US President Donald Trump moved to end most sanctions on Syria, part of a wider effort to rehabilitate the war-torn country and reduce upheaval in the Middle East.
Syria has been under some level of US sanctions since 1979, with more sweeping ones imposed in 2011 in response to dictator Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on protests. But a December revolution ended the Assad family’s rule, and the former Islamist militant who leads the new government has sought new investment and trade links, which Gulf states in particular have been quick to offer.
However, the transition has not been bloodless: Communities associated with the old regime have been targeted for massacres by fighters linked to the country’s new leaders, a sign that Syria remains dangerously polarized.
