Syrian Civil War into its 4th year now. Started from the splinters of Arab Spring; paddled as a political movement to dethrone Bashar Al Assad for alleged suppression of Non Alawaites sect has traversed into many horrendous and treacherous routes. The peaceful political movement first divided its population among different cities and towns forming a unexpected solid armored shatterproof battlezone which Assad has not been expecting. Determined to crush the once peaceful movement, Assad vowed to his regional ally Iran for their financial support and Hezbollah interference apart from being granted with military equipments from old friend Russia. The movement then turned violent when Assad ordered firing on peaceful protestors with gun fighting started on urban streets of Damascus, Aleppo, Homs.
The battle was getting propelled upon the arrival of Hezbollah utilizing its military experience to crush the rivals. There was no way that united rivals could stand against mighty air power of Assad and Hezbollah's experience. The defeat was unanimously sure for the rivals until that fear of defeat divided the rivals into various moderate and hardline Islamic factions giving birth to Free Syrian Army (moderate); whose fighters were defected soldiers from Assad's forces, Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra and another ferocious brutal Al Qaeda offshoot called as ISIL or ISIS later commonly known as IS (Islamic State) whose purpose was to carve out a oil rich region and form a Caliphate. Most of analysts believe that IS was gradually transformed from the Al Qaeda in Iraq in the course of time during US intervention in Iraq. Very little is known about its mysterious leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, who was once detained in Guantanamo before being freed later.
This rivals were turned into rebels fighting both Assad Army and each other's faction. The street fighting incited into a full fledged war. Caught in the middle of that were innocent civilians and humanitarian workers which can be sermoned as a collateral damage. Tens of hundred died or killed everyday in middle of the firefight and the violence now roaring to a new level. Winning the war or defeating any faction seems unconclusive in a war like this. With war boiling all around, hopeless and crushed civilians started their first exodus to neighboring countries like Lebnon, Turkey and Jordan. It was shocking to me to find out a refugee camp in Jordan called Zatari camp run by UN which later became the largest and populous refugee camp in the world accomodating millions of Syrian civilians. The once prospered, multi cultured, vibrant Syria was in its ruins with many historical heritage sites levelled to the ground in barrel bombing.
Many moderate rebels turned their eye to West and US for their support or intervention, but all turned vain thought Obama and Western leaders Merkel, Hollande and Cameron wanted Assad to step down. Looking down to regional support were Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and UAE. But the war by then spread into a religious war among Alawaites, a commonly Shia sect and Sunnis. An outside interference would only be ethical now as all regional opponent were Sunnis. Rather giving benefit of doubt to moderate rebels group, they chose to arm the hardliners Islamic militants which had already started to recruit foreign fighters from other countries like Chechyna, France, Africa etc, but denying the fact of arming them commonly in media. The war became a trickster game now which includes dirty politics, occupation, Oil and power. Assad army now face multiple enemies and factions and it is now quite forseeable to find that all of his Syria were not under his control anymore. He however was able to retain Damascus and port city Latakia but Aleppo, Homs, Dara and Raqqa saw severe fihhting and bombings, so severe that neither sides were used to rest at night.
It was always a tug of war, when we heard the condemnable incident of Chemical attack on the suburbs of Damascus, Ghouta which rumuored to have killed thousands of civilians. No side took any admittance rather making allegations on each other. That however angered the UN and US which ordered a multi national effort to destroy all chemical weapons from Syria, which Assad agreed owing to pressure from International powers. The war however never talked of any stoppage time or ceasefire except in 2014, in its 4th year, rebels n government forces agreed to call ceasefire and vacate Homs once for all upon a truce signed by UN. However the war was still brewing in other politically important cities and moderate rebels were helpless now fighting both Assad army and Islamic militants like IS and Al Nusra.
By 2014, IS was declared as the wealthiest terrorist organization, head quartered in Raqqa and forming a caliphate. To a very few, it strike their mind that IS would now be called the most dreaded, brutal terrorist organization in the world inspiring many other terrorist organization around the world to support the Caliphate and its mysteriou leader Baghdadi. To most of the war analysts in Middle East, it was quite obvious that How come a terrorist organization like IS be the wealthiest. One undeniable fact was the funding received from wealthy Sheikhs in Qatar, SA, UAE who are Sunni muslims. The othe sources of funding were obvious too but revealations were shocking. IS in their Caliphate imposed strict, brutal Sharia law which turned the heat into non Sunni and the minorities in the region. The non sunni and other religious minorities were told to convert or pay taxes. The third option was to be shot dead or beheaded. Secondly another source of funding was from the illegal supply of Oil from the captured territory to other cities, neighboring Iraqi middleman and even to the Assad government itself. Thirdly the money that came from extortion, kidnappings, looting of banks and selling minority women as slaves. Infact IS principles were so dreaded and brutal, that even Al Qaeda decided to make part with it. Assad army and Hezbollah now faces a new kind of conventional army which mastered the online recruitments of Jihadis from various far flung countries. IS uses extensive social media platforms to advertise their brand and skills in live war apart from advertising their propaganda and executions. This inspired new eligible recruits to be motivated. By some, it is estimated that IS has a strength of 30000 to 40000 fighters. They were immensly successful in capturing key military bases from Assad Army in many cities by outnumbering them. They were now in possession of Assad weapons, tanks and artilleries, honing their skills, harnessing their power and brutal belief system. They grow by each day and the rest of the world can just see them growing. They are in control of many parts of porus borders between Syria and Turkey and fought a demonic suicidal war with Syrian kurds recently in the town of Kobane for the control of main highway checkpoint with Turkey. They poses now a great danger to their own countries if they were return to someday and ignite their terror policies. Afterall they are battle hardened Islamic militants who were biased to do anything they think of, is a infidel. They were little known, less funded rebel group at the begining of the war but now times changed in 4 years of Syrian Civil War which sees no end in near approaching time. For me and many alike, it would not be wrong to say that it is the rise of ferocious Islamic State (IS) rather than never ending ongoing Syrian Civil War.
Note: War never changes anything. But only bring Chaos.
The battle was getting propelled upon the arrival of Hezbollah utilizing its military experience to crush the rivals. There was no way that united rivals could stand against mighty air power of Assad and Hezbollah's experience. The defeat was unanimously sure for the rivals until that fear of defeat divided the rivals into various moderate and hardline Islamic factions giving birth to Free Syrian Army (moderate); whose fighters were defected soldiers from Assad's forces, Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra and another ferocious brutal Al Qaeda offshoot called as ISIL or ISIS later commonly known as IS (Islamic State) whose purpose was to carve out a oil rich region and form a Caliphate. Most of analysts believe that IS was gradually transformed from the Al Qaeda in Iraq in the course of time during US intervention in Iraq. Very little is known about its mysterious leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, who was once detained in Guantanamo before being freed later.
This rivals were turned into rebels fighting both Assad Army and each other's faction. The street fighting incited into a full fledged war. Caught in the middle of that were innocent civilians and humanitarian workers which can be sermoned as a collateral damage. Tens of hundred died or killed everyday in middle of the firefight and the violence now roaring to a new level. Winning the war or defeating any faction seems unconclusive in a war like this. With war boiling all around, hopeless and crushed civilians started their first exodus to neighboring countries like Lebnon, Turkey and Jordan. It was shocking to me to find out a refugee camp in Jordan called Zatari camp run by UN which later became the largest and populous refugee camp in the world accomodating millions of Syrian civilians. The once prospered, multi cultured, vibrant Syria was in its ruins with many historical heritage sites levelled to the ground in barrel bombing.
Many moderate rebels turned their eye to West and US for their support or intervention, but all turned vain thought Obama and Western leaders Merkel, Hollande and Cameron wanted Assad to step down. Looking down to regional support were Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and UAE. But the war by then spread into a religious war among Alawaites, a commonly Shia sect and Sunnis. An outside interference would only be ethical now as all regional opponent were Sunnis. Rather giving benefit of doubt to moderate rebels group, they chose to arm the hardliners Islamic militants which had already started to recruit foreign fighters from other countries like Chechyna, France, Africa etc, but denying the fact of arming them commonly in media. The war became a trickster game now which includes dirty politics, occupation, Oil and power. Assad army now face multiple enemies and factions and it is now quite forseeable to find that all of his Syria were not under his control anymore. He however was able to retain Damascus and port city Latakia but Aleppo, Homs, Dara and Raqqa saw severe fihhting and bombings, so severe that neither sides were used to rest at night.
It was always a tug of war, when we heard the condemnable incident of Chemical attack on the suburbs of Damascus, Ghouta which rumuored to have killed thousands of civilians. No side took any admittance rather making allegations on each other. That however angered the UN and US which ordered a multi national effort to destroy all chemical weapons from Syria, which Assad agreed owing to pressure from International powers. The war however never talked of any stoppage time or ceasefire except in 2014, in its 4th year, rebels n government forces agreed to call ceasefire and vacate Homs once for all upon a truce signed by UN. However the war was still brewing in other politically important cities and moderate rebels were helpless now fighting both Assad army and Islamic militants like IS and Al Nusra.
By 2014, IS was declared as the wealthiest terrorist organization, head quartered in Raqqa and forming a caliphate. To a very few, it strike their mind that IS would now be called the most dreaded, brutal terrorist organization in the world inspiring many other terrorist organization around the world to support the Caliphate and its mysteriou leader Baghdadi. To most of the war analysts in Middle East, it was quite obvious that How come a terrorist organization like IS be the wealthiest. One undeniable fact was the funding received from wealthy Sheikhs in Qatar, SA, UAE who are Sunni muslims. The othe sources of funding were obvious too but revealations were shocking. IS in their Caliphate imposed strict, brutal Sharia law which turned the heat into non Sunni and the minorities in the region. The non sunni and other religious minorities were told to convert or pay taxes. The third option was to be shot dead or beheaded. Secondly another source of funding was from the illegal supply of Oil from the captured territory to other cities, neighboring Iraqi middleman and even to the Assad government itself. Thirdly the money that came from extortion, kidnappings, looting of banks and selling minority women as slaves. Infact IS principles were so dreaded and brutal, that even Al Qaeda decided to make part with it. Assad army and Hezbollah now faces a new kind of conventional army which mastered the online recruitments of Jihadis from various far flung countries. IS uses extensive social media platforms to advertise their brand and skills in live war apart from advertising their propaganda and executions. This inspired new eligible recruits to be motivated. By some, it is estimated that IS has a strength of 30000 to 40000 fighters. They were immensly successful in capturing key military bases from Assad Army in many cities by outnumbering them. They were now in possession of Assad weapons, tanks and artilleries, honing their skills, harnessing their power and brutal belief system. They grow by each day and the rest of the world can just see them growing. They are in control of many parts of porus borders between Syria and Turkey and fought a demonic suicidal war with Syrian kurds recently in the town of Kobane for the control of main highway checkpoint with Turkey. They poses now a great danger to their own countries if they were return to someday and ignite their terror policies. Afterall they are battle hardened Islamic militants who were biased to do anything they think of, is a infidel. They were little known, less funded rebel group at the begining of the war but now times changed in 4 years of Syrian Civil War which sees no end in near approaching time. For me and many alike, it would not be wrong to say that it is the rise of ferocious Islamic State (IS) rather than never ending ongoing Syrian Civil War.
Note: War never changes anything. But only bring Chaos.
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