Khalil Ashawi/Reuters
- Syria has estimated 511,000 deaths since war began in 2011.
- The Bashar al-Assad regime has gained power, and outside involvement from other countries suggests the conflict will only get worse.
- Yet, there’s one area in Syria that remains comparatively stable — the Quneitra province and the adjacent part of Daraa province.
- These regions have seen significantly less fighting, extremist groups do not have the upper hand, and consistent aid is delivered by NGOs and civic organizations.
The last few months in Syria have been the latest in a string of awful months. After an estimated 511,000 deaths since the war began in 2011, the Bashar al-Assad regime has recently gotten the upper hand and is applying maximum pressure on opposition-held areas across the country. Civilians have been under attack, including with chemical weapons, and humanitarian aid routes have been cut off. Growing outside involvement — from Russia, Turkey, Israel, and the United States, among many others — suggests the conflict will, if anything, grow larger and worse.
Yet there is one pocket in Syria that has remained comparatively calm, despite the surrounding turbulence. Southwest Syria — in particular Quneitra province on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, and the areas close to it in the northwest part of Daraa province — has seen significantly less fighting than other regions. The moderate opposition has been stronger here in Quneitra and its surrounding areas, extremist groups although present do not have the upper hand, and the humanitarian conditions are considerably better than in most other regions of Syria. This region is also strategically important, as it is where Israel and Iran are engaged in a competition for control over the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, which is a pivotal site for both sides to have mastery over in the event of a wider conflict between them.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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