The continuous deterioration of the situation in Syria calls for urgent action from the world community. It is obvious that the conflict has reached a stalemate and that the matter no longer is a priority for world leaders. Such a situation cannot continue as it means that there will be no end to the bloodshed.
Following the visit of UN and Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to Syria, there is not much hope that could be pinned with regards to the resolution of the conflict. Brahimi met Syrian President Bashar Al Assad as well as internal opposition groups to discuss the best means of moving forward and finding a way out of the current deadlock.
“The situation in Syria is still worrying and we hope that all the parties will go towards the solution that the Syrian people are hoping for and look forward to,” Brahimi said.
The ground reality reflects a pessimistic outlook. The intensity of the violence has not eased. As a matter of fact, heavy artillery has been used in dense neighbourhoods, which has left massive destruction and a high number of casualties.
In addition, the civilian death toll has been on the rise as many fall victim to the merciless fighting between the regime’s forces and the armed opposition.
On the international front, not much has changed in terms of positions of world powers on the matter. The strong supporters of the Syrian regime — Russia and China — remain fully behind it. Yet what is alarming are the statements by senior Russian officials that Al Assad will not step down or relieve his powers even if they asked him to follow this route.
This does not leave much option for the future of Syria. The future is looking bleak. The continuation of such a situation means only one thing in this bloody conflict — that there will be no winners but many losers.
