Broadcast images of starving civilians in the besieged town of Madaya have proved beyond doubt that pro-Assad militias would do the unthinkable to hurt civilians in rebels-controlled areas.
Sadly, the international community has done little to help save the besieged civilians. More people are dying under the international community’s watch and it seems that finding a humanitarian solution to the predicament of the besieged civilians is likely to remain elusive.
We do not have to beat around the bush in finding the culprits behind this war crime. Assad and his Hezbollah allies who have besieged the town of Madaya for more than six months are to blame. And yet, neither Hezbollah nor Assad’s troops are expected to budge simply because they do not value the lives of the civilians, much less so the world public opinion. Indeed, they understand nothing but the language of force. For this reason, I argue short of placing a military price tag on the perpetrators of the siege, little could be done to alleviate their tragic situation.
In the face of the growing outcry with regard to some 42,000 besieged civilians in the town of Madaya, Assad and Hezbollah agreed to temporarily lift the siege. However, the siege if left unchecked is a grave precedence. The problem, and herein lies the crux of the matter, is that while the international community condemned the siege, it has yet to voice its final verdict on the terrorist act of Hezbollah against the Syrian civilians. Over the course of the crisis, Hezbollah forces proved to be more ruthless than the depleted Syrian Army or the amateurish Iran-backed militias who came from Afghanistan and Iraq. Therefore, the siege is both tight and hurting. The town of Madaya is fully encircled by Hezbollah and pro-Assad troops with land mines, snipers and of course barbed wires. People are forced to eat grass.
Let us be honest and say that the plight of the besieged civilians in Madaya reflects in part the failure or indeed the unwillingness of external powers to work out an acceptable solution. It goes without saying that external meddling in Syria — particularly from Russia and Iran — has only worsened the situation on the ground. Both Russia and Iran blamed the opposition for the siege! Indeed, they turned a blind eye to the months of siege and hunger, which have been used as a weapon to force the rebels into submission.
Evidently, the use of siege and hunger as a lethal weapon flies in the face of the international law and yet great powers are yet to make a correct move. Neither Russia nor Iran is willing to pressure their allies in the battlefield to lift the siege. According to the United Nations, only 10 percent of its demand to deliver aid to the besieged areas has been approved.
Observers of the Syrian conflict may notice that Assad and his Hezbollah ally do not care about the outcry of the international community. Seen from this perspective, the Security Council demands will most likely have little difference on the lives of the Syrian civilians.
