Syria's rebel enclave of Idlib marks uprising with message for Ukraine
March 15, 2022, 6:16 pm

Syria's rebel enclave of Idlib marks uprising with message for Ukraine

Damascus capital in Syria

The Arab News reported, citing the AFP, thousands of protesters in Syria’s rebel enclave of Idlib on Tuesday marked 11 years since an anti-government uprising, buoyed by the global outcry over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Gathered on the main square in the northwestern city of Idlib, more than 5,000 people took part in one of the largest rallies the beleaguered region has seen in months.

The report said that many of the demonstrators hoped that the war launched by the Syrian government’s main backer Russia in Ukraine would rekindle some interest in their cause.

Bashar Assad’s grip on power held by a thread after a nationwide uprising that erupted on March 15, 2011 escalated into a fully-fledged civil war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to throw his military might behind the government changed the course of the conflict and saved Assad’s hold on power.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (File photo: Shutterstock)

The main killers in a war that has left half a million people dead is by some margin the government and its allies, who include Russian and Iranian forces, as well as a myriad of militia groups.

Around four million people, at least half of them displaced, now live in a region of northwestern Syria that is the last enclave fighting Assad’s rule despite years of deadly Russian-backed offensives.

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A few Ukrainian flags were visible at the Idlib protest, as were banners expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people and demanding action against Putin.

A medic among the protesters at the city’s main roundabout had some advice for his counterparts in Ukraine.

Ali Hamoush, who works at an Idlib hospital, said: “Fortify your hospitals with cement blocks, the enemy Putin does not distinguish between civilians, wounded people and fighters."

Russian aviation has repeatedly targeted medical facilities in Syria, according to witnesses, medics and human rights groups.

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A paediatric hospital was hit by an apparent Russian strike in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol last week, causing uproar and fueling accusations of war crimes against Putin.

Assad is among the few heads of state to openly support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow is currently recruiting thousands of fighters in Syria, from the regular army and from militia groups, to be put on standby for possible deployment in Ukraine.

The stiff resistance faced by invading Russian troops and Putin’s growing pariah status appeared to galvanize a crowd that has had little reason to cheer in recent years.

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Protester Salwa Abdelrahman said: “It has been 11 years since the Syrian revolution started, but today it feels like the first day."

The 49-year-old woman said: “We forgot our wounds, the displacement, the killing and the arrests. We renewed our pledge to continue our revolution.”

“My message to the Ukrainian people is don’t give up. Eleven years have passed but we are undaunted and, God willing, victory is ours.”

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.