All is not lost

The recapture of the ancient city of Palmyra from Daesh forces a few days ago by the Syrian army aided by Russian air strikes and pro-Damascus militias is a major victory for Damascus and its allies, especially Moscow, and a serious blow to Daesh.

Freeing this UNESCO world heritage site from the clutch of Daesh, which, since last May when it captured the city and its environs has wreaked destruction on some of the precious ancient monuments and temples, is, above all, a victory for civilisation.

Some priceless monuments and artefacts were destroyed by the terrorist faction in Palmyra. The worst, perhaps, was the razing of its iconic Temple of Bel, blown up by Daesh last summer.

Yet all is not lost.

The Syrian head of the antiquities in Damascus said after visiting the just liberated city that “we were expecting the worse, but the landscape, in general, is in good shape”.

Damascus has promised to rebuild the temples and other monuments destroyed by Daesh.

Nothing, however, will be able to compensate the death of the city’s 82-year-old former antiquities chief, Khaled Al Assaad, killed by Daesh which accused him of being an apostate and a regime loyalist for representing Syria in conferences abroad, with “infidels” and of being director of Palmyra’s “idols”.

The loss of this leading expert on the ancient history of the city is immeasurable.

The battle for Palmyra was not easy. Heavy Russian involvement from the air and to a limited extent from the ground through the deployment of military units to guide Russian air strikes was pivotal in defeating the enemy.

Nearly 400 Daesh members were killed in the process, while the government side suffered 188 casualties.

The military significance of the fall of this treasured city lies in the fact that it opens the road to other Daesh strongholds, in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, in the east of the country.

Once these areas are liberated, one hopes that the days of Daesh in Syria are numbered.

The military victories against Daesh in Syria are also bound to set the stage for a permanent political solution to the country’s conflict, in which Moscow and Washington are expected to play a major role.

There is no denying that the heavy Russian involvement in the armed conflict tilted the military and political balance in favour of Damascus. But that should not give wrong ideas.

As long as the opposition’s political stake is not taken seriously into consideration, the conflict will persist for a long time to come.