The uprising started cause the citizens wanted their president, Bashar al-Assad to step down. The Syrian uprising started on March 15, 2011 and is still going. Its main causes are lack of effective constitution, government corruption, and unemployment. Its main goals are ending the state of emergency, regime change, political freedom, and recognition of Kurdish rights. The Syrian government has tried to stop the protests by shutting off water and electricity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011-2012_Syrian_uprising
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This is quite brief overall.