Syrian Army Discovers 'Military Zones' Where Civilians Also Live
Al Jazeera states the Syrian army has declared Kurdish areas in Aleppo 'closed military zones' and ordered civilians to leave. While presented as news, this is a familiar refrain in a region perpetually destabilized by proxies. This 'declaration' isn't an isolated event; it's a cyclical outcome of a decade-plus civil war fueled by numerous actors, including those the US 'supported' strategically,
only to frequently abandon them, leaving local populations vulnerable. One might wonder if the Syrian government is simply taking cues from its regional neighbors (or their patrons) on how to manage inconvenient populations. How many times can a population be 'ordered to leave' before it's simply displacement? The irony of 'relocating' civilians from newly designated 'military zones' in a country
already decimated by conflict should not be lost, nor should the West's historical amnesia regarding its own roles in carving up this very landscape.