 Ar-Rastan was one of the first cities to participate in the Syrian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad that would lead to the ongoing Syrian Civil War.In mid-April large anti-government demonstrations began taking place in ar-Rastan as well as nearby Talbiseh.On 28 April about 50 local Ba'ath Party officials resigned from the organization in protest of the government and opposition activists claimed 17 demonstrators were killed by security forces.