Civil War in Syria: Battleground for Countries, rubble for civilians

by The Lolladorf King - April 11, 2018

Every week in and out we see some frightening images of war on Syria. From a little boy full of blood to a father running with a child in his hand, the scene of war in Syria has been common, especially in Social Media like Facebook and Twitter. It has nearly been 7 years since the war started and the condition is getting worse. There seems no stopping as International Forces are using Syria as their battleground to fight against themselves. Although the war seems internal, the International Interference has taken Syrian Civil War to a whole devastating level. It is a shameful failure of political advancements. The relentless suffering of Syrian civilian population has now reached a depressing seventh anniversary, as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on March 9, 2018.

A voice against peace against the president of Syria seven years ago has now turned into the mass graveyard and a full-scale civil war. Not only the war has killed more than 350,000 people dead, rendered 6.1 million people homeless inside Syria and forced 5.6 million refugees to search and live their lives in the extreme in the neighboring countries. The war has drawn International forces, which is keeping the war more extreme and active.

How did the Syrian War start?

The civilians were under constant problems as unemployment, corruption and lack of political freedom was gaining under the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, who succeeded his late father Hafez in 2000. The people were against this regime and wanted political freedom. In March 2011, in the southern city of Derra, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted inspired by the "Arab Spring" in the neighboring countries.

When the President used his powers to silent the uproaring voices of unsatisfied civilians, the protest demanding president's resignation erupted nationwide.

To simply tell the truth, the people were angry and furious with the force and were fighting for the resignation of the President, who in turn deployed forces to silence things up. The unrest spread and the crackdown intensified. The opposition went onto taking arms, for defending themselves and then to use against the forces deployed by the President Mr. Assad who vowed to crush what he called "foreign-backed terrorism", which by then was already a starting of mass Civil War.

How many people have been killed ?

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group has documented the deaths of 353,900 people by March 2018, including 106,000 civilians. Since, the deaths in such areas are extremely difficult to monitoring, considering the situation when the fights are still on, numbers of death are expected to be around 400,000.

What is the condition of people over the war-affected areas?

Over 90% of people spend their annual income on food and the conditions are getting even worse. Over 69% of people are living in extreme poverty and in war-affected areas prone to diseases and infections. The food price has dramatically increased, average eight times higher than the pre-crisis level. About 5.6 million people endure life-threatening conditions regarding their basic Human right, security and living standards.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, along with humanitarian partners are making every effort possible to bring relief to people in dire need inside Syria, but access to populations in besieged and areas that are hard to reach remains woefully inadequate. The humanitarian convoy aiding the besieged people of Duma in Eastern Ghouta on 5 March 2018 was a welcome development. Nevertheless, ongoing shelling forced the trucks to leave before half of the food destined for the hungry could be offloaded.[th]

UNHCR and other humanitarian actors remain prepared and anxious to aid hundreds of thousands of people who are trapped in desperate need in Eastern Ghouta as well as other besieged parts of the country. As Grandi said:

“Even in war, there are rules that all sides must respect. In Syria, even the option to flee conflict areas for safety in other parts of the country is diminishing. Humanitarian access to those in need must be guaranteed. People must be allowed to leave to seek refuge, and civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals and schools must be protected at all costs.”[th]

“While the focus is on the devastation inside Syria, we should not forget the impact on the host communities in the neighboring countries and the effect that so many years of exile has had on refugees,” Grandi added. “As long as there is no political solution to the conflict, the international community must step up its investment in the host countries.”

The affected civilians, in search of Hope, are fleeing to nearby countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. They dream of returning to their own homeland once the raging war stops and things are safe way back home.

Moreover, the conditions of children in those places is a matter of extreme delicacy. The children in the refugee camps of Lebanon and Jordan can't meet their basic food, shelter or educational needs. Whooping 43% of children are out of the school and the percentage of refugee student in the school has raised in recent years.

What are the International Forces involved?

Countries like Russia and America with their own agendas and view about the war are involved, making the situation far more complex and prolonging the fighting. Also, the local activist group have been involved diving the countries in terms of religion which has sparkled more controversies and dimmed the hopes of peace.

The middle-east has been in condition of serious conflict over longer period of time now. International forces like Russia and United States of Nation are seen constantly interfering the Civil War. American entered the war and spelled against the Syrian President once claimed were made of Chemical Weapon used by the Syrian President.

What makes the war more complicated and prolonged is the involvement of International forces. Russia and Iran are supporting the government whereas US, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia back the rebels. Russia - which already had their military base in Syria, launched an air campaign in support of Mr. Assad in 2015 which turned the war towards the side of government. Iran, on the other hand, is believed to have deployed hundreds of troops and spent billions of dollars to help Mr. President. Thousands of Shia Muslim militiamen armed, trained and financed by Iran - mostly from Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, but also Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen - have also fought alongside the Syrian army.

Over the years, donor support has been generous. However, much more is needed. In December 2017, United Nations agencies and some 270 NGO partners released the 2018 Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), a US$4.4 billion plan that is designed to support refugees and members of the communities hosting them. However, the gap between the needs and available resources is still wide. In 2017, the international response received only half of the required funding.[th]