In the past year, the Syrian regime, led by Bashar-al Assad, has continually endangered innocent people and instilled chaos throughout the country. The regime began its military operations by seizing areas of Idlib in the southern provinces. To achieve this, Assad’s forces willfully cooperated with Russian air squadrons, who conducted air raids throughout January 2020, and Iranian backed mercenaries, who pillaged neighbouring villages and forced the displacement of thousands of civilians in February of the same year.
The number of people affected by these atrocities has raised huge concerns.. The Response Coordination Group (RCG) stated that the number of civilian casualties within these military operations has now reached a total of 326,000 people. Furthermore, between January 6th and March 1st, Andalou Agency has reported at least 700,000 Syrians being forced out of their homes and seeking refuge in nearby Turkish cities. These continued attacks have led to various skirmishes breaking out between the Syrian regime and the Turkish Military, including a Turkish retaliation for the killings of several soldiers at the hands of Syrian military officials. Sadly, of course, the most affected party has been the local civilians in Idlib.
After four days of full military escalation, President Erdogan and Vladimir Putin met on March 5th to establish a cease-fire. Despite the agreement to halt confrontation, the Assad regime blatantly ignored the deal and continued its attacks. Unfortunately, the cease-fire was violated at least 4,200 times between March 6th and December 6th, with the continued transgressions resulting in the deaths of a further 52 civilians. Despite the violence, the RCG has reported that some residents have successfully returned to their homes in Idlib. However, the figures indicate that these individuals represent only 400,000 of the estimated 2 million that still reside in refugee camps.
To learn more, please read:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/operation-spring-shield-leaves-mark-on-syria-in-2020/2093154
https://time.com/5790278/syria-idlib-humanitarian-catastrophe-assad/
Author: Sergio Gomez; Editor: Xavier Atkins
