National Public Radio: The background of the Syrian conflict can seem obscure to outsiders, but the spark that started it all is often traced back to the city of Dara'a, in February of 2011.
A group of young people writing Arab Spring protest slogans on a wall are arrested and beaten.
"When that news broke there was a massive demonstration on the street, and that was the first spark one can call of the Syrian uprising," Nayan Chanda tells NPR's Jacki Lyden.
But long before a single shot was fired in Syria, there...