March 15, 2012 marked the first anniversary of the start of the revolt against President Assad.

Syrians yesterday March 15, 2012 marked the first anniversary of the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad with no apparent solution in sight to the problem. Reuters news agency reported that despite recent military victories by the army, the gains are unlikely to quell the increasingly bloody revolt that is fast becoming a civil conflict.

Protests following similar Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt began in earnest in Syria on March 15, after youths who painted anti-government graffiti in Deraa were arrested and beaten. A military clamp down was then ordered, spurring more unrest throughout the country. Protests with crowds numbering in the hundreds gathered even on the streets of the comparatively calm capital, Damascus, but were put down with ease. As mass protests continued, the government advanced on other restive cities such as Hama, Homs and Zabadani. Civilians began to pick up arms and launch attacks on government troops, some of whom had started to defect.

By winter, open armed conflict had broken out in parts of the country, and major suicide bombings had struck Damascus and Aleppo. Over the past 12 months, the unrest has grown from a largely peaceful pro-democracy movement into a full-scale rebellion, led by a collection of lightly armed militants and army deserters grouped under the Free Syrian Army. They have briefly succeeded in wresting control of various towns and villages from the authorities, but invariably ceded their gains in the face of a much stronger government force.

As the country marked the anniversary of the abortive revolt yesterday, troops continued pressing ahead with efforts to dislodge opposition fighters from cities in the south and north, Al-Jazeera Television reported. Amid dire warnings that Syria is set to sink into a protracted civil war, the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, has demanded further clarifications from Damascus over its response to proposals aimed at ending the violence. Annan, a former UN Secretary General, is due to report back to a divided UN Security Council today, with Russia and China still standing behind a defiant Assad while exasperated Western powers push for regime change.

Despite the serious economic and security situation, President Assad still appears to have significant support within the country, notably in its top cities of Damascus and Aleppo. His main ally, Iran, also remains fiercely supportive.