A new catastrophe is unfolding in northern Syria. The Bashar Al Assad regime, backed by Russian jets and Iranian military strategists, has launched an all-out assault on rebel forces around Aleppo. After days of intense bombing, the regime is close to encircling Syria’s second largest city and is laying siege to any remaining rebel strongholds.
Long convoys of Syrian civilians are descending on Turkish border crossings as a result of the bombing campaign. Turkey has estimated that 20,000 refugees have arrived at the border in the past week. That number could swell to 70,000 in coming days as the regime continues its destruction of the Aleppine countryside.
The recent military advances put enormous pressure on peace talks and Syria’s neighbours. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development and head of the UAE Committee for the Coordination of Humanitarian Foreign Aid, said that the developments underline the need for the international community to help countries bordering Syria that are bearing the burden of the Syrian refugee crisis.
The ideal solution to the Syrian crisis remains viable peace talks that result in an agreed-upon diplomatic road map for the end of fighting. Mr Al Assad, who has sent a team to take part in talks in Geneva, is cynically attempting to change the facts on the ground and hijack those talks, which have been suspended. Aleppo has been the centrepiece for Mr Al Assad’s military campaign since he lost control of the city in 2012. He continues to use reckless tactics of indiscriminate bombing and terrorising of Syrians to expand his power.
The siege of Aleppo could prove to be a turning point in the conflict. With the city under his control, Mr Al Assad could attempt to cut off the rebel-held humanitarian and military corridor near the city of Azaz, which connects the Turkish border with Aleppo. If this happens, it will prove to be the biggest victory for the regime since the start of the uprising in 2011.
Saudi Arabia has offered to send ground troops to Syria if America were to increase its presence in the country. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis only deepens. The balance of power is shifting in Syria. Peace talks that carry consequences will provide an equitable solution, but they appear further away than ever as more and more Syrians leave home.
