A DECADE DOESN’T SEEM ENOUGH: REALITY OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR
By Anusha Kaul
Imagine a child who has never been to a school. Imagine a child who hasn’t had a permanent home. Imagine a child who is forced to use destroyed buildings and rubble as a playground and bombs and guns as toys. Agreed, it is a difficult situation to imagine but yet a reality in our world. The Syrian Civil war has been going on for ten years, and there doesn’t seem an end to it.
How did the crisis begin?
It all started in 2010 when people in Tunisia came out to protest against the oppressive rule and low standards of living creating a domino effect in the Arab World. From Tunisia, the protests then spread to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. In each of these countries, either the ruler was deposed as in the case of Egypt and Libya or major uprisings and social violence occurred as in the case of Syria. This series of anti-government protests and armed rebellions in various Arab Countries, also known as “Arab Spring Protests” was the foundation on which the Syrian Civil War was initiated.
The movement started when some teenage boys wrote “It’s your turn, doctor.” on their school wall for which they were arrested in Daraa by the Syrian Police, leading to anti-government protests in several cities of Syria. What started as a peaceful demonstration soon turned into an armed conflict. Since 2011, two groups- the Bashar government and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have been in constant battle.
Was it always going to remain a national affair? Just like many national issues, the Syrian Conflict immediately caught the attention of the international arena.
Entry of International Players-
What is the Bashar Government?
It was 1971 when the Assad Family’s rule in Syria began with Hafez al-Assad becoming president of Syria from 1971 to 2000. Hafez’s son, Bashar Hafez al-Assad joined the office after the death of his father in 2000. At first, he did seem to give hope to the people of Syria. The reform movement during the Damascus Spring leading to shut down of Mezzeh Prison, and declaration of a wide-ranging amnesty releasing hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated political prisoners- are examples of the kind of changes he aimed to bring in the country. But it was only a matter of time when Bashar returned to the old ways of oppression to govern the country.
What is the FSA?
The Free Syrian Army is a rebel umbrella group formed by defectors from the Syrian army to bring down the government by armed operations.
There have been two factions at war in Syria.
The first faction comprises the Free Syrian Army, United States and Turkey, whereas the second faction comprises the Syrian Government, Russia and Iran.
Let us understand why these nations got themselves involved in a domestic conflict.
The US provided military support to the rebel factions to show their opposition to the President’s regime, which they later changed to giving weapons and support to the Syrian Democratic Forces in their fight against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Turkey has been a pillar of strength for the Syrian Opposition to block Syrian Kurdish territorial gains and prevent them from gaining autonomy in the post-war settlement. This is due to Turkey’s belief that Syrian Kurdish fighters are linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey and many other countries in Europe.
The sole reason for Russia to back up the President is because it aims to keep its closest ally in the Middle East in power and, therefore, secure military influence in the region. Like Russia, Iran and its ally- Hezbollah in Lebanon-has also supported the Assad regime and provides the country with military support. Syria has been an essential ally to Iran and supports Iran’s rivals- Israel and Saudi Arabia. Also, Iran is supporting the government to get weapons transported to Hezbollah.
What is the current status?
More than 4,00,000 Syrians have lost their lives.
Parents are eating less to feed their children, sending them to work instead of school, and girls and boys face the risk of early or forced marriage.
By early 2021, one in three schools inside Syria could no longer be used because they were destroyed, damaged or are being used for military purposes. Also, nearly 2.45 million children in Syria are out of school.
Syria’s eight largest cities- Aleppo, Damascus, Daraa, Deir Ez Zor, Hama, Homs, Idlib and Raqqa have faced extensive damages. Healthcare centres and hospitals, schools, utilities, and water and sanitation systems are damaged or destroyed. Historic landmarks and once-busy marketplaces have been reduced to rubble.
About 6.6 million Syrians are refugees, and another 6.2 million people are internally displaced. Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt have provided refuge to most of the Syrians.
The youth of the nation lacks a role model. They lack the resources that any young woman or man must have access to explore the various paths of their lives.
Currently, the Assad regime has control over two-third of Syria’s land, with the northwestern Idlib region remaining outside of government control. The fighting is still not over, but it might seem that the President has emerged militarily victorious from the conflict. Even if we assume that Assad has control now, the damage that has been done to the country and its people is beyond repair, and it will take generations and generations of people to get Syria back on its feet.
Meanwhile…
This is what Secretary-General António Guterres had to say about the situation in Syria (21 Feb 2020) :
“The message is clear: There is no military solution for the Syrian crisis. The only possible solution remains political. This man-made humanitarian nightmare for the long-suffering Syrian people must stop. It must stop now.”
Be it “Commission on Inquiry on Syria, 2011” or “ International Conference- Geneva, 2014” or “Six-Point Plan”, along with many interventions by the United Nations, none of these have been successful.
For any motion to pass in the Security Council, the five permanent members must not veto the motion. In this case, we need to keep in mind that these suggestions will bear results only when Russia and China don’t veto them out in the Security Council. Russia has, to date, vetoed 14 resolutions on the Syrian crisis, including some aimed exclusively at minimizing the conflict’s humanitarian consequences. Russia states that these interventions or solutions will undermine the confidence in peace talks. In contrast, China uses the “we don’t interfere in other country’s affairs” cover to justify their voting decisions against these resolutions.
For things to improve in Syria, the Security Council must demand an immediate ceasefire or be required to comply with international humanitarian law or implement measures resulting in the isolation of Syria from the rest of the world.
Everything said and done, all the national and international forces need to stop the conflict now.