Syrians mark 10 years since uprising broke out

Syrian mark the 10th anniversary of the start of its uprising-turned-civil war that has killed half a million people.

Syrians are marking 10 years since peaceful protests against President Bashar Assad’s government erupted in March 2011, touching off a popular uprising that quickly turned into a full-blown civil war. Despite a decade of fighting and a broken country, Assad remains firmly in power, thanks to military support from Iran and Russia. The decade of war has wreaked unfathomable destruction on Syria. Nearly half a million people have been killed and more than half the pre-war population of 23 million displaced, including more than 5 million who are refugees, mostly in neighbouring countries.