Ukraine War: Will Russia's War Strategy Be Repeated in Syria?
Russian warplanes are bombing Ukraine. The world is witnessing scenes of war that have been witnessed in Syria before. Syrians who have experienced Russian bombing say Ukraine will suffer the same fate as Syria.
The news site "Tags Shaw" affiliated with the German TV channel has reported on the Russian military operations in Syria and compared them with the country's military operations in Ukraine. Tags Shaw writes that Russia has also tested hundreds of its weapons systems in Syria. Smart weapons fired from ships and submarines, new fighter jets, drones, and trench-busting missiles are just some of the Russian weapons tests in Syria.
The report states that Juers van Bladen, a military expert at the Institute for European and Security Policy, believes that Syria was “a laboratory for the Russian military arsenal.” It is said that about 90 percent of Russian air force pilots gained “experience” from their mission in Syria.
In September 2015, Russian warplanes bombed towns and villages controlled by rebels opposed to Bashar al-Assad. Russia claimed to be fighting Islamist terrorists. By then, the Syrian president had lost control of much of his country. Putin seized the opportunity to gain a foothold in the Middle East to establish a strategically important base for Russian ships and aircraft.
The story of a witness to the bombing by Russian fighter jets
Daniel Heschler, a reporter for German TV Channel 1, quotes the memories of a witness to the Russian operation in this regard: Ali Abdullah, a 28-year-old Syrian, tells of the bombing by Russian jets. Abdullah says that nothing remains of his hometown of Narab but a pile of rubble and that Russian warplanes bombed Narab two years ago. He explains that his hometown was destroyed by more than 100 bombs in retaliation for his opposition to Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, and that his father and two brothers were killed.
Some of the village's residents fled to southern Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in Syria, but Ali Abdullah stayed in Narab with his two children, farming until one day he stepped on a mine and lost his leg.
When he observes the bombing of warplanes in Ukraine, he says from his own experience: "Russia shows no mercy to children, women, or the elderly in war. They bomb markets, mosques, schools, and everything."
23,000 Syrians killed in Russian warplane attacks
Syria's infrastructure has been destroyed by Russian military operations. Cities like Aleppo have been besieged and cut off from the outside world, leaving people starving. Countless clinics have been bombed for years. Schools, bakeries, and markets have also been repeatedly targeted.
Diana Samaan, Amnesty International’s Syria researcher, says we are now witnessing such war crimes in Ukraine. Amnesty International has documented Russian attacks on civilians and infrastructure in both countries, using cluster munitions, with high casualties. More than 23,000 Syrian civilians have been killed in Russian airstrikes.
From Putin's perspective, the Syria mission was a success and "now no one can ignore Russia in the Middle East."
No one protested Putin's bombings in Syria
“The worst result of this war is that no one was held accountable,” laments Diana Semaan of Amnesty International. “Nothing happened at the international level, at the level of the UN Security Council. This is probably one of the reasons why Putin has been encouraged to wage new wars.”
"Ukraine will be like Syria, because the Russians have no mercy. If they are determined to bomb a target, then that target will be bombed and razed to the ground," believes Ali Abdullah from Idlib.
It has been 11 years since the Syrian war, and the war in Ukraine is now in its 11th day.
Source: DW
