U.S. sanctions on Syrian regime | With economy in freefall, will “Caesar Act” topple Al-Assad?

Only a few days separate the Syrians from implementation of “Caesar Act”, a bill legalized by the United States to exert pressure on the Syrian regime. It is expected that the bill will come into effect in next June, so that it will offer the means for U.S. to end the fight in Syria by sanctioning the Syrian government, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

 

United states continues threatening to impose additional economic sanctions on Syria, at a time when Washington refuses to lift earlier sanctions after the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

 

In December 2019, United States Senate passed a package of documents and legislation, including Caesar Act, for the purpose of undermining the Syrian regime. The Caesar Act includes sanctions on any parties which might be supporting the regime military operations, especially Russia and Iran.

 

As the implementation of the new bill approaches, many questions come to the fore on the possibility of  “Caesar Act” to end the war in Syria. That war which U.S. has failed to end over nine years of indirect military operations through supporting opposition factions and specific organizations and imposing economic sanctions, in addition to executing airstrikes on regime positions after accusations to the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons against civilians.

 

In the wake of the historic low of Syrian Pound against foreign currency and the escalating levels of inflation and prices, the Caesar Act comes to place additional economic burden on the Syrian regime. These developments, in turn, deepens the sufferings of the Syrians in the war-torn country.

 

It seems that the Syrian regime has a big problem with the new sanctions and looming economic hardship, especially since the rift flares up between the Syrian authorities and Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad and one of the most prominent capitalists in Syria.

 

It is worth noting that the Syrian pound against the US dollar recorded 1,800 SYL, and 1,950 SYL against the Euro.