The Syrian civil war is the deadliest conflict OF THE 21st century
26 May 2012: People gather at a mass burial for the victims killed during an artillery barrage from Syrian forces. UN observers in Syria confirmed that artillery and tank shells were fired at a residential area, where at least 108 people, including many children, were killed. (Source: Reuters)
How it began
In 1971, the Assad family took power and ruled by force for 40 years, barring freedom of expression, and committing massive human rights violations.
On March 2011, 15 young boys, aged between 10 and 15, were detained and brutally tortured in the Southern city of Deera for painting anti-government graffiti. When the boys’ families and religious leaders peacefully marched in protest, Assad’s security forces opened fire killing scores of civilians. The protests grew exponentially, falling into a tragic pattern: the funeral for those killed a day earlier would swell into a mass rally and security forces would open fire, killing innocents and guaranteeing an even larger turnout at the next funeral.
But some in Syria’s security force refused to open fire on civilians. They defected, becoming what we know as the Free Syrian Army, and the Syrian civil war was born.
What’s the difference between Syria and Rwanda? This time, the mass murder of children and civilians is being broadcast live. Evil unfolding before our eyes like never before, in real-time. Ignorance is not an option.
Some call it genocide. Some call it systematic mass murder. No matter what you call it, the crisis on the ground in Syria is horrifying. This is no ordinary war. Children have been targeted by chemical weapons and left to asphyxiate to death. Innocent civilians ripped to pieces by barrel bombs. Civilians aren't just the collateral damage of warring armies. They are the target.
The numbers are gut-wrenching:
Where we are now
82,000
barrel bombs
98.7%
of barrel bombs victims are civilians
A member of the "White Helmets" pulls a young boy out of the rubble following a direct hit of a Syrian barrel bomb to a residential building.
Assad has seized his upper-hand to commit the worst humanitarian crimes we have seen in the twenty-first century. It is the innocent civilians, especially children, who are starved, bombed, gassed and killed by Assad’s forces in provinces like Idlib that need our help most.
Save the Syrian Children is devoted to getting these children the medical supplies that could save their lives.