Syria’s Internal Conflicts Never End: They Just Evolve
Dan Junior
Staff Writer
More than a decade after the Syrian civil war began, the country remains fractured, chaotic, and unstable. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, millions are displaced, and entire cities, towns, and villages are left to destruction. Corrupt government forces, radical Islamic jihadist groups, opposition factors, and foreign influence, all prevent Syria from getting its long-achieved peace goal. The war has reshaped Syria’s history, but whether the ongoing civil war will deepen the chaos, or achieve peace, will remain uncertain for the near future.
The conflict began in 2011 with protests against the al-Assad government. What started as a peaceful protest escalated into armed violence and then a civil war. Assad’s rule, influence of foreign powers, and destruction have made Syria one of the most devastating wars of the 21st century. The al-Assad regime faced backlash following Bashar al-Assad’s takeover in 2000. His father, Hafez al-Assad, was the President of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, when Bashar took over. Two major reasons why al-Assad held power for so long were foreign support, primarily from Iran and Russia, which provided military, economic, and political backing, according to The New York Times. His regime’s extensive use of military force in occupied areas has led to mass destruction, with Aleppo being a prime example. Unfortunately, Syria is trapped in another cycle of disarray, ongoing military conflicts, foreign occupation of land, and the comeback of Islamic-Jihadist groups, which will drag Syria into another civil war, without al-Assad and someone the United States can blame.
Despite the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Syria as a country remains extremely fragmented. After al-Assad was ousted and fled the country, a new leader stepped in named President Ahmed al-Sharaa. According to Reuters, he is having trouble unifying the country. The former al-Assad regime, and the new regime that is currently in place, have clashed on almost every issue possible, and it is leading to regular attacks against minority communities such as the Alawites, and to some extent Christians. A group named Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been around since 2017 yet has only been mentioned mainly since the fall of the al-Assad dictatorship. According to NBC News the current President of Syria was their former leader, and al-Sharaa was the main leader to help takedown al-Assad, and the lack of an inclusive government is hurting all of Syria. In turn, al-Sharaa and his new regime are creating a new constitution.
Since Syria has been in disarray for so long, its economy has also taken a strain. Hence, why they need support from their allies Russia and Iran, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies from internal conflicts to countries like the United States, Britain, and Canada imposing sanctions, Syria’s economy can never properly recover and grow. Qatar has supplied Syria with natural gas because of the sanctions, but that can only work for so long. Since the economy is depleted, people have been going to extreme survival measures such as child labor, according to Foreign Policy, and it is destroying the country even more because the youth have no other options, and it is destroying the country even more because the youth have no other options.
Syria’s geopolitical landscape is complicated by the involvement of foreign powers such as the U.S. and Russia. Russia has previously backed al-Assad, while the U.S. maintained a presence there to take out Islamic State forces. According to The Associated Press, there are still U.S. troops in Syria, but their number is dwindling. President Donald J. Trump has planned to withdraw all American troops from Syria by the end of his term, according to Reuters.
In the north of Syria, Türkiye is battling Kurdish rebels, which adds another complex factor to all of this. All these issues, affect Syria’s chances of having a peaceful state. Some onlookers believe Syria’s ongoing prolonged war, with a crippling economy, dwindling military, and weakened population, might prevent another war. In the new regime, U.S.-backed Kurdish forces will be included in the Syrian military, to rejuvenate the country, and to unite people more, The Wall Street Journal says. Since Türkiye has had problems with the Kurdish rebels in the North, they have been closely monitoring the new Syrian government. Türkiye is a unique player when it comes to geopolitics because it is a NATO member, yet its leader, Tayyip Erdogan, is very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Türkiye has not sanctioned Russia for their war either, which is not like the rest of Europe. With the prolonged processes in Syria’s politics, and continued foreign interventions, Syria’s way of advancement is getting stalled, and it is not for the better.
In the end, Syria remains in a cycle of political upheaval, violence, economic uncertainty, and foreign interference, which helps fuel the insecurity in the country. Syria is trapped by location. They are in the heart of the Middle East. They are close to Türkiye, Israel, Russia, and Iran- not to mention the militias that terrorize the region. More civil war in Syria is inevitable, and even if a new regime comes in, the chaos will only evolve.
Image courtesy of Getty Images.
