It is evident that the continuing crisis in Syria is not to be resolved soon. The reason is not merely that the US and Russia are in opposite camps, the US supporting the rebels and Russia doing business with Bashar al-Assad’s government. The resources of the two sides seem equally matched. Government troops and tanks swept into a town called Daraya near Damascus. Artillery and helicopters attacked the Sunni Muslim town for 24 hours, killing 15 people and wounding 150. Soldiers moved in and raided houses. There was little resistance as armed rebels had evacuated the town. The army is also bombarding the town from a mountain overlooking Damascus. Assad’s troops also raided the southeastern Kafr Sousch area and detained people. 60 people including 45 civilians were killed. It appears that Assad wishes to keep control over Damascus and Aleppo with punitive military raids and summary killings.
International diplomacy has failed to curb the conflict in Syria. According to the UN, the civil war has cost over 18,000 lives since March 2011. But the UN Security Council could not step in because Russia and China vetoed the resolution. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan tried to resolve the crisis with his trouble-shooting initiative but that failed to cut any ice. The trouble is that the Assad regime is still strong despite defections. On the other hand, the US is against President Assad because of his opposition to Israel. The rebels are backed by other Western and Gulf Arab states as well. Unless the conflict is brought to an end shortly, the ripples will spread to Jordan and the surrounding Arab countries.