After Ten Years of War, Conflict Still Paralyses Syria

NEW Q&A FROM CRISIS GROUP

After Ten Years of War, Conflict Still Paralyses Syria

Today marks the Syrian uprising’s tenth anniversary.

Although President Bashar al-Assad’s government controls some 70 per cent of the country, the conflict has no winners. Syria has been torn apart. The UN stopped counting casualties five years ago, when more than 400,000 people had been killed. Over half the population has been displaced with no prospects for return in the foreseeable future. Inside the country, the humanitarian situation is dire, with an estimated eleven million people in need of assistance.

In this Q&A, Crisis Group’s Syria expert Dareen Khalifa says that with a political solution out of reach, consolidating the existing ceasefires and alleviating human suffering is the best possible way forward for now.

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