Thirteen Years Later, Syrian War Still Rages

 

 'For families on the frontline, the end is nowhere in sight.

 "The bombing is always ongoing; every hour, every minute, all the time, " says Khaledia Sakahi, a displaced woman. "If it is not on our village, the bombing will be near it. The villages around us are also being bombed.I can't count them all. But the bombing continues, morning and night, and death, as I told you, many people die."

 In Idlib, emergency workers say the death toll in their region is rising.

 "The statistics for the year 2023 were more than 1230 attacks, with more than 170 killed and 300 injured," says Yassin Khader of the Syrian Civil Defence. "In the last half of 2023, there was an intense and continuous attack on the southern areas."

Commanders of rebels who control Idlib say, they are not just planning to defend the area they currently control. "We did not set out to establish a state in Idlib," says Muhammad al-Bakour, a field commander for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, "and the revolution continues until Assad is held accountable. There is no revolutionary project that stops at Idlib."

 Today, nearly 17 million people in Syria need aid. The most since the war began. Violence, and a lack of basic services like water or electricity, are forcing people to flee their homes again and again.

'As for the rest, such as services, there is nothing available at all," says Khaledia Sakahi. "Everyone is self-reliant. Some people collect firewood, and others do other things, just to survive."

 She says she believes the Syrian war may continue indefinitely, and there is very little hope access to aid will improve.'