RNA - According to Afrin Hospital, 142 civilians have been killed in the fighting, and they have treated 345 civilians for injuries related to the attacks. Turkey has been carrying out airstrikes against Afrin and also heavy shelling against the populated areas. Thousands of civilians have been displaced in the course of this operation. Hundreds of combatants are also believed to have been killed in the fighting, though the exact split between Turkish forces and Kurdish forces is heavily contested, with each side claiming they have killed far more than they have lost.
However, that does in no way change the fact that what post-ISIL Syria needs now is peace and aid – not a new war and invasion. Before this quickly becomes Syria’s new refugee and humanitarian crisis, the world must come to its aid. The United Nations should launch a global appeal to end the new conflict and support displaced persons amid Afrin’s rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation.
The invasion is purging Afrin of the people who should be the greatest resource of a young nation. They should be building the post-war country, not fleeing it. Now in its sixth year, the US-led war on Syria has displaced 1 in 3 of the country’s population with over 14 million in desperate need of humanitarian aid or simply fleeing the nation.
The international civil society should also launch an appeal for financial aid this year to provide lifesaving relief assistance, support recovery and migration of people affected by the conflict. The insecurity and violence, which erupted more than six years ago after America decided to regime change Syria and failed, has also fuelled famine conditions and a humanitarian crisis which has left several million people in need of assistance.
As civilians continue to bear the brunt of this new crisis in Afrin, experiencing violence and displacement, timely and effective humanitarian assistance is critical. The international humanitarian community should respond to these needs, force Turkey to end its invasion, and reach the most vulnerable, wherever they are. Moreover, the world community should help both internally displaced persons and refugees who have fled to neighboring countries to return to their homes and communities.
If the conflict continues unabated, Syria could end up witnessing many more refugees and further strain on already limited resources in its neighbors. Just like the United States and its allies, Turkey has no right, let alone any justification, to subject the people of Syria once again to war, exile, and suffering.
As in the past, Ankara has no right to take for granted the new hope for peace and stability in the country for the sake of securing its illicit interests. If there is peace people will go back to their communities, because this is where they belong. It’s their country. For as long as the people of Syria await peace, the world must come to their aid.
True, there are still many other complex challenges, and in the midst of access constraints and heightened needs, but overcoming them can’t be that hard for the United Nations and international aid agencies. There are many reasons for optimism:
The chorus of voices advocating the value of and need for Syrian peace and international humanitarian response is growing, and national and regional actors are increasing in strength and profile. Regional humanitarianism is already happening all over the country, in various shapes and sizes. These humanitarian organizations are leading or managing responses to refugee movements, conflict and environmental crises. If the UN is to exploit this opportunity, it must remember to pay attention to power dynamics and remain open to alternative perspectives as well.
Together, these opportunities and many others represent a vision of an inclusive humanitarian sector galvanizing enthusiasm from a broad set of actors in post-war Syria. Maintaining optimism in the face of overwhelming prospects for a new war and suffering is difficult. The challenges facing the war-torn nation are significant, but the world community must not yield to pessimism and further bloodshed or overlook the progress that is happening after the defeat of ISIL and other terror groups by the allied forces of Iran, Syria, Russia and Hezbollah, in big and small ways.
It is precisely this progress, this military success against various foreign-backed terrorist groups and extremists, that can encourage the United Nations and other world organizations to force Turkey, the United States, and Israel to end their illegal invasions, occupations, bombardments, airstrikes, and protracted wars against Syria. It is also precisely this headway that can encourage the world community to come together and solve the reconstruction challenges ahead.
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