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Sometimes the rebels turn on each other and fight. Islamist groups have clashed with the Kurdish militias that control the north-east of the country, where most of Syria’s Kurds live. Syria will be harder to put together again after the war ends.
有时候自由军内部还发生交火。伊斯兰教派与占据国家东北部地区的库尔德民兵曾经发生冲突。东北部正是大部分叙利亚库尔德人居住的地方。在战争过后，叙利亚会变的更难统一。
Mr Assad and his family, conscious of their minority status in a mainly Sunni country and thus determined to keep Syria broadly secular, insist that the rebels are Islamist extremists, as dangerous to the West as they are to the Arab world. In fact, few of the protesters who started the uprising two years ago were very devout. Alawite defectors are still helped to flee the army. The rebels have mostly left Christians alone. Nor have they slaughtered Alawites, despite the massacres carried out by Mr Assad’s thugs against Sunni villages around Homs. Salafism, the strict version of Islam that has gained ground elsewhere in the Arab world, never found fertile ground in Syria.
阿萨德和他的家人意识到他们在这个以逊尼派为主的国家，他们是少数民族。由此，他决定让叙利亚保持不以宗教治国，坚持称那些自由军是伊斯兰极端分子，对西方国家和阿拉伯世界都一样危险。事实上，只有少数在两年前开始起义的抗议者很虔诚。阿拉维地区的自由军还帮助军队逃兵。大部分的自由军都孤立基督教徒。尽管阿萨德派出暴徒在霍姆斯附近的逊尼派村庄大肆屠杀，自由军也不杀害阿拉维人。萨拉维这种极端的伊斯兰教旨在阿拉伯世界各处生根发芽，唯独在叙利亚找不到发展的土壤。
But this is changing, too. Western intelligence sources say that jihadists are now arriving in Syria by the busload. Jabhat al-Nusra, the most devout Syrian battalion, which shares al-Qaeda’s worldview, is getting stronger. In December an armed group trashed a Shia prayer house in Zarzour, a town in Idleb. Though many Syrians reject the jihadists the war is becoming religious.
但是现在情况也在改变。西方的智库认为，圣战分子正在一车一车地被送到叙利亚。Jabhat al-Nusra是最虔诚的叙利亚大军，拥有与基地组织共通的世界观。这支军队仍在不断壮大。12月，一组武装分子毁坏了一座什叶派的祈祷所，祈祷所坐落在Idleb，Zarzour镇。尽管许多叙利亚人反对圣战分子，这场战争还是变得越来越与宗教相关。
The war has made many Syrians more sectarian in outlook. Alawites have been drafted into the regime’s security forces and militia. “We see that Alawites are stuck,” says Abu Adnan, a rebel fighter in Latakia province, “because Bashar is trying to tie all of their fates to his.”
战争让许多叙利亚的想法更加富有党派性。阿拉维人被招进政府军的保安部队和军队。拉塔基亚省的一个自由军战士Abu Adnan说：“我们看到阿拉维人面临困境，因为总统想把政府的命运同阿拉维人绑在一起。”
Both middle-class Syrians and religious minorities are increasingly worried by the way even moderate opposition groups talk of an “Islamic state” to replace Mr Assad’s regime. “We’re bringing back the rule of the Sunnis,” proclaims a fighter in Aleppo’s Tawhid battalion. “We’re the majority, so it’s only fair.” Alawites have reason to be afraid. It is hard to imagine them moving back to mixed cities such as Homs.
即便是自由军们温和地谈论“伊斯兰政权”取代阿萨德政权，还是让叙利亚中产阶级以及宗教的少数族裔都越来越担心。一位驻扎在Aleppo， Tawhid营的战士宣称：“我们要让逊尼派的教规重新发扬光大，我们的人占了大多数，所以这是公平的。”阿拉维人有理由害怕，很难想象他们回到各教派混居的霍姆斯城会发生什么事。
Many Syrians have for years looked to mildly Islamist Turkey as an example. “But they aren’t an Islamic state,” grumbles a rebel fighter. “We want something stronger.”
一直以来许多叙利亚人以温和的伊斯兰教国家——土耳其为榜样。“但是土耳其不是真正的伊斯兰政权”一位反对派战士说，“我们期待更加有力的政权。”
Spot the jihadist
遭遇圣战组织成员
Many Christians are emigrating, having seen what became of their brethren in Iraq and Egypt. Alawites in Damascus say that Maher Assad, the president’s ruthless brother and commander of the Republican Guard that is at the core of the regime, should take over to become their saviour and protector if Bashar is killed.
许多基督教徒在看到教友们在伊拉克和埃及的结局后，纷纷移民。大马士革的阿拉维人认为，总统的弟弟——冷血无情的共和国卫队长Maher Assad是政权的核心人物，假如巴沙尔被杀，他应该继位，成为阿拉维人的保护神与救世主。
Beneath it all is the brutalisation of Syrian life. Disputes that have nothing to do with the uprising are being settled with guns. Assassinations and kidnappings have become more frequent. By arming loyalist neighbourhood committees, the regime is dragging more civilians into the war. “I see how my men have become used to killing,” says a rebel commander with Farouq, a large battalion that has brigades spread across the country. “Soon we won’t even realise it is wrong.”
掩盖其下的，是叙利亚生活的残酷血腥。同起义没有任何关系的冲突也靠枪来解决。杀人拐卖都越来越猖獗。政府把越来越多的平民拖进了战争。反对派大营队Farouq（该营的部队遍布全国）的指挥官说：“我眼看着我的手下们越来越习惯杀戮，用不了多久他们就意识不到杀人是错的了。”
Thousands of homes, factories, schools and hospitals have been razed. Doctors, teachers and engineers have fled. Many Syrians worry that the war will finish only when no one is left to fight. “I just want it to end so I can get married and get on with my life,” sighs the rebel commander. “I am worried that when this is done there won’t be a country left.”
无数的民房、工厂、学校、医院都被夷为平地。医生、教师还有工程师都逃往国外了。许多叙利亚人担心，战争永远不会结束，直到无人可战。“我真希望战争快点结束，我就能结婚，继续正常的生活。”这位反对派的指挥官叹息道。“我担心等到那一天，叙利亚这个国家已经不复存在。”
