Civilians the first victims of the nine years of war in Syria

The war in Syria enters Sunday March 15 in its tenth year. After nine years of conflict, Bashar al-Assad's regime has managed to maintain itself at the head of a country with an exhausted population and a laminated economy. At the same time, powers foreign to divergent interests are playing muscle.

At least 384,000 people, including more than 116,000 civilians, died in the conflict, which started in March 2011 with bloody repression of pro-democracy protests, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

On the eve of the ninth anniversary of the war, the UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, deplored the duration and the "horrible" nature of the conflict, "proof of a collective failure of diplomacy".

Thanks to the support of the Russian and Iranian allies and at the cost of devastating bombings, the regime took over from 2015 the regions lost to the insurgents, and now controls more than 70% of the country.

Russia and Turkey begin patrols in Idleb province

The main war front today, in the Idleb region, the last great jihadist and rebel stronghold in the northwest, has enjoyed a precarious truce since the beginning of March, after several months of an offensive by the regime.

Under the ceasefire, joint patrols between Russia and Turkey, which supports rebel groups, began on Sunday in Idleb. Russian armored vehicles and military police left Tronba, in the province of Idleb, to travel the strategic M4 route, as planned by an agreement signed on Friday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deplored this week "a decade of fighting that has brought only ruins and misery". "Civilians are paying the highest price," he said in a tweet.

11 million IDPs and refugees

It was in Deraa, to the south, that the spark of revolt left in 2011: teenagers, inspired by the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, had written anti-Assad slogans on the walls of their school.

The demonstrations have spread to the big cities. With the crackdown, rebel factions have emerged. The conflict became even more complex with the rise of the jihadists, in particular the Islamic State group, and the intervention of foreign powers.

. @ GeirOPedersen: The Syrian conflict is now entering its tenth year. The suffering of the Syrian people during this tragic & terrible decade still defies comprehension & belief ... Human rights abuses, crimes, destruction & destitution have taken place on a monumental scale.

The war caused the exodus of more than 11 million people, displaced and refugees, sometimes crowding at the gates of Europe. "Hundreds of thousands of people have been arrested, kidnapped or missing. Human rights violations, crimes, destruction and destitution have reached a monumental scale," said Geir Pedersen on Saturday.

Five foreign armies intervene in Syria

Supported by the Russian ally, power returned to the assault on the Idleb region in December, before accepting a ceasefire that came into effect on March 6. But the offensive resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 civilians, according to the OSDH, and displaced around one million people, according to the UN.

Not only have all diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the war failed, but today no less than five foreign armies are involved in one way or another in Syria.

Iranian and Russian troops came to the aid of the regime, a weakened time against the rebels and the jihadists.

American troops, stationed today in the northeast where the Kurds enjoy semi-autonomy, have actively participated in the anti-IS fight, but also want to curb Iranian influence.

Just like Israel, which regularly carries out strikes against positions of the mode, Iran or Lebanese Hezbollah.

Neighboring Turkey, which supports local armed groups, has deployed soldiers to the north of the country, among other things, to avoid a new influx of refugees.

The war has also damaged the country's infrastructure, causing destruction estimated at some 400 billion dollars.

With AFP

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