Syria faces a new spiral of conflict in light of the Gaza war
*Paulo Pinheiro
The scale and brutality of the conflict in Gaza and the untold suffering of civilians in the Strip have rightly sparked outrage around the world. But in Syria, a sharp escalation of violence has forced tens of thousands of people to flee, while it remains the world’s largest displacement crisis, largely unnoticed outside the region.
Syria – also – desperately needs to stop the violence. But instead, the war that has been going on for more than 12 years there is intensifying, and now extends along five fronts in a similar conflict. As the Syrian government and Russian forces fight armed opposition groups in the northwest; ISIS is intensifying its attacks across the country, Turkey is attacking Kurdish-led forces in the northeast, Kurdish-led forces are fighting local tribes, and the United States and Israel are confronting forces linked to Iran.
In light of the turmoil the region is going through, it is necessary to make serious international efforts to contain the fighting on Syrian territory. More than a decade of bloodshed needs a “diplomatic end.”
A permanent truce in Gaza would also greatly calm the situation in Syria and reduce tensions between foreign powers – including the United States, Israel, and Iran through its proxies – that are militarily active inside the country.
In Homs, central-western Syria, a drone attack carried out by unknown assailants killed and wounded dozens of Military College students, their family members, and others, at a graduation ceremony at the Military Academy on October 5. The Syrian army and Russian forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad responded by launching attacks on at least 2,300 sites in northwestern Syria, which is controlled by the opposition, including schools, hospitals, markets, and camps for Syrians who were forced to leave their homes.
Destruction caused by a Russian air strike on a camp for displaced people in the village of Al-Hamamah in the western countryside of Idlib last October (AFP)
Multi-cause displacement
Some 120,000 people have been forced to flee – many of them displaced multiple times, including by the massive earthquake last February. At least 500 civilians have been injured or killed in incidents tracked by our commission since October. Weapons have included internationally banned cluster munitions, These are ongoing destructive patterns that our committee has documented since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
In the past, these revelations would have led to widespread outrage, but what’s the difference now? The world’s attention is directed elsewhere. ISIS is also intensifying its deadly activities inside Syria, attacking both civilian and military targets, and continuing to demonstrate its operational capabilities and extremist ideology.
In the northeast of the country, Turkish forces accelerated their operations against the “Syrian Democratic Forces,” claiming that they were linked to terrorist activity on Turkish territory. That same opposition group has also been fighting clans in Deir ez-Zor, the largest city in eastern Syria, in a conflict fueled by ancient grievances that the local Kurdish-led administration has failed to provide basic services or secure basic rights. The number of civilian deaths resulting from this remains uncounted.
A Turkish drone bombed members of the SDF in Al-Hasakah (archive)
What is most disturbing is that the escalating regional tensions resulting from the attack on Gaza have led to an increase in attacks on Syrian territory by Israel and Iranian militias. American bases in Syria have been subjected to more than 50 attacks by militias since last October.
Long before the January 28 attack in Jordan, which resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers, the United States launched retaliatory attacks on facilities said to be used by Iranian-linked groups. The most recent attack in Jordan (by Iraqi militias) led to To a new wave of American retaliatory attacks in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, creating fears of a broader conflict.
Archive footage of Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous inspecting repair work on damaged parts of the runways at Damascus Airport after an Israeli strike (AFP)
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes, ostensibly targeting assets linked to Iran, have put Syrian civilian airports, which are desperately needed for the delivery of humanitarian aid, out of service.
In the midst of all this, Syrians face increasingly unbearable hardships. About 17 million of them need humanitarian aid such as food, water, and medical care. However, aid deliveries remain hanging by a thread, dependent on the Syrian government’s arbitrariness and hampered by sanctions.
World Food Program employees deliver relief packages to displaced Syrians before aid deliveries stop in the Atma camp on the outskirts of Idlib, December 6, 2023 (AFP)
At the same time, a severe shortage of donor funds forced the United Nations World Food Program to suspend regular food aid in Syria, putting millions in the grip of hunger. One of the most brutal civil wars of this century has claimed the lives of more than 300,000 civilians in Syria in the past ten years. It is not surprising that the number of Syrians seeking asylum in Europe last October reached the highest level recorded in 7 years.
All war crimes
Almost all the war crimes and crimes against humanity covered by the International Criminal Court have now been committed in Syria: the deliberate targeting of hospitals and health workers, direct and indiscriminate attacks on civilians (some including chemical weapons) under the guise of fighting “terrorists,” and summary executions. Briefly, the torture and forced disappearance of tens of thousands of people, in addition to the genocide of the Yazidis during the period of ISIS control in parts of Syria.
A man cries for his brother who was injured by a Syrian army artillery shelling on Idlib in northern Syria last December 30 (dpa)
The long-standing failure to respect basic international human rights and international humanitarian law in Syria has not only enabled the killing and maiming of victims on all sides of the conflict, but has also undermined the very essence of the international protection system. We are seeing such disregard for international law in a growing list of conflicts, including in Ukraine, Sudan, and now in Gaza.
Syrians before the International Court of Justice in The Hague as it considers a case brought by Canada and the Netherlands against committing war crimes in Syria.
Member States must act urgently to halt this alarming trend. In November, the International Court of Justice ordered Syria to stop torture. In recent years, European prosecutors have convicted more than 50 perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria. These efforts must be continued, supported and expanded in relation to the commission of atrocities, not only in Syria, but everywhere.
In the meantime, the most horrific abuses could end if the fighting stops. We appeal to the international community not to lose sight of the Syrian crisis. Syria needs brave diplomats, bold donors, and resolute prosecutors more than ever.
More than anything else, after nearly 13 years of conflict, Syria needs a countrywide ceasefire now.
*New York Times service
*Paulo Pinheiro serves as Chairman of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
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2024-02-09 07:14:20
