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Abby Egly
Mr. Phillips
English III
3 May 2018
On March 15, 2018 the civil war in Syria entered its eighth year. Since the civil war
started, more than 465,000 Syrians have been killed and more than 12 million people have been
displaced from their homes. The Syrian civil war is being fought by two groups of people, those
who support the government and those who oppose the government. The government of Syria
under President Bashar al-Assad controls the Syrian military, and while a number of countries
support Syria, Russia is by far Assad’s key supporter. The rebel groups of Syria are led by those
opposing the Syrian government, and as a result, innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire
and have paid the heaviest price. Eastern Ghouta is important to Assad because it is the last
major rebel stronghold left in Syria, and it is only 10 km from his Presidential Palace. The
civilian situation in Syria is presently critical, with civilian facilities being targeted on a daily
basis. Men, women, and children are living in a literal hell on earth, and this research paper does
not begin to scratch the surface of what is happening in eastern Ghouta. In Syria, many people
are dying from chemical and conventional weapon attacks, and without the support from Russia,
Assad’s military would be limited in their campaign to take back eastern Ghouta from the rebels.
With the help of Russia, Assad is working to systematically destroy all civilian life in
eastern Ghouta and will stop at nothing to do so even if it means committing war crimes. What
exactly is Russia’s involvement in Syria? First, under the Russian constitution, the Russian
parliament must give consent to allow the Putin to use military force. On September 29, 2015, in
a unanimous vote, the parliament voted to allow President Putin, at the request of Syrian
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President Assad, to fight terrorism in Syria using the Russian Military (“Russian Parliament”).
This means that Russia provides troops, jets, weapons and munitions to fight in Syria, but more
importantly, it also means that Assad identifies the targets for Russia to eliminate. Finally,
Russia uses their permanent United Nations “veto power” to block any resolutions that would
hinder Assad’s progress. According to Masi and Osseiran for the News Deeply website, the
United Nations Security Council held an emergency session on February 22, 2017 to request a
30-day ceasefire resolution after a week-long airstrike campaign in eastern Ghouta. The ceasefire
resolution was to allow humanitarian aid in and allow for the evacuation of the critically
wounded. Russia vetoed this resolution and in fact it was the eleventh time Russia had vetoed a
resolution on Syria. It is clear that Assad is the beneficiary of Russia’s veto power.
There is no doubt that Russia is involved in Syria’s civil war, but why would they want to
be involved in the first place? Russia’s interests in Syria fall into three categories: military,
political, and economic. From a military standpoint, Russia gets both an air base and naval base
strategically located in the Mediterranean. These are the only military bases that Russia has in
the Mediterranean, so it is important for Assad to stay in power. Another military advantage for
Russia is that Syria is a key military ally in the Middle East. By having Syria as an ally, Russia is
also able to form close ties with Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. From a political standpoint, Putin’s
support is stronger at home because Russia is working with Syria, and he also gets credit for
leading the fight against ISIS in Syria. From an economic standpoint, Russia is one of the
world’s biggest producers of hi-tech weaponry, and they stand to make a lot of money by selling
weapons and jets to Syria (Chance). While Russia benefits from their relationship with Syria,
Syria also benefits because instead of focusing on weapons, which are provided by Russia. Assad
can now focus on his strategy of taking back his country from the rebels.
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Assad’s strategy of taking back Syria from the rebels follows a clear pattern of isolating
rebel held areas and destroying everything in those areas. According to Jennifer Cafarella, a
Syria expert at the Institute for the Study of War, Assad uses the strategy of “siege, starve, and
surrender” in his attempt to “recapture every square inch of Syrian territory” (qtd. in Ward). This
strategy worked in the city of Aleppo, and now Assad has set his sights on eastern Ghouta. In
2011, after anti-government protests broke out in Syria, eastern Ghouta became a stronghold for
rebel opposition fighters. Threatened by the opposition fighters in eastern Ghouta, Assad
imposed a siege on this region in 2013 (“Eastern Ghouta”). A siege on the eastern Ghouta region
means that the Syrian army surrounds the region and controls everything that goes into or comes
out of that region. According to Lizzie Porter with Al Jazeera News, “Eastern Ghouta, once
renowned for its fertile soils and rich agricultural production, has been surrounded by Syrian
government forces for four years. Once-abundant food supplies have dwindled, and medical
With eastern Ghouta being cut off by the siege, Assad began a campaign of
systematically attacking civilian life. “Assad’s forces destroy hospitals, schools, markets, and
even mosques, so it is nearly impossible for noncombatants to eat regular meals, receive medical
attention, or pray where they want” (Ward). In late October/early November 2017, Russian and
Syrian forces attacked a school complex in the village of Hass in Idlib. The school complex
contained a kindergarten, elementary school, two middle schools, and a high school; these aerial
attacks killed dozens of people, mostly school children. (“Russia/Syria:”) Despite eyewitness and
video accounts showing Russian SU-24 jets dropping bombs on the school complex, Russia
denies participating in these attacks (“Russia/Syria:”). On December 3, 2017, Russian and Syrian
jets attacked a market and residential housing in the town of Hamoriya (Al-Khalidi). On
February 18-21, 2018, Russian and Syrian jets attacked medical facilities throughout the eastern
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Ghouta region. The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations said that more than 20
medical facilities in East Ghouta had been damaged or destroyed (Masi and Osseiran). Doctors
Without Borders also reported that thirteen of their facilities had been completely destroyed
Violations Documentation Center, hospitals were being targeted differently. She also went on to
say that:
This is important to note because the Syrian regime is largely using unguided and
improvised bombs, but when it comes to hospitals and medical points, guided and
directed rockets are used. Also when a particular medical site is hit once, it is then
hit again when first responders arrive (qtd. in Masi and Osseiran).
It is a violation of international law to directly target schools and medical facilities, yet when
questioned about these violations Russia claims to be attacking military and terrorists facilities.
How can they make this claim when the only facilities being attacked are medical facilities with
As if all the targeting of schools, markets, and hospitals were not enough, finally we
come to the gas attacks in eastern Ghouta. Most people remember the most recent attack on April
8th, but so far in 2018, six chlorine attacks have taken place in eastern Ghouta. These gas attacks
have occurred on: January 13th and 22nd, February 1st and 25th, March 7th, and the latest on
April 8th. These attacks have taken place in Douma, Harasta, and al-Shefonia (“Syrian Forces”).
In every single instance, eyewitness accounts report helicopters flying overhead and dropping a
barrel into a heavily populated area; when the barrel hits the ground, a cloud of gas spreads out
over the area. In every case, medical organizations have reported symptoms and deaths
consistent with chlorine gas and other nerve agents. On January 23, 2018, Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson was speaking about the January 22nd chlorine attack in Syria and he said “Russia
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ultimately bears responsibility for the victims in Eastern Ghouta and countless other Syrians
targeted with chemical weapons since Russia became involved in Syria” (qtd. in Irish). Russia’s
ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, at a UN meeting on February 22, 2018 called what is
happening in eastern Ghouta ‘mass psychosis’ (qtd. in “Information War”). How is it possible
that with 465,000 dead and 12 million refugees the people of Syria imagined all of this?
There is no doubt that the relationship between Putin and Assad is mutually beneficial to
both Russia and Syria. To maintain their military bases in the Mediterranean, Russia needs the
conflict in Syria to be resolved in Assad’s favor. Putin also needs the conflict in Syria so he can
maintain a favorable political standing in his own country, and he needs the sale of weapons to
Syria to bolster Russia’s economy. In return, Assad needs Russia’s veto power before the United
Nations as international pressure is mounting for an end to the Syrian civil war. Assad also needs
the high-tech weapons and equipment that Russia provides so he can stop the rebellion in eastern
Ghouta. It is a shame that innocent civilians who have lost the most, and stand to lose the most in
Works Cited
AlJazeera. “Eastern Ghouta: What Happened and Why.” Syria News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 14
Al-Khalidi, Suleiman. “Syrian, Russian Jets Bomb Residential Areas in Eastern Ghouta:...”
Chance, Matthew. “Syria: 5 Things Russia Wants in War.” CNN, Cable News Network, 8 Feb.
“'Information War Technique': Russia's UN Envoy Slams 'Mass Psychosis' over Syria's Eastern
Irish, John. “U.S. Takes Aim at Russia after Suspected Syrian Government Gas Attack.”Reuters,
Masi, Alessandria, and Hashem Osseiran. “Syrian Conflict's Deadly Week in Eastern Ghouta.”
Porter, Lizzie. “Eastern Ghouta Siege: The Worst It Has Ever Been.” News | Al Jazeera, Al
“Russia/Syria: Satellite, Video Imagery Confirm School Attack.” Human Rights Watch, 8 June
“Syrian Forces Bombard Eastern Ghouta with Chemical Weapons for the Fourth Consecutive
Time since the Beginning of 2018.” Bellingcat, 15 Mar. 2018. Web. 30 Apr. 2018.
Ward, Alex. “‘Siege, Starve, and Surrender’: inside the next Phase of the Syrian Civil War.”