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(CNN) -- Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 when President
Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority-dominated government launched
a crackdown against a predominantly Sunni protest movement that
grew into an uprising with an armed resistance. One year later,
what is the situation, and what may happen next? How did the
unrest start? The spark began in the southern Syrian city of
Daraa with the arrests of at least 15 children for painting
anti-government graffiti. Outrage over the arrests and the
government's humiliating and violent reactions to their
complaints emboldened the opposition and helped it spread. By
mid-March protests were occurring across Syria. The government
launched a full-scale siege on Daraa April 25, with other towns,
including Homs -- the country's third-largest city -- following.
Mass arrests unfolded and tales of torture spread across the
country. The protest movement grew and solidified. Paul Salem,
director of the Carnegie Middle