The Syrian conflict continues with no end in sight and as long as the West fails to act against the Assad government, Islamic State will continue to flourish, writes Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeill.

It is a war that has now lasted five years and killed a quarter of a million people, while 10 million have fled their homes.

This week, Syrian government warplanes dropped four rockets on a crowded marketplace in Douma, just outside the capital Damascus. killing over 100 people.

Just a few hours after the attack, I sat in the ABC Middle East bureau and watched camera phone footage of its immediate aftermath.

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It was horrific. A desperate man rushed through the dust, carrying a bloodied child over his shoulder.

Dozens of dead bodies lay on the ground amongst blown out buildings and destroyed market stalls.

The children are the worst part. Their tiny bodies caught up in a horrific game the adults have been playing.

The United Nations said 111 civilians were killed in the airstrikes and at least 200 injured.

For its part, the Syrian military did not deny it had launched airstrikes on the town that day — it told news agencies they were targeting a rebel group called Islam army that has been staging rocket attacks on Damascus.

But there was no doubt this was a civilian target — a market. There was a surreal number of tomatoes strewn amongst the dead.

Syria's civilians are a lower priority in the West

My story about the attack featured high in the ABC's news bulletins but it did not make the front pages of any of Australia's broadsheets, or any of the British papers.

This is despite the fact it was believed to be one of the deadliest single incidents involving government airstrikes since the war in Syria began nearly five years ago.

Syria only got a quick mention in the Australian Parliament this week, when Foreign Minister Julie Bishop ridiculed her Labor counterpart Tanya Plibersek's calls to increase humanitarian aid to the country.

Ms Bishop accused Ms Plibersek of wanting to create a "terrorists picnic" in Syria.

It was a bizarre episode that made light of a desperate humanitarian situation.

The request by Labor for increased aid had come after the Federal Government's intelligence committee and security chairman, Dan Tehan, called on Australian troops to conduct airstrikes on IS targets in both Iraq and Syria.

"We need to stop the foreign fighter flow to the caliphate in Syria," the Liberal backbencher told ABC TV.

But what was obvious here in the Middle East was that politicians in the West can no longer afford to focus their attentions solely on IS.

Government responsible for 75pc civilian deaths, ISIS a 'fraction'

The crimes committed by the Islamic group are horrific and unimaginable to most Australians.

Torture, rape, slavery, beheadings, suicide bombings — there has never been a group as callous and with total disregard for other human beings lives.

Everything possible needs to be done to ensure their so-called caliphate comes to an end.

But when you look at the numbers of deaths in Syria, IS militants are responsible for a fraction of the civilian deaths.

According to a new study out this week by the Syrian Network for Human Rights — Syrian government forces caused 75 per cent of Syrian civilian deaths this year.

This is where the horrific IS comes in.

Mr Assad's unpunished crimes in Syria have been, and continue to be, a huge recruitment tool for the terrorists.

They are fighting to overthrow Mr Assad's regime and every time he commits another massacre it is a PR win for them.

The video I watched, of the children killed in the market, was the same kind of video that has inspired many young foreign fighters to go and join IS.

While of course there are many different motivations to joining, some religious, some criminal, time and time again families interviewed after their sons or daughters have run away to join the group, say they become obsessed with watching videos of the Mr Assad governments' slaughter in Syria.

Two years since supposed 'red line'

This week is the two-year anniversary of a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian town of Ghouta that killed hundreds of Syrian civilians, including many children.

Human Rights Watch said Syrian government forces were almost certainly responsible for the attack.

It was supposed to be the "red line" for the Syrian president but nothing has been done.

Nobody has been brought to justice. Russia and Iran continue to support and arm Mr Assad with little to no consequence.

And while many Western politicians focus solely on IS, millions of displaced Syrians sit in misery in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Most fled long before IS was even created.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is $3.1 billion short of funding their regional response to Syrian refugees.

They have received only 31 per cent of the funding they need to house and feed these millions of displaced people.

Fighting IS is just one of a myriad of desperate problems that deserve our attention, efforts and funding.

Picking and choosing certain narratives to follow in this conflict and ignoring others will not solve anything.