The logjam in Syria and Iraq

A few days ago, the Iraqi army launched its second offensive in the last six months to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that has controlled the city and its surroundings for almost three years. Although the first operation by the Iraqi forces, with the air support of the U.S.-led coalition, to shake ISIL's control over Mosul began on Oct. 17, 2016, only the eastern part of the city was finally liberated on Jan. 24 after months of heavy fighting. The second offensive will focus on the western part of the Tigris River that divides the city on an east-west axis.

This is a daunting task, as the ISIL-controlled part of Mosul is densely populated and the geographical conditions are not suitable for an easy way out. U.N. agencies estimate that there are between 650,000-800,000 civilians trapped in the city with scarce food and drinking water, and four out of five bridges across the Tigris River have been destroyed. Moreover, ISIL militants use civilians as cover and have the advantage of hiding and slipping away through an extensive network of tunnels that have been dug over the last three years.

The concerns about the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians led the Iraqi government to drop thousands of leaflets over western Mosul to inform trapped civilians about the incoming assault and appeal to ISIL militants once again to surrender. However, leaflets do scarce good for the confined civilians, who are willing but unable to leave.

While the fight in Iraq against ISIL has intensified with the latest move of the Iraqi army, the peace talks in Geneva, due to start on Feb. 23, affect the Syrian agenda, where the fight against ISIL is still being carried out by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army and regime...