Syria burning

As Europe begins to suffer some of the worst incidents of terrorism – and indigenous violence – in recent decades, attention has moved away from the suffering of the Syrian people. Five years of civil war have left the country’s medical infrastructural reeling. Despite the terrible situation in terms of the delivery of aid and medical care, Syrian government planes bombed five medical facilities, including four makeshift hospitals and a blood bank, in Aleppo last week. A two-day old baby was killed. A mortar bomb hit a restaurant in Damascus on the same day, killing six people. The so-called ceasefire in place since February exists only in name as the troops from both sides continue to fight. The attacks in eastern Aleppo came after government forces surrounded the area controlled by rebels. The airstrikes on hospitals only compound the suffering of the people living in the area who are already suffering severe food shortages after main trade routes have been completely shut.

While Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered a fig leaf of being open to further peace talks without any preconditions under UN supervision, the actions of his troops suggest the strategy is different. August is looking like a possible time for more peace talks but the escalating fighting means there is no end in sight to the crippling conflict, which has impacted the entire globe. Hopeless Syrian asylum seekers, confirming Europe’s worst nightmares, have now carried out two attacks in Germany. The trouble is that the Syrian conflict could have been solved much earlier. Even now, the global community continues to fight over how to resolve the conflict. US Secretary of State John Kerry has proposed greater cooperation between Russia and the US against extremist groups, but the plan is not universally popular. Fears are that such intervention would push even more rebel fighters towards extremist groups. This is complicated by fears over Russia’s exact role in the conflict. The US and Europe have been at loggerheads with Russia over how to proceed with Syria. This international stasis has left the long-suffering Syrian people hopeless. With 400,000 people already dead and the conflict spiralling beyond its boundaries, there is a need for an imperfect way out of the conflict. Otherwise, bombs will continue to fall on hospitals – as the world watches silently.