The European Union called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib province. It said Russia, Turkey, Iran and the Syrian government must protect civilians under siege. Its statement is indicative of an EU expecting more Syrian refugees to flood the continent. If either Russia or Turkey decide to use the Syrian refugees to advance opposing agendas.
In the past, Russia weaponized the Syrian refugees to empower the far-right political parties in the EU. Putin played on anti-refugees’ sentiments on the continent to advance his own agenda to control EU policies.
At least 180,000 people have fled an surge in violence in the province in northwest Syria, the last major stronghold of rebels who have fought against Assad’s government since 2011. Government bombing has killed hundreds in the past three weeks. The Assad forces used chemical weapons to flush out the militants hiding among the civilians, which led to the suffering of women and children.
The EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini and its humanitarian aid chief Christos Stylianides said a statement:
We expect the Syrian regime and the Astana guarantors to fulfill immediately their responsibilities and commitments, and ensure the immediate protection of civilians.
The statement referred to peace efforts the EU believes where the solution to the Syrian Revolution lies.
Indiscriminate attacks on women and children and other civilians, their displacement, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure cannot be justified under any circumstances.
THE DEAF EARS OF VIOLENT MEN
However, the good-intentioned statement by the powerful EU falls on deaf ears. The death and destruction Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime are causing is unprecedented. The civilized world is unable to persuade the trio to behave in a civil manner.
The region, home to an estimated 3 million people, including many who fled other parts of Syria as government forces advanced in recent years, has been partly shielded by a truce agreement since last year, brokered by Russia and Turkey. Much of the recent fighting has hit a buffer zone agreed under that deal.
Reuters contributed to this article.
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