As the Syrian rebels started their withdrawal from one of their last strongholds in Aleppo, they have asked for a five day truce for the safe evacuation of civilians. The Syrian government, however, has been cold in its response, and has ruled out the truce altogether. President of Syria Bashar al-Assad has expressed his certitude at achieving victory in Aleppo, and hence the hunt for rebel fighters is expected to continue unabated. The veto by Russia and China on a Security Council resolution by US, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada to call for an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo has also emboldened Assad to continue his assault on rebel fighters with impunity. The four year long battle in Aleppo brought the Syrian civil war right to its urban centre and lead to the loss of many civilian lives. It turned a bustling city into a battle ground and radically altered the lives of those living there. Bombs and missiles do not distinguish between innocent or guilty, young or old, civilian or soldier, and privileged or underprivileged. As all of the residents of Aleppo were subjected to the terror of these instruments of destruction, some tried to flee. And their fate was revealed all too vividly as bodies shoaled up on the banks of the beaches from where they were trying to reach Europe. Some of those who did manage to cross into Greece later were transported back to Turkey under an agreement between the European Union and the Turkish government, while a majority of those who managed to stay in Europe were ridiculed by some of the locals for having expensive cellphones yet masquerading as refugees just to get into Europe. In all of this, sympathy for the Syrian refugees was noticeably lacking as countries rushed to close off their borders and protect themselves from the supposed threat that these refugees presented to their societies. The question of the responsibility over the death and destruction in Syria is a tricky one as there are a lot of factors that have enmeshed together to form the mess that Syria is right now. Undeniably, the arbitrary manner in which the borders in the Middle Eastern were initially formed following the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the way state structures were then set up by imperialist powers — Britain and France — to form unrepresentative governments, of which Assad is an example, laid the roots for the much of the conflict that is observed in the Middle East today. However, western intervention under the misguided policy of overthrowing the existing authoritarian governments has exacerbated matters even further. This is all the more relevant for Syria as western support for the rebels has increased the duration of the war, and only achieved suffering for the people of Syria. While it is true that Assad is oppressive and authoritarian, but, in lieu of a well-thought out policy to oust him, merely providing assistance to rebel groups would not in any way help in making Assad less oppressive. And this is exactly what has happened. Assad continues to attack and bomb rebel targets without caring for the death and destruction resulting from his actions. Meanwhile, the civil war has even allowed ISIS to carve out a space for itself in Syria and provide an even more terrifying alternative than Assad. Hence, where the flawed policies of western powers have contributed to bringing all this death and destruction in the region, it is now also their responsibility to ensure that innocent Syrians do not have to suffer anymore. According to a statement by the rebel Aleppo Leadership Council, there are 500 cases that require immediate medical treatment under UN supervision. Perhaps, western powers can up their pressure on Assad to call for a ceasefire for the evacuation of these persons. *