroad, particularly under former President Hafez al-Assad. In 1967 Syria lost the Golan Heights to the Israelis, while civil war in neighbouring Lebanon allowed it to extend its political and military influence in the region.

Syria pulled its forces out of Lebanon in 2005, having come under intense international pressure to do so after the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri. A UN report implicated Syrian and pro-Syria Lebanese officials in the killing. Damascus denied any involvement.

The government has dealt harshly with domestic opposition. Tens of thousands are reported to have been killed in the crackdown on the 1982 uprising of the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama.

And in 2011 security forces used tanks, gunfire and mass arrests to try crush anti-government street protests inspired by the Arab Spring that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

Following the death of Hafez al-Assad in 2000, Syria underwent a degree of relaxation. Hundreds of political prisoners were released. But the granting of real political freedoms and a shake-up of the state-dominated economy have not materialised.

On the world stage Damascus has been increasingly isolated in recent years, having come under fire for its alleged support for insurgents in Iraq, and over its role in Lebanon.

That isolation showed signs of easing after efforts by France to bring Syria back into the international fold in 2008, but allegations of Syria's violation of a UN ban on arming the Lebanese Hezbollah militia led to the extension of US sanctions in May 2010.

Further international sanctions were imposed amid the bloody crackdown on protesters in 2011.

Syria is one of Israel's harshest opponents, and supports a number of armed groups that carry out attacks against Israel. Hopes for reconciliation have foundered over the future status of the Golan Heights.

Peace talks between the two countries stalled in January 2000, and indirect talks under Turkish auspices in 2008 came to an end amid tensions over Hezbollah and Syrian support for the Hamas Islamic government in Gaza.