Recent fighting surrounding Syria’s capital of Damascus has cut 161,000 people in Douma and 142,000 people in Kafr Batna off from humanitarian aid. Conflict has destroyed supply routes that were used by convoys to deliver food and other supplies, and now supplies are dwindling. Even if the convoys were guaranteed safety while delivering supplies, the Syrian government has not green lit the convoys since October in the case of Douma and June in the case of Kafr Batna.
More than 300,000 people, or almost two percent of the population of the Republic of Syria, is at risk of dying of starvation unless supplies can be delivered in the very near future. The government of Syria must find a safer and reliable method that will allow for food and supplies to be delivered to the people of Douma and Kafr Batna. One option instead of covoys on the ground could be airlifting, similar to what was conducted by the United States and the United Kingdom in Berlin after the second World War. While this doesn’t pose the same safety risks as convoys on the ground would, the threat of being shot down by rebel groups is still imminent. However, this problem could easily be solved by conducting the airlifts at night, where the darkness will lower visibility and allow for the supplies to be delivered successfully.
The people that live in Douma and Kafr Batna are not involved in the conflict that caused this shortage of food and supplies; The Syrian Civil War. While it is the right of people to fight for causes in which they believe, their fighting should not have any disastrous or detrimental effects on innocent people. In order to allow for safe delivery of food and supplies, these rebel groups fighting in the war could also agree to a temporary ceasefire. However, while this option may be more ideal than airlifting, it also less likely.