AMMAN,
Jordan — Syrian government troops who have besieged dozens of
rebel-held communities are moving toward their biggest target yet — the
opposition-controlled neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo, where some
300,000 people risk being trapped.
Sieges
were widely used for centuries as a military tool — from Jerusalem to
Leningrad and Sarajevo — and aren't defined outright as a war crime.
However, recent images of emaciated civilians in blockaded areas, such
as the Syrian town of Madaya, have prompted global outrage.
The
United States says President Bashar Assad is violating the rules of war
with what it calls a policy of "surrender or starve."
A look at sieges and changing legal views:
___
HOW WIDESPREAD ARE SIEGES IN SYRIA'S CIVIL WAR?
Assessments
vary. A recent report by the Netherlands-based nonprofit PAX and the
Washington-based Syria Institute said 46 communities with more than 1
million residents are under siege to varying degrees, and pro-government
forces are responsible for nearly all the blockades. The U.N. has
listed 18 besieged communities with nearly a half-million residents,
including Madaya, along with dozens of towns with 4.5 million people it
defines as "hard to reach."
The
discrepancy may stem from different definitions of siege, although the
Syria Institute report says there's also been underreporting. It says
Madaya, where aid groups say at least 44 people have starved to death,
initially was not on the U.N. list.
___
WHAT ARE THE MILITARY ADVANTAGES?
Laying
siege to enemy-controlled cities allows attacking armies to keep their
own casualties low by avoiding urban combat. The goal is to force
trapped fighters to surrender.
Assad's
government began besieging opposition-held areas more than three years
ago because it did not have the manpower to take and hold territory.
In
recent months, Russian airstrikes have sent tens of thousands of
civilians fleeing targeted areas, making it easier to encircle those who
remain, along with rebel fighters, said Andrew Tabler of the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy.
Aram
Nerguizian, of the Center for Strategic & International Studies in
Washington, says siege warfare is used by both sides, but "in terms of
scale, the willingness and ability to do this, the Assad regime
obviously has a massive edge."
Syrian
rebels are besieging two pro-government towns, while Islamic State
extremists blockade parts the eastern town of Deir el-Zour, where the
U.N. says about 200,000 people are trapped.
In some cases, sieges have led to local cease-fires.
___
WHY BESIEGE ALEPPO?
Aleppo,
a trade hub in antiquity, was besieged in the past, including by
Mongols and Crusaders in the 13th century. In the Syrian civil war, both
sides view Aleppo as a major prize. Rebels seized several neighborhoods
in 2012, but pro-government forces regained territory north of the city
this month, threatening rebel supply routes from Turkey. Only a narrow
corridor of several kilometers (miles) in width links rebel-held areas
in the city and the nearby countryside. A government siege of Aleppo
would deliver a major blow to opposition morale.
___
WILL RENEWED TRUCE EFFORTS PUT AN END TO SIEGES?
It's
doubtful, particularly in the Aleppo area. Syria and Russia have
signaled that the Aleppo offensive will continue, despite a plan for a
temporary Syria-wide halt in hostilities announced by the U.S. and
Russia last week. Syrian aircraft recently dropped leaflets over parts
of Aleppo, warning militants that "the belt is tightening around you"
and urging their surrender.
An
international task force on humanitarian access recently said it hopes
sustained aid deliveries to besieged areas can begin shortly.
___
HAS THE LEGAL VIEW OF SIEGE WARFARE CHANGED?
Yes. Until a few decades ago, there were few restrictions on siege warfare.
"In
the old days, you could besiege an entire area without real regard to
the health and welfare of the civilian situation," said Beth Van
Schaack, a visiting professor of human rights at Stanford Law School.
The
World War II siege of the Russian city of Leningrad, now called St.
Petersburg, was one of the longest and deadliest in history. A top
German commander involved in the campaign was subsequently acquitted by a
U.S. military commission, Van Schaack said.
"There
was a much more permissive legal environment, even as late as the
mid-20th century," added Sean Watts, a law professor at Creighton
University in Omaha, Nebraska.
___
WHAT IS THE VIEW TODAY?
International humanitarian law still does not prohibit siege warfare outright.
However,
restrictions introduced since World War II — such as a blanket ban on
starving civilians — make it virtually impossible to besiege areas
inhabited by both civilians and combatants without violating the rules
of war, Watts said.
"Once
it becomes apparent that the civilian population is starving, they
(those conducting the siege) have an obligation to either allow in the
supplies that are necessary to prevent starvation or let the civilian
population leave," he said.
In
Syria, pro-government forces and opposition fighters have largely
ignored such prohibitions. Blockades are also often accompanied by
random attacks on trapped populations, including by imprecise mortar
fire and crude, explosives-stuffed barrels dropped from government
helicopters.
U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry has denounced "surrender or starve"
tactics in Syria. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has said denying humanitarian
access to besieged areas is "deplorable and against the law."
Those
responsible for starvation sieges could also face the more-severe
charge of crimes against humanity for "extermination," or an attempt to
kill large numbers of civilians, Van Schaack said.
___
DO SUCH CLASSIFACTIONS MATTER?
Perhaps not now, but later.
"If
we look over the course of history, we see increasingly that impunity
is no longer the norm and that eventually the long arm of justice
catches up with people," Van Schaack said.
"So
we obviously lack the political will right now, in the midst of this
conflict, to establish a tribunal or make the referral to the
International Criminal Court, but over time, eventually this war will
end, let's hope sooner rather than later," she said.
end quote from:
New York Times -
No comments:
Post a Comment