Syrian Bombings: A Little Too Far?

Thomas Askew ‘21

Image of destruction in Idlib province taken from aljazeera.com

For several weeks following April 26th, 2019, the Syrian government initiated an assault on a residential area in an attempt to draw out one of the last rebellion strongholds from the Civil War. The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, made an agreement with Russia and began an assault on the provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama.

The Civil War in Syria began in 2012 with major opposition groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra trying to overthrow the president. As the seventh year of fighting arises, the war is nearly over. The Syrian government is using everything in their power to silence the last of the rebellion.

On April 26th, 2019, the Syrian government, backed by the Russian government, ordered an air assault on the residential provinces of Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama. Because of this assault, over one-hundred innocent civilians have been killed according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin’s agreement to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib taken from nedaa-sy.com

This bombardment has also displaced thousands of citizens. According to the OCHA nearly 180,000 people have been forced to move northward. Furthermore, nearly 16 hospitals have been bombed, limiting the possibility of helping any injured civilians.

These hospital bombing were motivated by revenge. According to CNN, the terrorists groups and the Syrian government had an agreement not to attack any military points or safehouses in the city so innocent people would not be brought into the fight. The terrorist groups disregarded this agreement and did it anyway.

The Syrian government had created an agreement with Russia and Turkey, declaring parts of Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama a demilitarized zone because of the large amounts of people who live there. However, Russia and Syria dishonored this agreement and began the air assault. All attempts by Turkey to negotiate have been to no avail.

Many rebel groups have allied themselves together in support of a democratic government. One of these groups, Jabhat al-Nusra, has been known to ally themselves with the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

Image depicting the Syrian Civil War taken by Erik De Castro

When asked either of these groups deserves to win the Civil War, English teacher Mr. Keith Boyle responded, “Democracy probably is the best way to run a government.”

Mr. Boyle believes these groups are fighting for a worthy cause. He believes that fighting for a democratic government is an exceptional reason for fighting because democracy is the best form of government in modern society.

The Syrian government was established in 1971 as an authoritarian regime. The Syrian government has been known to use violence to suppress people who disagree with them. Many such rebel groups, as well as terrorist groups, have tried to overthrow the current president and institute a democratic government.