Dead Bodies at the University: Business as Usual in Syria

Several dozen folks were killed in a series of explosions at the University of Aleppo. I doubt that their friends and relatives are comforted by the idea that this sort of thing happens fairly often in Syria.

The explosions were probably:

• An accident
  • Or not
• Set off by
  • Rebels
  • The alleged Syrian government
  • Someone else

Syria is a mess, and who did what to who and why is hard to sort out.

From the BBC:

"Syria crisis: Dozens killed by Aleppo university blasts"
BBC News (January 15, 2013)
"More than 50 people have been killed by two blasts in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, activists and officials say.

"The explosions reportedly struck an area between the University of Aleppo's halls of residence and the architecture faculty on the first day of exams.

"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 52, but Aleppo's governor said 82 people had died.

"State TV said 'terrorists' had launched rockets at the campus, but activists blamed missiles fired by warplanes...."

I'm slightly more inclined to believe folks that state TV calls "terrorists" in this case: but I really don't know who's telling how much of the truth. It does occur to me that dead students gave Syrian enforcers a dandy excuse to to attack enemies of the state.

Syria has had the sort of "stable" government that plagued much of the 20th century, and I've been over that before.

The situation in and around Syria is complicated, putting it mildly. At the UN, 50 countries want the Syrian conflict referred to the International Criminal Court; and Russia doesn't. Maybe Russia's government is right: then again, maybe not.

Ideally, Syria's ruler would recognize that some of his subjects have grievances: and deal with issues calmly and sensibly. We don't live in an idea world, and that's not happening.

Worse, from the point of view of folks who want 'stability,' folks in Syria and elsewhere have found out about freedom and the Internet. Quite a few people who aren't running 'stable' countries have gotten tired of reforms that never came.

And that's another topic.

Somewhat-related posts:

• Syria
  • "Dead Syrians, Stability, and Getting a Grip"
    (June 9, 2012)
  • "Arab League: Syria Suspended - My Take"
    (November 13, 2011)
  • "North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, Brinksmanship, and Miscalculation"
    (May 27, 2009)
  • "Syria Accuses America, North Korea Threatens South Korea: Nothing New Here"
    (October 28, 2008)
  • "Syria, the IAEA, an Inspection, and a Missing Reactor"
    (June 4, 2008)
• The world
  
  • "Tolerance, Change, America, and the World"
    (March 22, 2012)
  • "Indonesia, Islam, Adultery, Stoning, Burkinis, Divisiveness and the West"
    (October 13, 2009)
  • " 'America Tortured Prisoners' - Here We Go Again"
    (August 25, 2009)
  • "Pakistan, India, Mumbai, Nuclear Weapons, and Pashtunistan: Simple This Isn't"
    (December 27, 2008)
  • "EEEK! Guns! Hoplophobia and Foreign Policy"
    (December 23, 2007)