Matters in Syria took a serious turn this week when the Russians began bombing rebel forces, who, since the conflict began, have been receiving aid from the West and particularly the USA in their struggle against the government of President Assad. This undoubtedly raises the stakes in this troubled country and in the Middle East as a whole.

It’s bad enough that the region is witnessing Arab groups turning on one another and Isis destroying everything in its path but now we have the potential for conflict between Russia and America and the danger of a return to the Cold War.

The opportunistic Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has said that his planes are merely bombing the same targets as the West but that has been shown to be untrue. If the Russians were just to bomb Isis, as the West is doing, that would be welcomed because Isis, with its religious fanaticism and evident disdain for everything that decent human beings hold dear, is an obvious global threat.

Isis are seeking to fill a void in Syria and, unlike the Syrian rebels, have a far greater agenda than the mere removal of the brutal President Assad. It seems apparent that Putin’s aim is to keep Assad in power and for Syria to, in effect, become a client state of Russia. If this is the price to be paid for the destruction of Isis then most of the world would probably breathe a sigh of relief.

However, as the fighting intensifies the real losers in this tragedy, the Syrian people, who want nothing more than to live in peace, continue to face the stark choice between death and the seeking of refuge in any country that will take them in. When will their suffering end?