In all revolutions around the world, the innocent people bear the brunt of the conflict. This is unfortunately the case with the devastated country like Syria, whose people rose up peacefully on March 15, 2011 to demand a better life. Little did they know that the civilian protests would soon turn into a civil war that would claim about 70,000 lives by 2013, a million refugees, and two million internally displaced individuals.
In a recent report by the United Nations, of the 1 million refugees, about half of them are below the age of 11. What is the fault of these innocent children? Why should they suffer because of the mistakes that someone else committed?
The resistant people and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) fearlessly continue to fight the government forces of the embattled President Bashar Assad. As black and white as the picture may seem, there is a gray area in the conflict and it is naive to believe that all fighters are angels and all government soldiers are devils. In fact, Amnesty International and other like bodies recorded war crimes against the fighters.
The conflict seems to drag on with little progress on the diplomatic front.
Though most countries have recognized the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) as the legitimate voice of the Syrian people, it is worth noting that the SNC is internally divided with those fault lines shown by the recent resignation of its president, Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib, among other events. Al-Khatib had a pragmatic approach and seemed to seek a diplomatic solution by having talks with the Syrian leader, though most factions want a military settlement.
The recent appointment of the interim prime minister is not supported by some in the council as it is seen as a forced move by Qatar.
What concerns me most about post-Assad Syria is the ability of the SNC to unite all factions under one umbrella. The country might slide into further turmoil that may only worsen the already existing crisis.
The failure to form a united interim government will destabilize the country and make its already uncertain future even more precarious. — Naqi Haider Rizvi, Dammam
The embattled SNC
