NEWS
Monday, October 13, 2015 3
Russia Further Complicates War in Syria
simmy sahdra › news editor
A
s m a n y peopl e have already heard,
Russia has joined the war in Syria, where
Russian warplanes have carried out airstrikes on opponents of President Bashar
al-Assad. This recent addition to the four year civil
war in Syria has added new elements, which continue to further the suffering for many civilians.
Russia claimed that they are targeting the
Islamic State (IS) and “other terrorists” when on 30
September, Russia’s parliament approved a request
by President Vladimir Putin to launch airstrikes in
Syria. This is the country’s first intervention in the
Middle East in decades, which leads one to ponder
what their real intention behind their involvement
in Syria is.
Presidents
Putin and Assad
have been longstanding political
allies, and most
are aware of this
relationship; however, Mr. Putin said Russia was
acting “preventatively, to fight and destroy militants
and terrorists on the territories that they already
occupy, not wait for them to come to our house.” A
poor argument given the applicability of that argument to many other war-torn countries, which have
yet to see a Russian intervention.
Not to mention the context of the relationship
between Putin and Assad, which includes historical
ties between the two countries, and Syria containing the last Russian naval base in the Middle East.
Russia has also blocked numerous resolutions critical of Assad at the UN Security council, and supplied weapons to the Syrian military—this current
Russian intervention only continues and further
solidifies the relationship between the two as political allies.
The Russian Defence Ministry originally said the
first strikes targeted only the jihadist group IS,
which controls large parts of Syria and is fighting
both government and rebel forces. The next day,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov clarified that
the air campaign was targeting “all terrorists” in
Syria, and not just IS. His ministry said a report by
the Syrian Civil Defence rescue organization of 33
civilian deaths on the first day of the airstrikes was
«false.”
Even more interesting is the fact that the US
and allies have noted that the strikes are occurring in places where IS has little to no presence.
Alternatively, the strikes are aimed at rebels backed
by Gulf Arab and Western states who are advancing on Latakia province, which is the core of Assad’s
Alawite sect. The political dimensions behind
Russia’s intervention shine through, providing
much more plausible reasoning, rather than fear of
terrorists attacking Russia.
The reaction from Syria seems to be divided,
where some have hope for Russia to end this agonizing situation, and others fear their situation has just
gotten worse. Opposition activists have expressed
alarm over the effect this Russian intervention will
have on civilians. Khoodair Khusheif, an activist
in northern Homs province, stated to the New York
Times, “If these raids continue this way, Russia will
kill a larger number of civilians than Bashar did in
four years.” The reality is that Russia’s intervention
arises out of selfish reasoning, and the Syrian civilians are secondary thoughts, at best, to the existent
political battles.
The US are all but impressed with this new addition to the war in Syria. US Defence Secretary
Ashton Carter said Russia was “pouring gasoline on
a fire.” He went on to warn that Russia “risks escalating the civil war in Syria—and with it, the very
extremism and instability that Moscow claims to
be concerned about.” The US does not seem to be
accepting of the Russian argument indicating their
only intent is to fight terrorism, which is interesting
given the US not too long ago was utilizing the same
a rg u ment s for
their own Middle
East interventions.
However, the
most i mpor ta nt
aspect of this situation is the high
human costs—more than 250,000 Syrians have been
killed and a million injured. At least eleven million
others have been forced from their homes, four million have fled abroad, and we continue to hear their
horror stories as they embark on the journey of their
lives. It is a sad reality that these lives are not the
“The political dimensions
behind Russia’s intervention
shine through . . .”
t humbs down
Sprout hairclips.
priority, and instead protection of political alliances
reigns supreme. The Russian intervention in the
Syrian war not only illustrates this point, but also
serves to demonstrate that the instability within
Syria will most likely continue. u
ê (above) A civil defence member walks on the rubble
of a damaged building next to a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian
airforce. Photo credit: CBS News
ê (below) Two Russian air force technicians prepare a
warplane in a Syrian airbase outside Latakia.
Photo credit: The Guardian