As Syria's economy collapsed during its civil war, the country became something of a narco state. The regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad earned billions by trafficking in the drug Captagon.

Germany hosts almost a million Syrians who fled war and dictatorship. The toppling of the Assad regime has raised questions for exiles about their next step.

Syrian rebels have swept through parts of the country at lightning pace, taking control of the the second-largest city, Aleppo. But who are they and what are their aims?

In 2011, the world was shaken by the Arab Spring, a wave of "pro-democracy" protests that spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The effects of the uprisings reverberated around the world as regimes fell in some countries, and civil war began in others. This week, we revisit the years leading up to the Arab Spring and its lasting impact on three people who lived through it.

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The count, by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, comes after more than a decade of a war that's killed at least 350,000 people and displaced millions.