Leaders| A shattered nation
Lift sanctions to give Syria a chance of rebuilding
Our poll shows Syrians trust their new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. So should the West
Children celebrate Eid-al-Fitr at an amusement park set up in the Yarmouk Refugee Camp, Damascus, Syria, April 1st 2025
Photograph: Getty Images
Syrians could be forgiven for disillusionment. Four months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December, following five decades of brutal dictatorship by his family, Syria’s economy lies in ruins and its politics is volatile. Just last month hundreds, perhaps more, died in sectarian violence.