Ghouta gets food as Assad delivers slow poison

The Syrian regime is at it again. Unleashing chemical attacks against a civilian population who are mostly unarmed is an unpardonable act under international law even if there are fighters among them who are using conventional weapons. The chemical campaign by the strongman is a sign of cowardice, but the regime doesn’t care. It may not be sarin, a nerve agent this time, but chlorine can be just as dangerous when inhaled over months. Call it slow-kill, and the government is showing no mercy to its foes. From a military point of view, President Bashar Al Assad’s regime considers the people of east Ghouta expendable. They are a pocket of resistance that he can do without, terrorists for a despot who has been backed by Russia. A ceasefire is in place to supply humanitarian aid to the besieged town but Assad, it seems, will go to any extent to wipe out all opposition to him. He believes this slow poisoning makes the act less genocidal.

Troops have been gassing the population of the enclave from late last year. Now, the effects are being felt on men, women and children. Drive them out by polluting the air and make it inhabitable, is the plan. A massive explosion in Al Shayfouniya has confirmed the worst fears of aid agencies and doctors working in the area. The government said 18 victims were treated with oxygen nebulising sessions. It may sound like a simple solution to a complex problem that is in the air. Assad is deciding the course of the war, and Russia is with him on it. At the United Nations, the Russian veto has helped him tide over tough times. Moscow’s planes are providing him air cover. Then, there is poisonous gas. Sarin and chlorine have been the favourites for the dictator. Mustard gas has also been used on occasion. These chemicals are effective in the war effort for they are hard to detect. The destruction to property is limited, people only gasp for their lives — a less violent way to give up the fight. A sarin attack last year saw the US retaliating on a arms dump. Now there is silence. Ghouta will get food supplies under a new ceasefire deal, but what’s the use when Assad is delivering slow poison?