The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights whose report about Syria become the reference of credible newspapers said that it had documented 162.402 deaths since the start of uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime in March 2011. The figure includes civilians, rebels and members of the Syrian military, the Observatory said. It also includes Lebanese Hezbollah members, who have been fighting alongside Assad’s forces, and foreign fighters battling with the rebels for Assad’s ouster.

The Observatory bases its tally on information it gets from a network of activists on the ground in Syria. The figures are based on the names of those killed, collected by activists who document the dead in hospitals, morgues and identify them from video materials. One of the interesting things that added the organization added was the total death of civilians. It said that only a third of the total deaths around 50 thousand of them were civilians. Though the number is high but in comparison to total deaths, civilian death tolls have been less so far. It should shows that despite sectarian war, sects are not targeted directly and government has tried to maintain it prestige as national government.

However, I do not have any data about the domestic wars in different countries, but a glimpse to reports, it is realizable that civilians’ casualties are always so high. In Afghanistan, civilians were at the forefront of attacks and armed casualties have not been comparable to that of civilians. For instance, when Taliban captured Mazar-e-Sharif province, only few thousand militia were killed but Taliban massacred tens of thousands of people. Same is the case with tragic realities of war in Afghanistan.

Decades-long civil war left no one intact. Areas, districts and provinces were exchanged among different rival groups, civilians were massacred. Thus, when particular areas used fell under from another rival group, people used to hold arms because they were aware that rival groups would not care whether you are civilians or militia. They used to kill people indiscriminately. It is the very characteristics of sectarian war. For instance, see the present situation of Iraq. Annually thousands of people get killed as result of sectarian tensions but a very small percentage of them are security forces. Same is the case with Pakistan and other countries which are suffering from sectarian conflicts.

The sectarian conflict is an all-out war of one sect against the other. As in Pakistan and Iraq Shiite and Sunni sects are killing each. The domestic war in Afghanistan was somehow similar however the war was not fight much on the line of religion but on the line of community and ethnicity. This type of war is really tragic and disastrous. In such war, the word innocent or civilians means nothing. There is no court to reveal who is criminal and who is innocent. The mere relationship or physical appearances determines who is innocent or not. Your mere linkage to a group by blood means you are criminal and that should be killed. For instance, during Taliban, being a Hazara was a crime and thus should be killed. As the report of UNAMA collected from Mazar-e-Sharif from different people reveal the depth of the tragedy. It quoted a person who was working in the hotel as saying: “Two Talib militias were drinking tea and a poor man was carrying cart on the road. Suddenly, one of the pointed and shot him dead on the spot. He looked cool and uttered to frightened people around that they should not worry he just killed a Hazara.”

Therefore, in every sectarian war, majority victims are civilians not soldiers and militias. But why similar thing has not taken place in Syria. It seems that the total casualties of soldiers are far huge than rebellions as well as civilians. Why despite having unchallenged airpower, Syrian soldiers have paid the largest price?

I think there are issues that should be noticed. First of all, it is possible that against what is broadcasted in Media there might not be a full-fledged sectarian problem. They government is not only representing a small percentage of Assad family or Shiite sect. huge number of soldiers who even have lost lives from sects other than Shiites. They fight merely to keep government intact and prevent the shatter of Assad’s regime. They do not fight for Assad due to kinship or religious similarities because some of the Christians and Sunni who are assumed having raised against government but do so for preventing the collapse of the government.

Secondly, despite reports about indiscriminate bombardment of areas under the control of rebellions, soldiers might have taken cautious steps to avoid civilian casualties. If they considered people equal with rebellions due to sect, civilians casualties might have doubled or tripled the present figure.

I do not want to challenge that mentality there is not sectarian problem in Syria. What I am trying to say is that within the country there is much problem of Islamists with secular government rather that problem of Shiite and Sunni. Though the war may turn completely sectarian due to propaganda and interference of neighboring countries on account of sects, but till now Assad regime could have maintained its characteristics as national government.

Therefore, I think the world should review its approach to country’s civil war and ask where such strong rebellion groups have come from that killed over fifty thousand soldiers? All those soldiers were from other sects who gave up their lives for the sake of their country. So, instead of fueling the conflict, the world should search for peaceful ways.