Syrian Crisis

Syrian Crisis

Syrian Crisis

• • Syria is a country in West Asia that shares borders with Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq.
  •  Commencing in 2011 and continuing to this day, the Syrian civil war is widely recognized as the world’s most brutal conflict. 

The conflict between Shia Islam and Sunni Islam

• • Sectarian conflicts that have existed in the area for centuries are the source of this conflict.
  • The two main branches of the Islamic religion are Sunni and Shia. 
  • The West Asian region is split between these two leaders, with Saudi Arabia seeing itself as the head of Sunni Muslims and Iran as the defender of Shia Muslims. 
  • Saudi Arabia and Iran became significant players in the regional geopolitical conflicts.

The absence of an accountable government

• • In addition to this, there is no democratic or accountable government. 
  • Led to citizen unhappiness in the majority of West Asian nations. 
  • The Arab Spring, also known as the Jasmine Revolution, was a democratic movement that began in Tunisia in 2011 against the country’s authoritarian government. 
  • Other nations in the area were prompted by this to speak out against their governments.

 Recent Political Developments

• • The Mediterranean Sea forms a very narrow strip of coastline in Syria, and the remainder of the nation experiences extremely high temperatures that frequently result in dust storms and sporadic droughts. Due to unemployment and poverty, the terrible drought that struck between 2006 and 2011 incited a great deal of resentment among the populace. 
  • When Bashar Al-Assad ruled Syria, he announced a number of initiatives, such as pay adjustments, to placate the populace.With approximately 74% of the population, Sunni Muslims make up the largest religious group in Syria. They were dissatisfied with President Bashar Al-Assad’s administration because it had a stronger inclination toward Shia Muslims.
    
    
  • In 2011, nonviolent demonstrations for democracy began in Sectarian tensions in Syria emerged when the government began a ruthless crackdown on rebel groups with the help of Iran-backed militia.Meanwhile, the international backers of the Sunni-dominated opposition, including the US, UK, and France, as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan, have offered differing degrees of support. 
  • In 2013, the US claimed that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons (Sarin gas) against the rebel group and demanded a UN investigation in Syria. Countless Sunni Syrians, including those sponsored by the US and Saudi Arabia, joined the rebel group to overthrow the Assad regime. Additionally, the US increased its backing for rebels, and the Assad regime began to wane.
    
    
  • The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) declared that the Syrian government had destroyed all of its declared chemical weapons production, mixing, and filling facilities after Syria accepted a Russian proposal to give up chemical weapons (Russia supports the Assad regime). 
  • In order to put an end to the Syrian Civil War, the UN then launched peace negotiations. The 2013 Geneva II Conference, an international peace conference supported by the UN on Syria’s future, ended without a resolution.
  •  The rise of the terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), which was founded in the Sunni Provinces of Iraq and the eastern provinces of Syria, was a result of the US and its allies’ support for the rebels in Syria in their attempt to overthrow the Assad regime. 
  •  ISIS became a global threat and in response, the US-led coalition launched airstrikes on Syria in an effort to “degrade and ultimately destroy” IS. This radical Islamist group has taken control of vast territory and populations in Syria. However, the coalition has stayed away from actions that could help Assad’s forces. Put simply, it was unable to neutralize ISIS’s strength.
  • In 2015, Russia launched an air campaign against “terrorists” in Syria, shifting the balance of power. The Assad regime reclaimed many areas of the nation, including Aleppo City, with the help of Russia.
  •  However, opposition activists claimed that most rebels and civilians supported by the West had died as a result of its strikes. The peace negotiations at Geneva III are still ongoing, but the peace
    
    

Implication of civil war in Syria

• • Syria’s economic, social, and human development has been severely hindered by the devastating civil war; the country’s GDP is currently less than half of what it was prior to the conflict, and it may take the country up to two decades or longer to recover to pre-conflict levels.  
  • Over 250,000 Syrians have died in five years of armed conflict; millions of innocent people have been injured; and 80% of children have been harmed by the civil war. 
  • The majority of people in the region live below the poverty line. 
  • The Global Refugee Crisis has been brought on by the widespread human displacement from Syria.
  •  There are about 6.5 million internally displaced people in Syria; in 2015 alone, 1.2 million of them were forced from their homes. 
  • Widespread damage to physical infrastructure, including schools, power plants, roads, bridges, and water supplies. It will be extremely difficult to rebuild the physical infrastructure that was damaged.
    
    

 India and Syrian Crisis 

• • India and Syria have historically enjoyed cordial ties, but India has consistently opposed Assad’s government in a neutral manner. 
  • The trade and investment, diaspora, remittances, and energy security of the region are areas in which India has a significant stake.
  • India was forced to withdraw its oil investments in Syria as a result of the Syrian Crisis. 
  • Even though Syria is not India’s main energy supplier, India still places a high value on the political stability of the entire West Asian region. 
  • Given that over 7 million Indians are employed in these nations, India should prioritize maintaining regional stability. 
  • India recently refrained from voting on a resolution proposed by the UN General Assembly that called for an immediate end to hostilities in Syria. 
  • India attempted to balance the US and Russia by doing this. But as it works to secure a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, India needs to stray from its non-alignment strategy and take a firm stance on international issues like the Syrian Crisis.