Even Peace May Not Save Syria

Russia and the US had tried for a ceasefire, starting September 12, that lasted a week. Fighting has resumed after the United States mistakenly fired on Syrian troops and then accused Syrian troops of firing on an aid convoy. Russia and Syria each denied striking the convoy. The UN has suspended aid deliveries and a consensus has emerged among experts that Syria may never be a united country again. Both fighting and making peace are complicated by up to 1,500 rebel factions in Syria as estimated by the CIA. Separate sections of the country are ruled by Kurds, the Islamic State, Syrian rebels and Assad-backed forces. Syria’s borders were shaped 100 years ago by European powers, who paid little attention to religious and ethnic differences. Foreign policy experts suggest that Syria’s borders cannot be maintained even if the conflict is resolved, and the European Council on Foreign Relations has issued a report that suggests the central state of Syria “is now in its dying days,” reports Robin Wright for the New Yorker. The shift toward tribes in Syria could prompt new strategies from the international community in approaching the unstable region. – YaleGlobal