ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US has expanded authorizations for humanitarian transactions and activities in Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime to increase aid in the war-torn country while maintaining sanctions, the US Department announced on Monday.
“This action underscores the United States’ commitment to ensuring that U.S. sanctions do not impede activities to meet basic human needs, including the provision of public services or humanitarian assistance,” read a statement from the department, adding that the authorization is for six months as the US continues to monitor the situation on the ground.
The Biden administration approved this authorization over the weekend, which shows goodwill to the new Syrian administration led by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reported Reuters earlier on Monday.
“The end of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal and repressive rule, backed by Russia and Iran, provides a unique opportunity for Syria and its people to rebuild,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo was cited in the statement as saying.
“During this period of transition, [the] Treasury will continue to support humanitarian assistance and responsible governance in Syria,” he noted.
HTS is the successor of the al-Nusra Front and has its roots in al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch. It had long controlled a rebel enclave in the northwestern province of Idlib and has been internationally designated as a terrorist organization.
The group led a blistering offensive against the Assad regime in late November, securing major cities on the road to Damascus before taking the capital on December 8 as Assad fled the country, ending over five decades of Baathist rule.
US diplomats have been in contact with HTS in an attempt to keep US leverage in the region while countering terrorism and helping Syria build an inclusive government.
