Primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Climate
Mostly desert; hot dry sunny summers (June to August) and mild rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Natural Hazards
Primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Note:
There are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)
Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability however and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961 the two entities separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970 Hafiz al-ASAD a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD his son Bashar al-ASAD was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah. Read more on Wikipedia
