On September 6th in Syria, it was reported that the forces loyal to Bashar Al Assad, attacked an opposition held neighbourhood in Aleppo using chemical weapons.  Government forces indiscriminately dropped chlorine gas bombs from helicopters on a heavily populated neighbourhood in the city.  Unsurprisingly Assad has denied any involvement, even though the only belligerents capable of such an attack are his forces and those of his allies, The Russia Federation.

The casualties are of course innocent children, who have been suffering with the agonising effects of chlorine gas, not least suffocation.  The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has said it will investigate, but we all know that these investigations lead to nothing when the culprits are supported by a member of the Permanent Security Council of the United Nations.

It is impossible for any of us to even comprehend the psychological trauma that those children must endure on a daily basis. Syria is full of children who know nothing but war. Running for shelter when helicopters fly overhead or being forced to scavenge for food is part of their miserable existence.  Most have lost a family member through violence. Many are orphans, alone in a war zone, abused, tortured and maimed.

The most infuriating aspect of this conflict is that the five member Permanent Security Council of the United Nations could end this conflict, remove Assad and unite the country against one common enemy.

Unfortunately for the traumatised children of Syria, geopolitical interests are far more important to the Big 5 than the miserable lives of Aleppo’s little boys and girls.  In the meantime there will be no laughter, no fun, no happiness. There will however, be further chemical attacks, bloodshed and orphans, little victims of little consequence to the desktop war mongers who have already decided their fate with the stroke of a pen.