The Syrian Civil War is an intensely sectarian war. The focus of the conflict has been identified by some as a ruling minority Alawite government and allied Shi'a governments such as Iran, pitted against the country's Sunni Muslim majority who are aligned with the Syrian opposition and their Sunni Turkish and Persian Gulf state backers. Others, such as the blogger Neil Clarke, identify it as the secular Syrian government, made up of all religious groups pitted against the Islamist opposition. Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and many hold high governmental positions, while Alawites and members of almost every minority have also been active on the rebel side. Despite this, Sunni recruits face systematic discrimination in the armed forces and ninety percentage