Of the great many horrors perpetrated against Syria's civilians over the past seven years, this week's carnage at Ghouta ranks among the most alarming.
According to international monitors and aid agencies, at least 250 innocents there were slaughtered over a 48-hour period by forces loyal to the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Five hospitals have been barraged by bombs and mortars, hundreds of people have been wounded, and it appears, not for the first time, that chemical weapons were used.
This is intolerable. Canada should do more to heap pressure on the Syrian regime. We could start by rallying allies and naming names when it comes to the suspected war crimes seen in eastern Ghouta, a rebel stronghold on the outskirts of Damascus that has been under government siege for nearly five years.
Though Parliament has pointedly stopped short of committing military resources to Syria, our ongoing contribution to the fight against Daesh in Iraq and the welcoming of thousands of Syrian refugees means we are deeply invested in a region that seems to be growing more volatile.
Russia is propping up Mr. Assad and has emerged as the regional hegemon, with Iran and Turkey as wary allies.
Turkish troops, meanwhile, recently started moving on a Kurdish enclave situated within Syrian territory, increasing the likelihood of a wider conflict.
However one chooses to describe it, an already terrible situation is worsening. But recent events on the Korean peninsula, in other geopolitical hot-spots and in the White House have distracted the world from the Syrian civil war. It's time we started caring about it again.
Commentators in Europe and elsewhere have likened the situation in eastern Ghouta to the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica in the former Yugoslavia – an episode that should have particular resonance to Canadians, given our peacekeeping efforts in the region.
Let us not forget the tragedies that can ensue when the world averts its gaze.