In 2011 there were peaceful protests for the reform of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Assad had a violent response and used military forces to attack civilians. They used tanks, helicopters, and artillery and opened fire on demonstrators. Children were tortured and executed which triggered more protests. In 2013 the Syrian government started to use chemical weapons, which killed over 1,400 people. Around 240,000 Syrians have been killed since 2011 and 12 million were forced to flee their homes.