The Spider Web of a War – The Current Situation in Syria

As contextualized by the consistent back and forth of questions and confusion in the DPhiE pledge class for this week’s international relations assignment, the current situation in Syria is extraordinarily complicated with numerous factions competing for power. Somehow, what began as peaceful demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad’s regime has now escalated to a proxy war between the Sunnis and Shia’s and the United States and Russia. As complicated as the fighting sounds, humanitarian aid has all but impossible due to the heavy fighting. However, in light of the recent call for cease-fire that was created by the United Nations it seems as if the much needed humanitarian aid can finally reach those who are suffering.

Secretary of State, John Kerry, and Russian representative, Sergey V. Lavrov, announced that they had agreed on a plan of delivery of aid over the next couple of days (early to mid March) to the war-torn Syrian cities. This plan was called for on February 27th, 2016, as written in Security Council’s Resolution 2254. It entails a “cessation of hostilities” in order for this type of aid to flow through. Keeping in mind that this treaty was written after weeks of the Russian air campaign to eliminate any and all opposition to Bashar al-Assad’s rule, Mr. Kerry stated that, “The real test is whether all the parties honor [cessation of hostilities] commitments.” The key difference between a “cessation of hostilities” and a formal “cease-fire” is that the former still allows attacks against terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Nusra to continue. The latter marks steps to a more permanent end to the Syrian Civil War. The cessation of hostilities and flow of humanitarian aid would be monitored by an international task force in order to ensure its success.

This treaty can potentially save millions of lives. I see it as an important step for Russia, US relations. However, this is going to be difficult to implement. The numerous rebel factions have been difficult in reaching and convincing to abide by the terms laid out by the treaty. Russia has continued to insist that anti-Assad rebel groups are terrorist groups and has continued airstrikes in the name of fighting ISIS. Yet despite these complications, aid was delivered to several battered towns within Syria for the first time in months. The World Health Organization states that it is still little to celebrate about. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians remain trapped in areas that are besieged or hard to reach without access to food, clean water, or medicine. I think this is the first step to a proper implementation of stabilizing Syria and the Middle-East.

In these times of turmoil, it is extremely important for neighboring countries to continue to open their doors to the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war in Syria. It is our duty to protect and give asylum to these citizens who, before the war, were living lives that were similar to ours. These fleeing people weren’t always poor, nor are they uneducated. They are just caught in a war about their native country, with foreign powers trying to control it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/world/middleeast/us-russia-cease-fire-in-syria-obama-putin.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/world/middleeast/defense-secretary-says-anti-isis-coalition-has-agreed-to-step-up.html?action=click&contentCollection=Middle%20East&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/world/middleeast/us-and-russia-announce-plan-for-humanitarian-aid-and-a-cease-fire-in-syria.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/syria-war-ceasefire-160228063752872.html