Limits on Aid to Syria Threaten to Worsen the Countrys Humanitarian Crisis

In the week since President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria fell in a shocking conclusion to the country’s 13-year civil war, Syrians have celebrated the end of a regime that subjected them to crippling poverty and human rights abuses.But the ascension of the rebel groups that toppled Mr.Assad threatens to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis that was set off by the civil war.During Mr.

Assad’s rule, crippling sanctions imposed on Syria by countries around the world hobbled its economy.Any new government that takes control will inherit those sanctions, which will severely restrict funding for Syria’s reconstruction and limit assistance to civilians unless the international community moves to lift them.Sanctions on the ousted Assad regime are not the only challenge that could stymie the country’s new leaders as Syria struggles to find some footing.

A second major problem compounds the issue: The leading faction of the rebel network that ousted Mr.Assad, a group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Nations and others.

H.T.S.has assumed control of the country, but the designation means that any government the group runs cannot, as of now, get help for reconstruction and further narrows the pathways available to countries trying to send assistance to Syria.“Syria is one of the most comprehensively sanctioned countries in the world, and it faces other designations and export controls that directly impact economic activity there, including humanitarian assistance,” said Alex Zerden, a senior fellow at the Center for New American Security who previously worked on terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department.

As a result of the tangle of limitations, it is “very hard to provision humanitarian assistance in Syria compared to other countries,” he added.There is wide agreement in the international community that Syria desperately needs more aid, and some efforts are unde...