Over 560,000 people killed as Syria enters 10th year of war

Source: AFP

Syria’s deadly conflict has entered its 10th year with Bashar al-Assad’s regime strengthening its grip over Syria’s war-battered lands and decimated economy.

When Syrians took to the streets on March 15, 2011, they would barely have imagined their anti-regime protests would turn into a complex war involving rebels, militants and international forces.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor has recorded over 560,000 deaths and more than 11 million people displaced.

The United Nations estimated in 2018 that the conflict had resulted in nearly $400 billion in war-related damage.

“Basic services, hospitals and schools need to be rebuilt across the country,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

“Nine years of revolution illustrate the extent of the suffering we have known, between exile, bombings and deaths,” said Hala Ibrahim, a rights activist who now lives in the Idlib province.

“I left my university, my house which was bombed. We’ve lost everything,” she said.

Many of those unable to find space in camps have been sleeping in fields or have taken shelter in schools, mosques and unfinished buildings.

The northwestern region, Syria’s last rebel stronghold, is the Assad regime’s latest target.

With the military support of Russia, Iran and militant group Hezbollah, Assad has gained control of over 70 percent of the war-battered country.

A ceasefire has come into effect in northwest Syria earlier this month, and Turkish and Russian officials have conceded to start joint patrols in Idlib.

Assad’s forces and Russian warplanes have heavily bombarded the region since December, killing nearly 500 civilians, and forcing nearly a million to flee, according to the United Nations.

The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on the eve of the anniversary,”The suffering of the Syrian people during this tragic and terrible decade still defies comprehension and belief.”

The Syrian conflict was born of unprecedented anti-government demonstrations in the southern city of Daraa nine years ago.

Five foreign powers operate in Syria, with Russia and Iranian forces supporting the regime.

Despite an announced withdrawal of US forces last year, American troops are still stationed in the country’s northeast.

Israel regularly carries out air strikes on Syrian, Hezbollah and Iranian military positions.

Turkey supports the opposition groups and has deployed its troops across the border in order to safeguard its own border and to also aid refugees at its doorstep.

Turkey currently hosts millions of Syrian refugees who have fled since the war started. It’s the largest host of Syrian refugees in the world.