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Assad, Turkey hamper US assistance for Syria

The Assad regime’s territorial gains and the Turkish offensive in Afrin are conspiring to keep the world’s largest aid donor on the sidelines.
Syrian men work on reconstructing a damaged building in the northern Syrian city of Raqa, on January 16, 2018 after a huge military operation led on the ground by Kurdish fighters and in the air by US warplanes defeated jihadists from the Islamic State group but also left the city completely disfigured.
Once home to around 300,000 people, Raqa's neighbourhoods were empty when it was declared retaken in mid-October. Three months on, despite the lack of infrastructure and the lingering threat of unexploded mi

The Bashar al-Assad regime’s political and territorial gains and the Turkish offensive in Afrin are dealing a double blow to the United States’ ability to get involved in rebuilding Syria.

Washington’s reluctance to help Assad cement his hold on power is ensuring that the world’s largest aid donor remains on the sidelines of international reconstruction efforts. But even short-term humanitarian relief is in jeopardy following Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria to battle US-backed Kurdish forces last month.

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