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Jessamy Nichols, Africa CorrespondentLast Modified: 12:42 p.m. DST, 19 February 2014

International partners worked for months in order to create a plan that would result in Assad ultimately handing over Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons. Although Western countries and Syria-supporting countries like Russia disagreed over many factors, they finally agreed to an agenda that would take away Assad and his troops’ ability to torture and murder civilians by way of chemical weapons.

The process has frustratingly been delayed at several points and Syria still shows signs of missing deadlines, but at least the regime seems to have not used these weapons since the agreement.

However, leave it to the disturbing minds of Assad and his troops to devise another sickening and inhumane way of terrorizing rebels and citizens alike. To target the opposition-held Aleppo, Assad’s troops have crafted barrel bombs that are oil drums packed with explosives and shrapnel, that they then dump out of the back of helicopters which will then destroy several-story buildings and all living things nearby. Their intense destruction has earned them the nickname “barrels of death”.

The use of these barrels of death over the past few weeks has resulted in Aleppo becoming a ghost town, where more and more people flee the city and whole neighborhoods are emptied. This has also increased the number of those in mass exodus out of Syria and into neighboring countries that are bursting at the seams with the influx of refugees.

The latest talks on Syria ended without progress or resolution, even though the sense of urgency mounts every day. Thousands of Syrian children have spent so long fleeing war and seeking refuge that they no longer know what peace and a sense of safety feel like. Their hope for a future is diminishing with every failed stakeholders meeting and with every crime against humanity that Assad is allowed to get away with. Take away his chemical weapons, and he creates aerial “barrels of death.” Unfortunately, this pattern of warfare will not end until conclusive and decisive action is brought down upon the regime.

Follow Jessamy on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Africa Correspondent: @JessamyNichols

Geneva 2: What Does it Mean? (yallasouriya.wordpress.com)
Syria: Why fascism is not lesser of two evils (wyff4.com)
Syria's Civil War Isn't Hopeless (news.yahoo.com)
Russia says Syria to meet deadline for moving chemical weapons (news.nationalpost.com)
Truce or Dare? Assad moves to neutralize capital (altahrir.wordpress.com)
Kerry says Syria regime is barbaric (skynews.com.au)

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Jessamy Nichols, Africa CorrespondentLast Modified: 03:01 a.m. DST, 24 August 2013

GHOUTA REGION, Syria - President Assad's regime took violent attacks to a newly horrendous level as it has been reported that their latest chemical weapons attack killed over a thousand people.

It has been reported several times thus far that chemical weapons may have been used, and without serious enough sanctions or interventions, the Syrian government has chosen to move forward with their chemical weapon tactics.

These attacks reportedly took place in the Ghouta region which is east of Damascus, and mainly targeted women and children. Graphic pictures and videos continue to surface that display the atrocities and damage, but Syrian government representatives persistently release statements denying the accusations.

The disheartening reports coming out of the war-torn country have yet to subside and are unlikely to cease until the international community takes serious steps towards halting Assad's complete control over the country. Although Obama has threatened that a line would be crossed if Syria made use of chemical weapons and continued their widespread human rights violations, credible actions have yet to be taken.

In an effort to get more reliable information, the UN sent in chemical weapons investigators three days ago to investigate the situation and death tolls. Because none of the major global powers are looking to get involved unilaterally, they seem to be waiting on this investigation and its findings before taking serious action. Pending incriminating findings, members of the UN's Security Council are giving the impression that they would only intervene as a unit, instead of taking the risk on independently.

Regardless of the method the UN would potentially choose to stop the civil war in Syria, it is due time that it is halted. Time after time, bystanders say that they will never let genocide happen again, yet conflicts like the one in Syria rage on for months before anyone decides to step in. Chemical weapons are just one of the torturous instruments that Assad and his regime are employing, and the international community should be mindful of this before it can go any further.

Follow Jessamy on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Africa Correspondent: @JessamyNichols