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On February 6, a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck south-central Türkiye near the Türkiye-Syria border. Now, the death toll from the quake is climbing by the hour, reaching more than 24,000 people.
Local Syrians and aid agencies are calling on Western countries to lift sanctions on Syria as soon as possible in order to facilitate international relief. Under the international pressure, the U.S. Treasury late on Thursday announced a 180-day exemption to its sanctions on Syria for "all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts." However, the 72-hour "golden window" has long passed, and it is hardly a respite compared with Syria's 12 years of suffering.
In this Facts Tell Roundtable Special, we're going to talk about the impacts of Western sanctions against Syria amid this disaster and the reasons why they are 12-year nightmares for Syrians.