On Tuesday, Assad's government bombarded the rebel-controlled suburb of eastern Ghouta, near
Damascus, with airstrikes. They killed more than 200 people, including civilian families and
children. Residents of this area believe civilians were targeted, as Ghouta is besieged and the
government has not allowed civilians to leave.
However, the government argues that there aren't many civilians in this Damascus suburb and
terrorist organizations which endanger Syrians reside there.
The UN wants to stop these attacks to defend the human rights of civilians.
Turkey has gotten involved by bombarding Afrin to give Syrian refugees in Turkey a safe place
in Syria to return to. Pro-government forces have rushed to assist Kurdish militias in keeping
Turkey out.
in Syria to return to. Pro-government forces have rushed to assist Kurdish militias in keeping
Turkey out.
Questions:
- How will Assad's assistance to the Kurds increase military engagements with other countries, if at all?
- Do you believe Assad's government is justified in the attack on eastern Ghouta? Why or why not?
- Should the UN get involved in the name of human rights?
I feel this situation is dealing with several different elements. First being the attack itself. The violence that the government in Syria continues to use is devastating to the country. There shouldn't be an excuse to have an attack in state. Another issue is Assad's relations with the Kurds. Alone this isn't a problem but when it is pared with weapons and that fact that the Kurdish people are fighting for a homeland there is a possibility that it sparks more violence in neighboring nations. The third issue is human rights. We know that the people of Syria are hurting and continues to flee the country as refugees, many not given the medical attention that they need. If the UN or even the US were to do something about human rights they would need to start with the refugees and focus on a way to keep people safe in Syria.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe that the assistance from pro-Assad government groups to help the Kurdish forces will do much, if anything, to increase the conflict from other countries because I think this added fighting will just get lost in and wrote off as just fighting between the Kurdish and Turkey, which has been going on for years now. And, while I do think that nations should have the right to deal with internal matters in their own manner, that is only to a degree, and in the case of Assad’s government, I don’t think they can be trusted to deal with it in an appropriate way. In the past, according to a New York Times article titled, Assad’s History of Chemical Attacks, and Other Atrocities, it is stated that over 1,100 Syrians have been killed in chemical weapon and gas attacks, so the claim that Assad targeted and killed over 200 civilians in Ghouta doesn’t seem unreasonable. This action by the government shouldn’t be allowed to happen and the UN and other countries should definitely step in for the sake of human rights, or they should do more to prevent the horrible actions by Assad’s government. According to the same New York Times article, Assad’s government has attacked over 300 hospitals, which is just not okay. Other more powerful countries should do more to more effectively end Assad’s violence, but I also don’t think that the US should send troops or be directly involved in the conflict given its past fails in involving themselves in the Middle East. Instead, I think that the US and other European countries should fund Middle Eastern countries to have them intervene in the conflict in Syria.
ReplyDeleteI think Assad's attack on Ghouta was not justified. Although they claim that there aren't that many civilians there, it killed more than 200 people including families and civilians. They could have used the excuse that there were terrorists there to bombard civilians in Damascus. As for the UN, I think they could have an impact on trying to preserve human rights against Assad's government by trying to negotiate it out, as the Syrian Civil War has pulled in many countries in the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteI believe the attack on Ghouta is definitely not justified. Attacking a suburb with airstrikes does caused damage and deaths. Getting more countries involved will only make the situation worse because there will be more relationships, leading to more conflicts, which will eventually lead to ore damage and deaths. Over 200 were killed from this one incident.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the attack on suburbs is unacceptable, Assad's desire to cling on to power has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, which this is just another example of. As brianna said, the killing of more than two hundred people, many of them civilians, cannot be tolerated and terrorists are not confirmed.
ReplyDeleteAssad's attack on Ghouta is completely unjustified because the government attacked civilians and infrastructure. Although the government claims that there are only a few civilians in Ghouta, they also say that "those who remain are being held as human shields," which is immoral in its own right. Earlier this month, the UN ordered a cease fire, saying Syria faced an extreme humanitarian crisis; however the Syrian government ignored this and continued fighting. Despite this, I think the UN should get involved in order to help the civilians trapped in Ghouta.
ReplyDeleteIncidents like this makes the people's lives in Syria worse. Syria is facing a civil war, but event like these tend to endanger civilian lives. Assad's government attack on Ghouta was not justified. Even if there were not that many citizens living there, it killed more than 200 people which included families. Yes, there could be a terrorist threat, but killing that many people just because they believe that other people could be a threat is unjustified. I also believe that the UN should step in and fight for the human rights of the Syrian people. A lot of the victims were totally innocent and they lost their lives because they were believed to be in a less populated area with terrorist oganizations
ReplyDeleteGoing with others' opinions, Assad's decision to attack 200 civilians within three days in a country where a regime has oppressed civilians and kept them from leaving is simply an unfair and immoral decision. The government's attempt to step in and deny humanitarian organizations such as the UN from coming in and providing assistance also does not help the situation. Lack of humanitarian aid, if any, has limited the population's food supply and increased food prices. Additionally, the government had recently allegedly announced that they have begun reinforcements for a possible second attack; they have not learned their lesson. Therefore, despite the immense strength needed to stop Assad's regime from committing more violence, large organizations such as the UN must continue to persist in the name of human rights. If large and experienced peace organizations such as the UN can step in repeatedly, eventually the Syrian government would learn their morals and stop committing violence. Support from other governments is critical as well, and violence intended to end violence, such as Trump's attempt to attack Assad's regime after their attack on the Ghouta civilians, is also necessary at this point.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/20/17032640/assad-syria-bombings
Like other comments have mentioned, Assad's action is not justified and the UN should get human rights involved. Not only were there civilians that died, most were children. They are innocent and should not be targeted. The attack was ranked as the "deadliest in there in three years" as there have been other regular attacks but the Assad government should be stopped. Residents of Ghouta should not feel unsafe and be able to life their lives regularly.
ReplyDelete