Syria's White Helmets are sounding the alarm. In light of ongoing UN-led peace talks, the civil protection organization is calling for increased civilian safeguards and more international pressure on the Assad regime.
Image: Reuters/S. Kitaz
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"Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and crowded areas, as well as medical centers, are being shelled daily," Raed Al Saleh, head of the Syria Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, told DW. The heaviest damage is being inflicted upon areas where the White Helmets are most active, with the goal, according to Saleh, of killing as many people as possible and hindering the work of those seeking to help.
In September 2016 the White Helmets were honored with the Right Livelihood Award, often erroneously referred to as The Alternative Nobel Prize, for their work in rescuing civilians caught up in the Syrian civil war. Saleh has no expectation that peace talks in Geneva will improve the situation.
"For years and years the White Helmets have been calling for a stop to military operations and for a solution that could save civilian lives," he said. Instead, Saleh believes what is happening is actually the opposite: "The Syrian government is far from moving toward a solution. It is still practicing the policy of submit or starve."
Saleh and the White Helmets were awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2016Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Sandberg
Children going hungry
Children in Syria's East Ghouta region, for instance, are suffering through the country's worst hunger crisis since the civil war began in 2011, according to the United Nations. On Wednesday, the UN children's aid organization UNICEF announced that 11.9 percent of all children under the age of five in the region were suffering from acute malnutrition. In January of this year the number of malnourished children in the rebel stronghold, which has been under siege from government troops since 2013, was 2.1 percent.
UNICEF says that ongoing fighting, lack of aid deliveries and skyrocketing food prices are to blame for the dramatic worsening of the situation. A recent report found that roughly one-third of all children in the area are also suffering from stunted growth as a result, thus increasing the likelihood of disease and premature death. Some 400,000 people are living under siege in the region, located on the eastern edge of Damascus, half of them children.
Pressure from international community
Saleh has called on the international community to act in order to avert a humanitarian crisis. "It is urgent that pressure be put on those besieging civilians," he said. "They must open humanitarian corridors and allow medical evacuations in critical cases."
He also asked for more international support for the work done by the White Helmets. Additional training and equipment for volunteers, he said, would help save lives and increase his teams' effectiveness in conflict zones. Saleh added, however, that "under current circumstances no support will ever be enough. We are living under inhuman conditions."
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
