The Syrian government launched an artillery attack in rebel held Idlib, which resulted in the loss of innocent civilians. The civilians injured and killed were attacked in residential areas and a local medical facility, all unarmed. The Syrian governments allies–Russia and Iran–also aided in the attack on Idlib (al-Aswad). Considering the deliberate attacks on civilians, an appropriate theory to apply would be Valentino’s “Why We Kill” writing. Valentino argues that “violence against civilians is a deliberate strategy by political actors seeking to achieve tangible political or military objectives” (class slides). The Syrian government is clearly attempting to use violence against its civilians as a strategy to achieve its goals.

To support Valentino’s main argument–violence against civilians is a deliberate strategy by political actors seeking to achieve tangible political or military objectives–he details the elite’s motives to seek out violence against civilians. There are three different motives Valentino present as to an elite’s, in this case the Syrian governments, reason to target civilians. One is to obtain private political/military benefits or ideological goals. Two is to generate political support from co ethnics and co nationals. And three is to demobilize opposition (Valentino). Looking at the first motive, the Syrian government is attempting to obtain political benefits regarding holding their position of power. The government does not want the citizens of Syria to be in a place to rebel against the government. If the citizens rebel and that rebellion is successful, the people in places of power within the government may not hold those positions anymore. The second motive is not present in this specific attack on Idlib. Syria’s conflict did not start as a result of ethnic tension, but rather a rise in opposition against the president, Bashar Hafez al- Assad. The third and final motive–demobilizing the opposition–is very much present in these attacks. The purpose of these artillery attacks on Idlib was to deter the rebels from mobilizing and further strengthening their cause. Due to the area of Idlib containing large amounts of rebel groups it was an obvious target for the government to attack. However, the rebel groups who sought out Idlib as a place for them to live and grow their cause were living amongst regular civilians. Unfortunately, those unarmed and innocent civilians were used in these attacks to send a message to the rebel groups. that message being that the Syrian government will do whatever they need to in order to protect the state from these rebel groups, even if that means killing and injuring civilians in their homes and medical facilities (al-Aswad).

Valentino went another step further, not only identifying why political elites inflict violence against civilians, but how they get away with it. Valentino provided three different methods for getting away with violence against civilians: use more violence to suppress dissent, control of the media, they do not need public cooperation (Valentino). In the case of the attack on Idlib, suppressing public dissent was a goal of the governments. With members of the public residing in the same area as rebel groups they could be more susceptible to join their causes. Despite Syria claiming they have freedom of speech and press, in practice that is not true. This article does not specifically detail what the government’s response in the media to the attacks were, but one could imagine that they had control of the narrative. The Syrian government has shown through these continued attacks on various areas that they have little need for public cooperation. They have the means themselves and allies who support them (al-Aswad). Valentino’s theory of why violence is committed against civilians for political gain perfectly explains the current conflict in Idlib, Syria. The Syrian government used the tactic of deploying violence against the citizens of Idlib to gain political advantage in Syria’s civil war and ongoing conflicts.

Works Cited

al-Aswad, Harun. “Several Civilians Killed in Syrian Government Attacks in Idlib.” News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 8 Sept. 2021, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/8/syria-regime-forces-enter-daraa-under-truce-monitor.

Valentino, Benjamin A. “Why We Kill: The Political Science of Political Violence against Civilians.” Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 17, no. 1, 2014, pp. 89–103., https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-082112-141937.