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US at fault for Syria ceasefire breakdown: Pundit

Thursday, 13 October 2016 11:04 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 13 October 2016 11:08 AM ]

A Syrian man crosses a street in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on September 13, 2016 as a truce brokered by Russia and the United States saw guns fall silent at sundown the previous night. (Photo by AFP)

Lawrence Davidson, a lecturer at West Chester University, believes the United States is at fault for the breakdown of the latest attempted ceasefire in Syria.

“It is very well known that the Defense Department here in Washington was against the ceasefire and the way things played out here makes me wonder personally about the behavior of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in response to [US President Barack] Obama’s alleged desire to keep the ceasefire going,” the academic told Press TV.

He also speculated there might have been some lack of energy on the part of the Army generals in carrying out Obama’s orders in this regard.

A brief ceasefire in Syria that was brokered by Russia and the United States collapsed last month.

The truce aimed to allow humanitarian access and joint attacks against militant groups, which were not covered by the agreement, including Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Davidson stated that Syria is suffering war crimes on a daily basis due to a total breakdown of law and order.

“Once you have got no rules, and then no one either enforces the rules even if you have rules, crimes are followed almost inevitably. And certainly when you have got jet fighters going over cities, whether they are Russian fighters or American fighters, horrible things are going to happen,” he noted.

Commenting on the use of civilians as human shield by foreign-backed militants in Syria, the academic said these militants are going to do whatever they can do to promote their cause even if it means putting more civilians at risk.

Russia has been conducting airstrikes against Takfiri militants in Syria at the request of the Damascus government since September 2015.

Since 2014, the United States, along with a number of its allies, has been leading a so-called anti-terror campaign in Syria.

Instead of helping to rein in the Takfiri terrorists, the air raids have killed many civilians, and caused extensive damage to the country’s infrastructure.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy over the past five and a half years, which has claimed the lives of around 400,000 people.

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