Disrupting peace

MCT Photo

A man stands near the remains of a bus after three suicide bombings by ISIS near Damascus. Syria. Thesr acts of terror occurred on Sun. Jan, 31, 2016 as the Islamic State’s protest to not being allowed to attend a peace meeting in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the end of the Syrian civil war. 45 people were killed in the assault, and 100 more were hurt.

Madeline Schramm, Staff Writer
February 22, 2016

What began as an opportunity to indirectly negotiate peacefully with Syria, got off to a rocky start when a terrorist group launched three explosions near Damascus on Sun. Jan. 31, 2016.

According to CNN, terrorists launched a car bomb at a bus terminal, soon followed by two suicide bombings that targeted bystanders and paramedics at the scene.

Syrian officials are claiming that 45 people were murdered in the attacks, and more than 100 were wounded.

Senior Lucas McCutcheon said, “They [ISIS} are a horrible organization of fighters that interpret Islam the way it should not be.”

The explosions occurred during a peace conference in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss plans to end the of civil war in Syria.

According to Local 12, these talks, hosted by the United Nations (U.N.), are part of a project outlined in last month’s resolution by the U.N. that envisions an 18-month timetable for political transition in Syria.This timetable will also include the creation of a new constitution and elections.

However, the discussions were already not going well on Fri. Jan. 29.

Local 12 claims that the U.N. Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura was only able to meet with a government delegation, where the main opposition refused to have any indirect talks until its demands were met.

These demands include ending the siege imposed on rebel-held areas, and a ceasing of Russian and Syrian bombardment of sections controlled by opposition fighters.The supposed reason behind these attacks is because of ISIS being forbidden to join the discussions.

Freshman Andrew Schmidt said “I do not agree with with what they [ISIS] are doing. I think that they are achieving their goals through the wrong way, because violence does not solve anything, It only makes things worse.”

Syrian officials are expecting the death toll from these attacks to rise from the amount of critical injuries. And while the talks continue in Germany, the Islamic State may have a chance to strike again.

Sophomore Elissa Allen said, “I think it is horrible to have a terrorist group. They hurt the innocent. They are mean. My grandmother was actually in Paris when it [the bombings] happened.”