There’s a joke among Syrians now that every time a man fights with his wife, he’ll come and bomb Syria.
Will bombing Raqqa defeat Isis?
The answer is a resounding no.
There’s a joke among Syrians now that every time a man fights with his wife, he’ll come and bomb Syria. It’s a joke that translates into a real living hell for people on the ground. The US and its allies have already killed hundreds of civilians with their air strikes. Though it’s still nothing compared to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its key partner Russia.
The Assad regime this year killed seven times more civilians than Isis and is responsible for 95% of civilian deaths since the beginning of the conflict. Most of this regime killing is of anti-Isis communities who dare to resist Bashar al-Assad’s rule. These are the very people we need to defeat Isis. This carnage by Assad and Russia makes Isis stronger by the day.
These Syrian communities resisting the extremists are being decimated by the bombs. As people flee, the towns grow weaker. Then Isis fills the void, providing services and the promise of steady salaries to people, beefing up its recruitment.
Still, Syrians resist. Just last week in the town of Manbij, one resident was tortured to death for trying to keep Isis out. Other protesters were shot and killed.
Syria does need an intervention. Syria needs an intervention to help the people of Manbij, the people of Raqqa, Idlib, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor. Syria needs support to stop the regime’s bombs killing them and free them up to push out Isis themselves. A protest sign from Daraa last month said “Stop the bombs, and we will be strong enough to defeat all evil”.
To defeat Isis, we must protect the Syrian communities who want to drive them out.
Please use this tool to email your MP urgently. The UK needs to prioritise protection of civilians in Syria, enforced by a ‘no-bombing zone’ if necessary.
Forward this article to all your friends. The vote in Parliament could be as soon as Wednesday and MPs are making up their minds up right now.
READ MORE:
Who’s killing civilians in Syria: https://diary.thesyriacampaign.org/whats-happening-to-civilians-in-syria/
Survey: what are Syrian refugees fleeing from? https://diary.thesyriacampaign.org/what-refugees-think/
