The Syrian civil war has lowered life expectancy in the country by as much as 20 years, according to a new study in the Lancet Global Health journal, with almost one-in-five of those killed between 2011 and 2016 being children.
“Aerial bombing and shelling rapidly became primary causes of direct deaths of women and children and had disproportionate lethal effects on civilians,” the authors write, noting that almost three-quarters of those killed were civilians. “Increased reliance on aerial bombing by the Syrian Government and international partners is likely to have contributed to findings that children were killed in increasing proportions over time, ultimately comprising a quarter of civilian deaths in 2016.
“The inordinate proportion of civilians among the executed is consistent with deliberate tactics to terrorize civilians. Deaths from barrel bombs were overwhelmingly civilian rather than opposition combatants, suggesting indiscriminate or targeted warfare contrary to international humanitarian law and possibly constituting a war crime.”
Putin’s ironic victory lap. Russian President Vladimir Putin has this week been on what amounts to a victory lap of Syria and the Middle East, The Guardian editorializes. But Russia’s announcement that it is withdrawing troops “must be taken with a barrel of salt.”
“Similar pledges have been made before and remain unfulfilled. On Tuesday a Kremlin spokesperson said Russia would retain a sizable force in Syria to fight ‘terrorists.’ Russia’s definition of ‘terrorism’ in Syria is like that of the Assad regime, which equates it to political opposition.”
Meanwhile, “[i]t is no small irony that Mr Putin has claimed victory over Islamic State: the bluster does little to hide the fact that his forces focused much more on targeting the anti-Assad opposition than they did the jihadi insurgency.”
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“Aerial bombing and shelling rapidly became primary causes of direct deaths of women and children and had disproportionate lethal effects on civilians,” the authors write, noting that almost three-quarters of those killed were civilians. “Increased reliance on aerial bombing by the Syrian Government and international partners is likely to have contributed to findings that children were killed in increasing proportions over time, ultimately comprising a quarter of civilian deaths in 2016.
“The inordinate proportion of civilians among the executed is consistent with deliberate tactics to terrorize civilians. Deaths from barrel bombs were overwhelmingly civilian rather than opposition combatants, suggesting indiscriminate or targeted warfare contrary to international humanitarian law and possibly constituting a war crime.”
Putin’s ironic victory lap. Russian President Vladimir Putin has this week been on what amounts to a victory lap of Syria and the Middle East, The Guardian editorializes. But Russia’s announcement that it is withdrawing troops “must be taken with a barrel of salt.”
“Similar pledges have been made before and remain unfulfilled. On Tuesday a Kremlin spokesperson said Russia would retain a sizable force in Syria to fight ‘terrorists.’ Russia’s definition of ‘terrorism’ in Syria is like that of the Assad regime, which equates it to political opposition.”
Meanwhile, “[i]t is no small irony that Mr Putin has claimed victory over Islamic State: the bluster does little to hide the fact that his forces focused much more on targeting the anti-Assad opposition than they did the jihadi insurgency.”
Back to Geopolitics
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