Syria: A Bitter Aftertaste
23rd July 2019
While the Assad government has regained control of more than 70 percent of Syrian territory, they only have about half of the pre-war population (23 million). About 20 percent of that population fled the country, often deliberately encouraged by Syrian and Russian airstrikes and liberal use of artillery on residential areas. About two percent of the population has died in the fighting. About 11 percent of the population is in the Kurdish controlled northeast while 14 percent are in rebel controlled Idlib and nearby Turkish controlled areas in the northwest. Most of those in Idlib are anti-Assad Sunni Arabs and a few percent of those are armed rebels. Assad does not want these Syrian Sunni Arabs, but no one else does either. The Kurds are also armed and the best Syrian fighters in Syria. Plus the Kurds have American military support. The Kurds are willing to rejoin Syria as an autonomous Kurdish region similar to the deal the Iraqi Kurds have had since the early 1990s. Assad is inclined to accept that but Turkey, Iran and Iraq are not. In short, putting Syria back together again may be a work-in-progress for some time to come.