The Syrian conflict

It has been two years since the Assad regime turned against the people of Syria. Since then, over 70,000 lives have been taken, according to a UN-appointed Commission of Inquiry on Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that March was the deadliest month for the Syrian conflict with 6,005 total lives lost. This number includes 1,486 rebels, 1,464 Syrian army soldiers, 2,080 civilians, 588 unidentified fighters and 387 unidentified civilians. There are also tens of thousands of missing persons. Aleppo, Homs, and Damascus have been turned into war grounds and now the violence has begun to spread to newer parts of the country, including Daraa. The end does not appear to be in sight and we are reminded of the horrors in Syria every time we watch the news. Meanwhile, the trauma continues and Bashar al-Assad’s regime goes on claiming that the turmoil is a foreign conspiracy and that attacks are being carried out by ‘terrorists’ on the ground.

Adding to the country’s quandary is the deadly Aleppo boil — a virus transmitted through bites by sand flies. Syrian medical personnel — currently in a state of panic — claim that over 300 cases of the disease are reported daily from multiple cities and care for the patients, mainly children, has come slow due to limited supplies and lack of resources. Other health hazards arise from poisonous gases emerging from bombs or missiles once they are released, which harm volunteers trying to aid those trapped in rubble. The government’s warfare has destroyed at least half of the country’s 88 public hospitals.

As the incidence of disease and war-related deaths escalates, the worst might still be waiting for the Syrian people. The Syrian government seems to be missing a conscience, unable to comprehend the ramifications of its cruel actions. The international community must step up now to aid the people of Syria before the nation is destroyed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2013.