While we bomb Isil, Syrians are starving – and it's Assad who's blocking their aid
By Hamish de Bretton-Gordon
12:01PM GMT 17 Dec 2015
The world’s
unlikely and tenuous Coalition is pounding Isil and others, relentlessly, and now with the added precision and vigour of the RAF. Undoubtedly Isil are being hit, but so too are civilians and moderates – accidentally or not.
The refugee crisis and humanitarian issues in Syria are gone from the media spotlight but are a very long way from being solved. Four million or so refugees shiver and go hungry in wet and squalid refugee camps, with NGOs and others doing their utmost to give them the basics to survive. A million or so are spread across Europe as the freezing winter takes hold and upwards of 7 million displaced in Syria, trying to avoid Isil, are scraping a sort of life from what can be scavenged off the land.
The Grand Strategic Plan for the defeat of Isil and the "future" of Syria must cover, in detail, the political, the military and the humanitarian dimensions – but this detail currently appears in short supply.
Crucially, we must at all costs avoid repeating the mistakes of 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was a precise and fast operation in military terms, but didn't really begin to address the humanitarian issues.
The same could happen in Syria. Militarily, the global coalition should be able to roll up Isil – especially if Nato, including Britain, puts "
boots on the ground" – in a matter of weeks.
Politically, there are some very difficult alliances which needed to be forged. Now is the time to put "real" pressure on Russia to control its ally Assad, to stop his needless and genocidal barrel bombing of innocent civilians. The ground forces, who are the only ones who will win this war, must be co-ordinated and directed towards the comprehensive defeat of Isil. These forces, most likely must include the Syrian Army, but there must be unequivocal declaration by the coalition, most especially Russia, that there is no long-term role or position for Assad in Syria, who is responsible for so many innocent deaths.
It is the humanitarian side of this global plan which gives me most concern, as I sit here in New York having just come from Geneva, where Syria Relief are lobbying the UN and others to not repeat the mistakes of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Vienna Talks seem to offer a workable framework, with a ceasefire in six months and "absolutely" free and fair elections in 18 months. The many Syrians I was with in Geneva, some of whome had travelled out of Syria for the conference, would support this approach. The current cessation of hostilities in Homs might offer hope for the longer term ceasefire. Britain is still a "superpower" on the diplomatic stage and should concentrate of flexing this muscle.
This is all someway off, sadly, and as winter takes hold in Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean the hope of those refugees both in and around Syria is ebbing away. But if we can just get Assad to stop barrel bombing, especially in North Syria where UOSSM runs 32 hospitals and 43 schools, a humanitarian bridgehead can be formed, and meaningful amounts of aid can start flowing into this region of 1500 km2.
The moment the barrel bombs stop, NGOs like UOSSM and Syria Relief can redouble their efforts in this area to support millions more and prevent them turning right to Isil or left to Europe.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/12053486/While-we-bomb-Isil-Syrians-are-starving-and-its-Assad-whos-blocking-their-aid.html