Innocent Syrians caught in Assad’s murderous assault

After nine years of unrelenting civil war that already has cost at least 500,000 lives and has displaced more than 16 million people, it is hard to believe Syria could be confronting even greater misery. That, however, is the grim forecast of international aid agencies as the murderous Assad regime, aided and abetted by its Russian and Iranian patrons, prosecutes a savage onslaught against northwestern Idlib province, the last rebel-held enclave in Syria. In what the UN fears could become among the worst of the atrocities during the conflict, at least 900,000 people in Idlib — overwhelmingly women and children — have fled their homes since December. They’re trying to escape an unrelenting bombardment by the Assad regime’s killer barrel bombs and heavy artillery, deadly Russian missiles and Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist ground forces.

UN official David Swanson spoke of a catastrophe as hundreds of thousands of fleeing civilians herded into a diminishing area close to Syria’s border with Turkey ahead of the brutal advance by Assad loyalists. “We’re seeing an unparalleled exodus of humanity,” he said. Earlier, UN head of humanitarian affairs Mark Lowcock warned “the biggest humanitarian horror story of the 21st century” was unfolding, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire and demanded Turkey, Russia and Iran work together to find a political solution. It will be a tragedy if their pleas are ignored. The accounts of suffering and horrifying deprivation among those fleeing, which we reported on Thursday, is set to get worse, with the Assad forces rapidly closing in on the city of Idlib. Those among its terrified population of 900,000 who have not fled are preparing to swell the exodus towards the Turkish border.

With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rushing in troop reinforcements and armoured units to the border to create an “iron curtain” that will ensure no more Syrian refugees get across and join the 3.7 million already in Turkey, the plight of the fleeing Syrians is desperate. They are caught between what President Bashar al-Assad justifies as a drive to rid Idlib of formerly al-Qa’ida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the only rebel group still holding out against him achieving victory, and Turkish forces determined to block them crossing the border. With so many impoverished civilians caught in the crossfire, with neither food nor medicine, it would be hard to imagine a more challenging humanitarian crisis.

Yet Mr Assad, his savage onslaught buttressed by the unflinching support of Vladimir Putin and Iran’s ayatollahs, remains unmoved. No wonder former British foreign secretary David Miliband, head of the New York-based International Rescue Committee, spoke of the catastrophe as a symptom of the utter failure of diplomacy and the global community’s abandonment of Syria’s civilians after nine years of war. Even the EU, previously so concerned about their plight, appears anxious only to ensure there is no repetition of the wave of one million Syrian refugees that flooded across the Mediterranean between 2015 and 2016.

Donald Trump’s confused decision last year to pull most US troops out of Syria has left Washington with little effective influence. US special representative James Jeffrey said Washington was “very, very worried” about the “extremely dangerous conflict” in Idlib. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for a halt to the assault, but Mr Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien asked: “What are we supposed to do to stop them?” Given the staggering numbers of displaced people and the grim likelihood that it is about to get much worse, better than shoulder-shrugging leadership is needed from Washington and the international community. Western nations must unite to ensure the immediate ceasefire called for by Mr Guterres is achieved. Aid channels must be opened to alleviate the horrible plight of those fleeing the violence.

It is not good enough that such a ceasefire apparently has been put in the too-hard basket because of the inevitability of a Russian veto in the Security Council. Mr Putin and Iran’s ayatollahs deserve to be sanctioned for their complicity in Mr Assad’s crimes against humanity. How the Syrian crisis plays out is vital to the Middle East. On it depends the security of Israel and prospects of an Islamic State resurgence. As the civil war approaches its grim endgame, the West will pay a high price if it allows Russia and Iran to get away with the brutal tactics they are using to keep their liegeman in power in Damascus.