Assad fighting a losing battle

International community should offer him a safe passage to a country of his choice so that he does not inflict all his remaining firepower on a hapless people.

Published: Sun 23 Aug 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Mon 24 Aug 2015, 9:30 AM

Bashar Al Assad, the embattled and emasculated chieftain of what is left of Syria, is being cornered from all sides. In the latest episode, the territory he controls is targeted by an unsuspecting Israel, which has been treading a neutral path vis-à-vis his battles with a host of insurgent groups.
Israel says it had to conduct air raids as the Golan Heights area controlled by it was hit by a rocket attack. It says it had targeted a vehicle carrying members of Islamic Jihad, an extremist outfit of Gaza Strip, an Iranian agent and a Syrian points person. Irrespective of veracity of the claims, cash-strapped Assad is now forced to open another front. This can prove to be a proverbial last straw on the camel's back.
Assad had been battling a variety of enemies. The Daesh, the spirited and bloody terror group, has been chipping away his territories at a rapid pace. Kurds broke loose from him and carved out their own jurisdictions in northern Syria.
And there is a host of rag-tag Al Qaeda groups who are trying to make their presence felt wherever they can. There is so-called moderate rebels and US trained fighters who fancy themselves to be alternative should Assad choose to abdicate his throne. A recent study said that assorted rebels including Daesh and Kurds control five sixths of what once was a Syria.
The Syrian dictator in a candid address recently admitted that his army lacked the manpower to retain all territories and was ceding some to insurgents to better defend others. This shows the cost and fatigue the four-year civil war inflicted on a determined and unrepentant ruler used to brutal ways of controlling people.
Surely there will come a time when Assad will be forced to cede away whatever little he controls. It is time he read the writing on the wall. His benefactors, Russia and Iran, will not bankroll his adventures forever. International community should offer him a safe passage to a country of his choice so that he does not inflict all his remaining firepower on a hapless people.