ONCE a key node on Levantine trade routes, Aleppo, today resembles a graveyard. In many ways, the state of Aleppo reflects the state of much of Syria after nearly six years of a devastating civil war. This is a war that has reverberated across continents, one in which major world powers have been heavily involved, and one that has brought death, disease and displacement to hundreds of thousands of Syrians. This week, after a four-year grinding war of attrition, Bashar al-Assad’s forces managed to retake almost all of Aleppo. However, as has been the case throughout the civil war, it is the Syrian people who have suffered the most. While on Wednesday efforts to evacuate rebel-held areas were thwarted by renewed fighting, yesterday, there were reports that evacuation of both fighters and non-combatants had restarted.

As in all conflicts, the truth in Syria was an early casualty. Much of the coverage of the Syrian war, especially the ongoing events in Aleppo, has been coloured by geopolitical perspectives. Media with a soft spot for Damascus have shown citizens celebrating the ‘liberation’ of Aleppo, while outlets sympathetic to the rebels have portrayed a wasteland put to fire and the sword by the ruthless legions of Mr Assad. Even the language about the Aleppo operation is partisan: is it ‘liberation’ or a ‘fall’? Perhaps — away from extreme partisan positions — the world needs to look at the conflict from a humanitarian perspective. The fact is that both the Assad regime as well as the rebels — whose ranks are populated by a number extremist factions — have committed atrocities in this conflict. Moreover, those in the international community who are today shedding tears for the people of Aleppo have helped stoke the fires of conflict in Syria by meddling in the civil war, pushing for regime change and using the country as a proxy battlefield to settle geopolitical scores. Whether it is the West, the Arabs, Iran, Turkey or Russia, all players have had a hand in making Syria what it is today. Aside from meddling in the Syrian imbroglio, the international community’s efforts to bring the conflict to a negotiated close have been half-hearted.

Is it too late to negotiate? Indeed, Mr Assad will be emboldened by capturing Aleppo. But ploughing on to retake territory in the same brutal fashion will prolong the conflict indefinitely. On the other hand, while the battle for Aleppo was raging, the militant Islamic State group managed to sneak back into Palmyra and take the town from the government. In this complicated war, the threat militant groups pose to global security must not be lost sight of. Negotiating peace will be far from uncomplicated. But should the stakeholders decide that Syria’s future will be decided on the battlefield, more bloodshed and suffering await its forsaken people.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2016