The intensifying internal crisis in Syria has prompted calls for humanitarian and military intervention, including options such as a border enclave or buffer zone, "humanitarian corridors" to provide food and medical assistance to interior areas, and a no-fly zone over large parts of the country. All of these options entail certain operational challenges and a degree of risk, but intervention also presents policy opportunities.
Humanitarian Enclave or Buffer Zone
Turkey has floated the possibility of an enclave or buffer area in Syrian territory where internally displaced persons could find safe haven. This would resemble the enclave created by U.S. and coalition troops in northern Iraq in 1991 during Operation Provide Comfort, to protect Iraqi Kurds who fled there after the failed uprising against Saddam Hussein.
Operational requirements. This option would necessitate the use of ground forces to carve out and secure an enclave, probably in the face of resistance by infiltrators and provocateurs sent by Damascus, if not elements of the Syrian armed forces. Air cover would be needed to provide reconnaissance, overwatch, and potential defense against ground and air attack.
Such an operation would require significant military resources, and it is not clear whether Turkey would be willing or able to carry out the mission on its own. Provide Comfort required 20,000 U.S. and coalition troops to secure a safe haven for 500,000-700,000 Kurds. Thirty donor nations and nearly fifty international and nongovernmental organizations provided humanitarian assistance. At the very least, Turkey might call on the international community to provide food, medicine, and temporary shelters for displaced persons.
Risks and challenges. The greatest risk is that of a clash with regime forces intent on preserving Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. And while an enclave could serve as a safe haven for several hundred thousand displaced Syrians, millions of others would remain vulnerable. Moreover, it is unclear how many Syrians could realistically reach the enclaves, particularly if the regime tried to obstruct access. The army is deployed throughout the country and could easily impede movement toward the Turkish border, as it has already done to some extent. Finally, a large enclave could quickly exhaust local resources; large quantities of humanitarian assistance would probably be needed from elsewhere.
Humanitarian Corridor
France has raised the possibility of creating ground corridors to deliver food and medicine to beleaguered civilians in Syria's interior. Such an option could be carried out with or without the regime's assent, using aid workers in the former case or armed "observers" in the latter. For instance, overland routes from Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan could service distressed populations in hotspots such as Idlib, Homs, Hama, and Deraa. Air corridors could conceivably reach less accessible areas. At present, however, it is not clear that corridors of either kind are needed.
Operational requirements. This option would necessitate a major logistical effort. Suitable ports or airfields would have to be secured near each corridor, and large numbers of vehicles and aircraft would be needed to move supplies into Syria. Security would be required for logistical hubs and overland routes to ensure that aid reaches the intended population. And some means of command and control would be needed to organize, coordinate, and secure corridors and relief convoys.
