Air War, Potential Ceasefire in Syria

By Nate Hanson

As violence continues to escalate in Syria, there is also hope for a truce. The Syrian government has announced that it is interested in exploring a truce proposal created by the UN and Arab League peace envoy. The government wants to meet with Lakhdar Brahimi, an envoy, to hear his proposal for a ceasefire over the four-day period of the Muslim holiday Eidul Azha. The Syrian rebels have also expressed an interest in a truce.

This newly expressed interest in truce has not led to a decrease in violence, however. A lot of the fighting has shifted to the air, as Syrian warplanes targeted a rebel blockade in the city of Idlib. This rebel blockade has been preventing the government from getting reinforcements to the city of Aleppo.

As the government continues to launch attacks from the air, the rebel forces continue to get their hands on bigger and bigger weapons. The rebels are now in possession of anti-aircraft weapons, and claim to have shot down a Syrian helicopter. (Viewer discretion advised)

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, roughly 30,000 people have been killed since the fighting broke out in March of last year. Of all the dead, about 2,300 of them have been children.