Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Syria, tightening pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his government, amid concerns the war-torn country’s population will suffer.The sanctions target Assad’s family, Syrian government officials and third-party entities aiding the Assad government.Under the FILE – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gestures during an interview in Damascus, Feb. 10, 2015. In Syria nowadays, there is an impending fear that all doors are closing.A White House statement about the Treasury and State departments’ sanctions says, “Since the 2011 start to the Syrian conflict, the Assad regime has committed innumerable atrocities against Syrians, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and murder. These despicable acts have devastated the country’s people, infrastructure and economy, displacing more than half of Syria’s population.“Today’s FILE – A woman carries bread on her head while she crosses a street in Damascus, July 24, 2019. After nearly a decade of war, Syria is crumbling under the weight of sanctions, government coruption and other problems.Saying it was committed to a lasting political solution, the White House said that ”the Assad regime and its patrons must recognize that a political resolution is the only viable mechanism to bring a peaceful end to the Syrian conflict.”Effect on civiliansCriticism has sprung up in recent weeks, raising concerns the sanctions will hurt Syria’s civilian population. U.N. statistics estimate that more than 80% of Syrians live below the poverty line, and half the country’s prewar population has fled. Many Syrians have been demonstrating recently, demanding the country’s collapsed economy be fixed.At a U.N. Security Council session Tuesday, China’s ambassador, Zhang Jun, said issuing sanctions during a global pandemic was “simply inhumane.” Syrian government officials have called the Caesar Act “economic terrorism.”Safwan Qurabi, a member of Syria’s parliament, said the sanctions were aimed at stirring internal unrest. “The [Caesar] Act aims at pitting the Syrian citizen against the government. The law is an invitation to inner discord and chaos,” he said.The Foreign Ministry said Syria had vowed to confront the limits, and it urged the international community to work on removing all “illegitimate unilateral sanctions.”Pompeo rejected the notion of unilateral action, writing in his press release the U.S. “will undertake our campaign of economic and political pressure in full cooperation with other like-minded nations.”
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