I recently arrived to Germany, from the war-torn city of Homs in Syria. The city I left behind is covered in ash and blood. It has suffered from the barbarity of al-Assad’s regime for far too long. Once the city was called the cradle of the revolution, now it is more of a blood-filled tomb.
Homs has become one of the Islamic state’s main targets and therefore also subject to massive air strikes in order to try to fight IS.
I have witnessed the unthinkable devastation that IS is spreading wherever the the evil organisation spreads its tentacles. The rebels have no means to contain the offensives, and the results have been mass displacements, unlawfull killings, huge increase in poverty and lack of health sevices and food.
So, the world gave a solution; airstrikes against IS. The question is only those attacks really offer a solution?
My answer is: unfortunately not. The majority of the victims of these attacks were civillians and they have not led to any decrease of the military power of ISIS.
Mhein, Hawarein, Al-Qaryatein, Talbeisa and Al-Rastan, Homs countryside in general was the targets of bombings and attacks. The destruction of the infrastructure, the increase in civillians deaths and increase in internal displacement from the unknown to the unknown, are the results.
One of the attacks caused the death of 35 civillians in Talbeisa most of them were women and children.
As a citizen from Homs I don’t see any good outcome of these attacks. Eliminating IS will never be done through air attacks and the world’s leaders must understand this. While they are waiting and taking wrong moves, we are paying the war’s bill with blood and souls.
