Syria’s civil war flared up again when jihadist rebels began capturing areas last week.
The escalating conflict in Syria may lead to a new flow of refugees, believe the Middle East experts who visited A-studio on Wednesday evening.
– Of course, such ingredients also exist. Currently, about 70,000 of the people have become internally displaced, said a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Toni Alaranta.
According to Alaranta, the departure of larger masses of refugees is also possible if, for example, Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime, carries out aerial bombardments of large population centers.
Leading expert at the Foreign Policy Institute Olli Ruohomäki pointed out that there are already “significant numbers” of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, for example. Recently, some of them have returned to Syria because Lebanon is at war with Israel.
The situation can escalate
The extremist Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) began taking control of areas in northern Syria last week. The group’s forces have completely surprised the Syrian regime and advanced rapidly towards the central parts of the country. Among other things, the groups already control Aleppo, a city of millions.
According to Alaranta, the situation could escalate into a larger civil war. The development of the situation is especially influenced by how the neighboring countries react.
– The question is whether the forces of the Syrian regime can form sufficient resistance to the rebels. What is significant is whether Iran sends factions to help the Syrian regime. Lebanon’s Hezbollah is tied to the anti-Israel front, said Alaranta.
Watch all of Wednesday’s A-studio at Areena.