Syria’s vicious civil war is taking a dangerous and a whole new turn with the siege of the northern city of Aleppo by the government and allied forces. The fall of Aleppo, if it happens, will represent a lethal setback to the rebels who have been struggling to hold onto their gains in the face of relentless assaults by Bashar Al Assad’s forces aided by heavy Russian bombardments. The opposition has been partially controlling the city since 2012, considered a trophy in the rebellion against Assad, and its fall would represent a significant weakening of opposition power. All hope of a negotiated settlement to the Syrian crisis involving the opposition is likely to vanish as Assad and Putin would try to defeat the rebels on the battleground. This is the reason why the Syrian government didn’t take the UN-sponsored peace negotiations recently held in Geneva seriously. The government believes it is achieving its goals on the battlefields, while the opposition accused the Assad government and Russia of using the negotiations as a cover to step up its attacks. And rightly so.
The siege of Aleppo isn’t surprising considering the advances made by the government forces and also the disunity among the foreign supporters of the opposition who couldn’t agree on a coherent strategy to help the rebels. It remains to be seen whether the government will be able to hold on to the latest advances, but it’s a wake-up call to the opposition. It’s not yet late for Arab and Western backers of the opposition to reverse the government gains, but that would require determination and fast action. The opposition allies must look at all options to support the rebels. Arab countries have spoken of the need to send troops to Syria. That is an option worth considering before the situation goes out of control. Western countries too need to shed their lethargy and work to form a united front against Assad. Instead of worrying about the massive influx of refugees, Europe should focus on ending the civil war in Syria.
The Aleppo offensive has caused another humanitarian disaster of unpredictable proportions. As many as 70,000 people are expected to head for the border in the coming days. There are already between 30,000 and 35,000 displaced Syrians on the Syrian side of the border being cared for by Turkey. The European Union has urged Turkey to open its borders to thousands of Syrians fleeing the fighting.
A conflict that has killed at least 250,000 people across the country and driven 11 million from their homes is showing no signs of an end. Even a temporary ceasefire looks remote now.
Syria’s vicious civil war is taking a dangerous and a whole new turn with the siege of the northern city of Aleppo by the government and allied forces. The fall of Aleppo, if it happens, will represent a lethal setback to the rebels who have been struggling to hold onto their gains in the face of relentless assaults by Bashar Al Assad’s forces aided by heavy Russian bombardments. The opposition has been partially controlling the city since 2012, considered a trophy in the rebellion against Assad, and its fall would represent a significant weakening of opposition power. All hope of a negotiated settlement to the Syrian crisis involving the opposition is likely to vanish as Assad and Putin would try to defeat the rebels on the battleground. This is the reason why the Syrian government didn’t take the UN-sponsored peace negotiations recently held in Geneva seriously. The government believes it is achieving its goals on the battlefields, while the opposition accused the Assad government and Russia of using the negotiations as a cover to step up its attacks. And rightly so.
The siege of Aleppo isn’t surprising considering the advances made by the government forces and also the disunity among the foreign supporters of the opposition who couldn’t agree on a coherent strategy to help the rebels. It remains to be seen whether the government will be able to hold on to the latest advances, but it’s a wake-up call to the opposition. It’s not yet late for Arab and Western backers of the opposition to reverse the government gains, but that would require determination and fast action. The opposition allies must look at all options to support the rebels. Arab countries have spoken of the need to send troops to Syria. That is an option worth considering before the situation goes out of control. Western countries too need to shed their lethargy and work to form a united front against Assad. Instead of worrying about the massive influx of refugees, Europe should focus on ending the civil war in Syria.
The Aleppo offensive has caused another humanitarian disaster of unpredictable proportions. As many as 70,000 people are expected to head for the border in the coming days. There are already between 30,000 and 35,000 displaced Syrians on the Syrian side of the border being cared for by Turkey. The European Union has urged Turkey to open its borders to thousands of Syrians fleeing the fighting.
A conflict that has killed at least 250,000 people across the country and driven 11 million from their homes is showing no signs of an end. Even a temporary ceasefire looks remote now.
