When the people of Syria first took to the streets, they took inspiration in the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and hoped to overthrow the brutal dictator, Bashar al Asaad. Outraged at the government's brutal and sadistic treatment of the schoolchildren who wrote anti-regime graffiti at their school,it was their hope that when they took back their country, democracy would prevail. For seven years, Syria's Arab Spring has been nothing but a bleak and bloody Arab Winter.
As government forces prepare for an all-out assault on the rebel-held province of Idlib, I want to explain why an assault on Idlib not only signifies the final stage of the Syrian war but the end of Syria as we knew it...
One by one, Asaad has overthrown all of the major rebel strongholds across Syria with the help of allies, Russia and Iran. All except Idlib, of course. With so many haunting echoes of the Bush administration, Asaad has justified his egregious campaign in a mutually exclusive binary; either support his bloodbath campaign, propped up by Russia, or stand with the terrorists.
The province does shelter several rival factions, including jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al Sham which swears allegiance to al Qaeda. But Idlib is also home to almost 3 million civilians, who have either fled or evacuated from other war-torn parts of the country. I find myself always asking, why is it that where Bashar al Asaad is concerned, innocent people always pay the ultimate price in this bloody and brutal war?
Bordering Turkey to the North, the province is of crucial strategic importance to the rebels with all important routes to Southern cities such as Latakia on the Mediterranean coast as well as key cities in central Syria, such as Aleppo. If the government forces were to be effective in recapturing the Idlib province, this would effectively signal the rebels' final defeat, unable to withstand a united front against Asaad's forces with pockets of territory scattered across Syria, few and far between.
Asaad's bloodbath campaign will have devastating consequences on the region. Humanitarian resources and services have already been crippled to breaking point. When Asaad goes through with this (it's no longer a matter of if but when he does), the UN has warned that it will represent the greatest humanitarian emergency of the conflict to date. It is my greatest belief that if Bashar al Asaad's regime is to recapture the last rebel-held province, it will signify the end of Syria as we ever knew it. He will not only tighten his already extensive grip on Syria and its people, but the treatment of people who dare to utter anti-regime rhetoric will pay the ultimate price for their freedom of speech. Daesh will further exploit the Syria's political instability, using rape, torture and mutilation as weapons to create widespread fear and ensure people's compliance in creating an Islamic state.
I find myself tentatively checking the news each morning, waiting for news of these inevitable developments and praying that Russia, Iran and Turkey are, somehow, able to dissuade the barbaric Syrian dictator from fulfilling his bloodbath campaign.
Antonia x
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