Tensions in Syria are increasingly marked by a struggle for the control of economic routes, as the country’s economic crisis is exacerbated amid shortages of even basic goods such as bread, fuel queues stretching for kilometers, and mounting calls for the reopening of border crossings to facilitate humanitarian aid.
The Russian and Syrian militaries pounded a series of crucial targets in Turkish-controlled areas in northern Syria in March, including rudimentary refineries and tanker parks in Jarablus and al-Bab, a parking lot for trucks carrying goods at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, a similar commercial area and a gas facility in Sarmada.