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Aaron Ventresca
Mr. Sebestyen
Honors World Regional Geography
11/1/16
Suppressed Syrian Rebellion
Part One:
The Middle East continues to be a highly volatile region of the world, in which

militaristic violence and mass destruction has proved a routine occurrence. As of recent times,

the Arab Spring movement has contributed to this instability, making Syria a targeted locale. The

continuous protests against autocratic governments has moved from the original area of Tunisia

to Syria and surrounding nations. As of late, Russian forces have bombed this area to prevent

further uprising against the government already in place. Just recently, Russia agreed to a

ceasefire with the Syrian people to allow United Nations (U.N.) and foreign aid to relieve the

situation.

Agence France-Presse, the author of my breaking news article, details how Western

nations are accusing Russia’s bombing of Aleppo as a war crime. Currently, Russian forces are

combining military efforts with the U.N. in this ceasefire to avoid accusation. Dmitry Peskov, a

renown Kremlin spokesperson, praised the ceasefire as a “manifestation of goodwill” and

publicly refused that it was implemented so that Western nations would avoid accusing Russia of

committing war crimes in the town of Aleppo. Peskov continued, “This is an obvious

continuation of Russian efforts, on the one hand, to fight terrorists in Syria, and on the other, to

unblock the situation in Aleppo” (Peskov). Even though the raids occurring in the Eastern

portion of Aleppo halted, bombing continued to occur until the ceasefire was issued on October

18, 2016.
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Now that the violence has stopped for a short period, certain details have been acquired to

assist in proving that Russia is accusable of a war crime against Syria. Over 250,000 people were

under sieged in Aleppo, which once was a commercial hub of Syria. The ceasefire also was

passed just a short time after a Russian bomber annihilated Aleppo’s rebel districts, killing a

married couple and three children. Further, another 12 family members were killed in a strike

that occurred on Monday, October 17. These acts of violence, in addition to the many other

terroristic crises occurring, have dismantled essentially all Syrian infrastructure. The violence has

torn apart roads, hospitals, and is considered the worst Syrian crises since March of 2011.

While the European Union (E.U.) and U.N. are attempting to resolve the situation and

accuse Russia of committing war crimes, recent discussions suggest that these bombings proved

essential is targeting uprising terrorist groups in Syria. After numerous meetings, the E.U.

decided that, “The deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential

infrastructure, as well as the use of barrel bombs, cluster bombs, and chemical weapons,

constitute a catastrophic escalation of the conflict... and may amount to war crimes” (E.U.).

While the E.U. seeks to bring Russian militaristic forces to justice, Russian defense minister

Sergei Shoigu thinks otherwise. He dictated how the ceasefire could “[…] contribute to the

success […],” (Shoigu) of international military talks. He claims that Russia must find a way to

separate Syrian rebels from the jihadist group Fateh al-Sham Front, now known as al-Nursa

Front.

In all, Agence France-Presse notes how the Russian ceasefire with Aleppo has

contributed to numerous international developments. While the E.U. and U.N. seek to bring

Russia to justice, Russians hold steadfast to the fact that they are fighting the terrorist movement

in Syria in addition to the spread of Arab Spring.

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Part Two:
Agence France-Presse’s article, mentioned above, serves as excellent supplementary

material to the Honors World Regional Geography course in which I am currently enrolled. In

class, students have been specifically studying the Middle East. The aforementioned article

depicts major topics covered in class, including terrorist groups, previous ethnic ties, and the

Arab Spring.

When learning about the Middle East, students note the various terrorist and rebel

movements currently occurring as a result of the Sykes-Picot agreement signed by Britain and

France in earlier times. These poorly drawn borders gave rise to religious extremists who hope to

take control of Middle Eastern land. These groups, often of Islamic origin, seek to justify their

use of violence through religion. In the Middle East, many terrorist groups are wreaking havoc

upon innocent civilians. These groups include al-Nursa Front, al-Qaeda, and ISIS (ISIL). The

article above shows how Russia attempts to combat these enemy forces, but often kills innocent

civilians in the process. During the Aleppo ceasefire, Russia plans to meet with other nations to

discuss ways to fight terrorism and avoid injuring the innocent in the process.

In class, students also study why the Middle East has become violent over time. The main

cause of this is the Sykes-Picot Accord. The Sykes-Picot Accord was signed in 1916 by Britain

and France dividing up conquered Middle Eastern territory. A mere line was simply drawn to

divide the available area. No ethnic, or religious group locales were taken into account when

dividing up Middle Eastern land. When the Middle East was eventually liberated from European

imperialism, the borders drawn grouped enemies together. These enemy groups have fought and
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continue to fight in the modern day. As the article states, Syria is highly unstable, largely in part

due to the mixed ethnic and religious groups living in the same country.

Further, students have specifically gained an understanding of the Arab Spring

movement. The Arab Spring movement originally began in 2010 in Tunisia as a protest against

the autocratic government. In Tunisia, the protest was successful; other countries followed suit.

This movement spread to Libya and Egypt, where the movement continued to succeed. The Arab

Spring protests continue to move Eastward, eventually into Syria. Russia, against the Arab

Spring movement, originally began bombing the commercial city of Aleppo in hopes to prevent

the movement from growing. As of now, the Russian bombings have proved successful, as E.U.

and U.N. aid are in great demand.

In sum, France-Presse’s article greatly relates to the material currently being covered in

my Honors World Regional Geography course. The article depicts how terrorism and the Arab

Spring continue to haunt the Middle East as a result of poorly drawn borders.

Part Three:
Personally, I find the material presented in France-Presse’s new correspondence to be

quite refreshing. The United States is afraid to combat terrorists with military force in fear of

killing innocent civilians. Russia, conversely, realizes the extreme threat terrorists pose to the

world and bomb entire cities to annihilate terrorism. It proves important to praise the fearlessness

of the Russian government in taking such a bold and strong stance on fighting terrorism, though

many innocent people died in the bombings. Though I support Russia’s audacious stance on

terrorism, I feel sorrow in the loss of civilians, three being children. I mourn the loss of innocent

people as a side-effect of war, even as Russia takes such a provocative stance on abolishing

terrorism.
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In all, France-Presse does an excellent job of detailing the Russian ceasefire in the city of

Aleppo. His descriptions and direct quotes from E.U. and Russian officials add to the richness of

the report. The material presented also closely connects to my studies, and evokes an emotional

reaction. I mourn the loss of innocent civilians in the Aleppo bombings, though it is refreshing to

see Russia take such a bold stance against terrorism.

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Works Cited

France-Presse, Agence. Russia Announces Pause in Aleppo Bombing as 'Goodwill' Gesture. The

Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group Limited, 18 Oct. 2016,

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/18/russia-announces-pause-in-aleppo-bombing-as-

goodwill-gesture/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2016.