Syrian civil war claims half a million lives as it completes ten years

Damascus: Ten years have passed since the civil war in Syria started. As of February this year, more than 117,000 people have been reported dead in Syria’s civil war. However, this figure is the one that has been declared openly. In reality, more than 380,000 people have been killed in the violence in Syria. Human rights groups in Syria have expressed concerns that the death toll could, in fact, be close to 600,000. Over 5.5 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries to save their lives from the devastating war. Also, the number of people who have fled their homes but displaced in secure locations internally in Syria is nearly 7.6 million.

civil war

In 2010, the ‘Jasmine Revolution’ sparked in Tunisia against the dictatorship. The protest movement overthrew the dictatorship in Tunisia and then Egypt and Libya in the next few months. The protests erupted on March 15, 2011, against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Syria’s Assad regime was likely to be toppled next. Nevertheless, it’s been ten years since then, and the civil war against the Assad regime continues still.

The Syrian Democratic Front (SDF) and the YPG of the Kurdish rebels, which have the backing of the United States and the Arab nations, are fighting against the Assad regime in the civil war. Besides, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) is also involved. On the other hand, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, military group Quds Force, as well as Hezbollah, Kata’ib Hezbollah and other terrorist groups have joined forces in support of Assad’s regime.

Russia, which has a military base in Syria, stepped into the civil war in 2015. Taking advantage of Syria’s civil war, initially Al Qaeda and then the IS in 2013 carried out a large-scale massacre. Millions of Syrians live in refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt due to the genocide the IS began. Furthermore, the number of people living in camps set up by the United Nations (UN) in Syria is claimed to be more than 7.6 million. Human rights groups say two-thirds of the population comprises women and children.

Currently, 63 per cent of Syria is under Assad’s control, which includes the country’s central and southern part. The US-backed SDF controls 25 per cent of the Syrian territory, while Turkey has tightened its grip on the country’s northern border.

In the last ten years of civil war, the leaders of the groups fighting in support of the Assad regime are being criticised as they have become more powerful. At the same time, Syria’s oil reserves have been seized by Kurdish rebels as well as Turkish-linked terrorist groups. The Turkish-linked groups are smuggling oil, and Russian and Syrian aircraft are carrying out airstrikes on them. As a result, Syria’s economy has completely collapsed. According to a survey from two years ago, about 75 per cent of the population has fallen below the poverty line.

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