Editorial
Syria's humanitarian disaster
Can the world bear to be silent witness?
The crisis in Syria continues to take its toll on human life as the civil war drags on with no apparent end in sight. With both the government and rebel forces seemingly unable to gain the upper hand, the fighting seems to have reached a dangerous stalemate.
The problem it seems is that there is no unified opposition allied against the Assad regime. The anti-Assad forces till date remain fragmented. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the West remains unwilling to help arm the rebels sufficiently to make a difference in the field. The other reason could well be the Libya experience; the country after being 'liberated' disintegrating into internal conflict based along ethnic lines is not something to look forward to.
That said, the humanitarian disaster continues unabated. There was some sigh of relief when the UN and Arab envoy Kofi Annan brokered a deal between Damascus and the rebels that would oversee the deployment of UN observers on the ground and pave the way for peaceful transition of power through multi-party elections this month. These hopes have been shattered as the body count continues to rise with the Syrian government forces persisting with their campaign of artillery barrage on major cities like Homs.
In the midst of all this political tension, when suicide bombers strike a highly secure military compound at the heart of Damascus, killing some 55 people, it shows the situation as anything but stable.
The reality on the ground is that unless sufficient economic and political pressure by the UN are brought to bear upon a regime that is clearly 'oblivious' to the sufferings of its own people, that has already taken some 9,000 lives, it will continue its barbarous attack as the civilised world chooses to ignore yet another human tragedy unfolding in yet another Arab state.
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