Cycle of violence

The multiple simultaneous suicide bombings and raids carried out by the Islamic State on Wednesday in south-west Syria that left more than 200 people dead is the deadliest militant attack in months in the war-torn country. The areas which were targeted have generally been spared the violence that had destroyed the rest of the country and were believed to be fully under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. These brutal attacks show how the cycle of violence in Syria is endlessly repeating itself and destroying the lives of every citizen of the country. Even though IS does not have much of a presence in southern area, it does control some land in the province of Daraa. To try and reclaim that area Syrian forces, backed by massive Russian airstrikes, have been hitting IS targets for the past few months. This has led to an increase in civilian deaths with one report estimating that close to 3000 civilians have been killed in Russian airstrikes in the first half of the year. This is the tragedy of the Syrian civil war, where the involvement of regional and global powers has turned the country into a proxy for outside rivalries.

The US and Russia are two of the biggest culprits in prolonging this devastating war. The US has made it its mission to dislodge Assad from power. It has bombed government targets and armed rebel groups. Even though it claims to only be aiding what it calls ‘moderate’ rebels, there is no doubt that many of these groups work with militant outfits like IS. Russia, meanwhile, has gone all-in for Assad. It too has little concern for civilian casualties as it brings its military might to bear on anyone who dare oppose Assad. This has naturally led to fears that the two largest nuclear powers in the world could accidentally or deliberately trigger hostilities between themselves in Syria. And it has certainly contributed greatly to the plight of the Syrian people. Calls for ceasefires are routinely flouted and no care is taken to avoid civilian casualties. The IS has used its bases in Syria to develop a worldwide network that can seemingly launch in any country at will. The responsibility now lies not only with the Assad government but all international powers that have turned Syria into a killing field to cease their violence and try to negotiate a settlement into a civil war that has destroyed millions of lives. The cycle of violence needs to be broken and those who are most responsible for creating it need to take the lead in bringing it to an end.