Tens of thousands of people have
fled the relentless bombing and shelling that has paved the way for
dramatic battlefield gains by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad
and its allies. Hundreds of thousands more remain trapped, awaiting
their fate with trepidation.
In
the space of a few weeks, the Syrian battlefield has been transformed,
the balance of forces pulverized and the prospects for peace talks --
already dark -- virtually extinguished. Another tide of displaced
civilians converge on the Turkish border, trapped by the advance of
regime forces.
Last week, the regime of Bashar
al-Assad, supported by Iranian and Lebanese Shia militia, severed the
main road from Aleppo to the Turkish border, a narrow corridor through
which the rebels and NGOs alike moved supplies. The Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights reports that several villages in the area were hit by
airstrikes on Sunday.
A
defining battle for Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war, seems
imminent. Regime forces and their allies on the ground, supported by
Russian bombers in the air, are tightening the noose around the eastern
half of the city, still held by a coalition of rebel groups. It's
estimated some 320,000 people still live, or subsist, there -- under
continual bombardment.
Russian revolution
Beyond
the humanitarian catastrophe that looms, the plight of Aleppo symbolizes
the rapid transformation of the Syrian battlefield since the regime,
Iran and Russia came together. For much of 2015, Assad's forces were on
the defensive, as rebel groups consolidated and took major towns in
Idlib, the Aleppo countryside and began to attack regime strongholds in
Latakia.
It was the very real possibility of regime collapse that prompted Russian intervention
in September. Russian airstrikes and Iranian militia have since
bolstered regime troops and reversed the tide. Aleppo is their most
prized target.
"Should the rebel-held
parts of the city ultimately fall, it will be a dramatic victory for
Assad and the greatest setback to the rebellion since the start of the
uprising in 2011," says Emile Hokayem in Foreign Policy.
The Institute for the Study of War says
a successful regime offensive around Aleppo would "shatter opposition
morale, fundamentally challenge Turkish strategic ambitions and deny the
opposition its most valuable bargaining chip before the international
community."
Source: CNN
No comments:
Post a Comment