https://themilitant.com/2019/08/31/working-people-in-syria-face-growing-crisis-from-attacks-by-assad-regime/
Working people in Syria face growing crisis from attacks by Assad regime
By Brian Williams
Vol. 83/No. 33
September 9, 2019
Following months of airstrikes by the Syrian regime and its ally in
Moscow, the government of Bashar al-Assad has retaken some key areas in
Idlib province that have been under the control of opponents of his
dictatorial rule for the past five years. The bombardments exacerbated
the disastrous conditions for some 3 million people, many of whom had
fled government army assaults in other parts of Syria.
Conflicts are sharpening among the rival capitalist governments
intervening in Syria. The governments of Russia and Iran back the
efforts of Bashar al-Assad to reimpose his control over the country;
Turkish rulers have sent troops to intervene in northern Syria, backed
armed groups fighting Assad and sought to deal blows to Syrian Kurds
fighting for their national rights; and the Israeli rulers are stepping
up their airstrikes on bases that Tehran has established inside Syria.
Washington, with about 1,000 troops in northeastern Syria in areas
controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, seeks to defend its
imperialist interests and counter the Iranian government’s military
presence and political influence in the country.
Syrian government troops captured the strategic town of Khan Sheikhoun
and surrounding areas in Idlib Aug. 20. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a
reactionary Islamist group which had been administering the area since
January, fled after days of heavy fighting. Militias backed by the
Iranian rulers reinforced Moscow’s airstrikes on the area.
Khan Sheikhoun lies along the main road connecting Damascus and Aleppo,
two of Syria’s biggest cities under government control.
A “de-escalation” agreement between the governments of Iran, Russia and
Turkey over fighting in Idlib in 2017 permitted the establishment of
Turkish troops at 12 military outposts in and around the province aimed
at protecting opposition forces that the Turkish government backs. The
pact also demanded that all Islamist groups relinquish heavy arms and
leave the area. When they didn’t comply with the commands of Moscow and
Assad, the Russian government unleashed massive airstrikes in the area.
Syrian warplanes fired at a Turkish military post in the village of
Morek Aug. 22. Days earlier airstrikes had targeted a Turkish army
convoy, killing three civilians and wounding 12. In response, the
Turkish government sent additional armored vehicles and troops to its
outposts in Idlib, Anadolu Agency reported.
These attacks “could test the strength of military cooperation between
Turkey and Russia,” noted the Wall Street Journal. The Turkish
government recently began receiving S-400 antiaircraft missile equipment
from Moscow, provoking the ire of Washington, its NATO “ally.”
Since late April, airstrikes and rocket fire have killed more than 700
civilians in Idlib, according to the United Nations. Hundreds of others
have been wounded.
Over the past three months more than half a million people have fled
their homes, camping along roads, in olive groves and orchards near the
Turkish border. Many face dire conditions without tents or shelter from
the summer heat. Since 2016 the Turkish government has shut its border
to Syrian refugees trying to enter the country.
The eight-year-long civil war in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands
of people and displaced more than 10 million. It followed a powerful
uprising by working people who fought to overturn Assad’s repressive
rule in 2011. He crushed their rebellion, but different opposition
forces, including Islamist groups, took up arms and seized control of
large parts of the country.
Turkish gov’t targets Syrian refugees
During the civil war, some 3.6 million people from Syria have taken
refuge in Turkey. They are required to register in the Turkish province
where they reside. While many live in areas bordering Syria, hundreds of
thousands of others have moved to Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, in
search of work.
Turkish authorities have stepped up the arrest of Syrian immigrants
“during raids on homes or workplaces, as well as during ID checks in the
streets,” reported Al Jazeera. In Istanbul alone thousands have been
detained in recent weeks. The Turkish government demands the 350,000
Syrian immigrants living in Istanbul who are registered in other cities
must return there by Oct. 30.
It disputes claims by human rights groups that it is deporting Syrians
back to war-torn areas of the country, claiming that those who are
leaving Turkey do so “voluntarily.” However the “voluntary return
document,” that cops press refugees to sign is written in Turkish, a
language that many Syrians can’t read.
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In This Issue
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•Workers in Puerto Rico face crisis of colonial rule
•‘New York Times’ changes its ‘story,’ says race-baiting can topple Trump
•‘We need to organize workers to defend environment, safety’
•Florida prison officials lift ban on 5 issues of ‘Militant’ after protests
•Working people in Syria face growing crisis from attacks by Assad regime
Feature Articles •Gov’t to give pork bosses sole power over line speed
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•Israeli rulers bomb Tehran’s bases in Syria and Iraq
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Letters
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Clarence Darrow
“ I have always felt that doubt was the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of
God was the end of wisdom. ”
― Clarence Darrow,
