In Syria

The story of the current civil war in Syria is an amazing story and tragic to the point where you can’t bear to look at it directly.

This BBC article summarizes it as well as I’ve seen it summarized. It’s called “Syria: The Story of the Conflict.”

It’s like this: In 2011, the Syrian people tried overthrowing their government as part of that whole Arab Spring thing. 90,000 of them died for it. Now, they’re trapped between Russia, Turkey, anti-government forces dominated by ISIS, and the Syrian government (which uses starvation methods and chemical weapons against them).

A quarter million are dead, maybe more. Eleven million have been displaced.  

“A UN commission of inquiry has evidence that all parties to the conflict have committed war crimes - including murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearances. They have also been accused of using civilian suffering - such as blocking access to food, water and health services through sieges - as a method of war.

“The UN Security Council has demanded all parties end the indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas, but civilians continue to die in their thousands. Many have been killed by barrel bombs dropped by government aircraft on gatherings in rebel-held areas - attacks which the UN says may constitute massacres. IS has also been accused by the UN of waging a campaign of terror.”