E-BOOK: Migration Biographies - Europe on the move December 2020 | Page 18

Programme Erasmus + Europe on the move : Migration Biographies
Theses
were able to reclaim Palmyra . According to U . S .-led coalition Iraqi security forces and the SDF reclaimed 98 per
94 95 cent of former IS territory .
In 2016 the Geneva peace talks about Syria , backed by the UN , began but were ultimately unsuccessful and no diplomatic resolution was achieved . In May of 2017 further peace talks were attempted but were unsuccessful
96 97 and have remained stalled since then .
Throughout 2016 the war continued , and the Syrian government was able to regain larger parts of Syria . The agreed cease-fire was mostly kept . In 2016 , with the support of Russia , the Assad regime was able to reclaim Aleppo from the Syrian rebels which they had held for four years , ending a battle that had been ongoing for
98 99 100 months .
In 2017 another set of peace talks were held in Astana and were initiated by Russia . The participants were Iran , Turkey , members of the Syrian government as well as armed opposition leaders . The members of the peace talks decided on another cease-fire agreement and wanted to establish four de-escalation zones , but once again the cease-fire was not upheld by the Syrian government . In October 2017 , the SDF was able to regain
101 102 103 control of Raqqa . Mossul had already been recaptured in July by the Iraq military .
At the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018 the battles between Turkish troops and Kurds became more intense than before because Turkey wanted to prevent the Kurds from regaining their previously claimed territory . In fear of Syrian Kurds building their own state and then Turkish Kurds doing the same , Erdoğan began escalating the conflict with the Kurds . 104 In February 2018 , Assad supported Turkey in its fight against the Kurds . Although Putin had declared that the Russian army would be withdrawn , the air force stayed to support the Assad regime . At the end of February , a resolution was passed demanding 30 days of cease-fire in east Ghouta . 105 In April 2018 the U . S ., the U . K . and France started to attack military bases suspected of concealing chemical weapons . Trump announced that American troops will be withdrawn in January 2019 , to the surprise of many .
106 107 108 109 110
The civil war in Syria has caused considerable suffering , and hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries . The UN reports that as of January 2019 more than 5.6 million have fled Syria , as well as over 6 million internally displaced people . Most refugees fled to neighbouring states as well as a high number of whom are seeking for
111 112 protection in Europe .
2.2 . Biography of the family
The family , whose life this biography is based on , came from Syria and have settled in Germany . Their story is one that many Syrians will be familiar with , as the circumstances of war and dislocation is likely to mirror their own .
94 ( Schweizer 2015 , 514f .)
95
( Gordon , et al . 2019 )
96 ( Gordon , et al . 2019 )
97 ( Schulte von Drach 2018 )
98 ( History . com Editors 2017 )
99 ( BBC 2019 )
100 ( Schulte von Drach 2018 )
101 ( Gordon , et al . 2019 )
102 ( Baumstieger 2017 )
103 ( Spiegel 2017 )
104 ( Schulte von Drach 2018 )
105 ( Schulte von Drach 2018 )
106 ( Gordon , et al . 2019 )
107 ( History . com Editors 2017 )
108 ( Schulte von Drach 2018 )
109 ( Schweizer 2015 , 516f .)
110 ( Bender 2012 , 199f .)
111 ( History . com Editors 2017 )
112 ( Gordon , et al . 2019 )
[ 17 ]