Sanctions Lifted, Life Hasn't Improved: RTVI Field Report Documents Syria's Struggles After Assad's Fall
NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- RTVI has released "Syria After Assad," a special on-the-ground report by correspondent Katya Kazanchuk. Filed after months of Western sanctions relief and the formation of a new transitional government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the report documents the everyday realities of post-Assad Syria: an economy that has barely improved, sectarian violence against Alawites and Christians, and the collapse of Kurdish autonomy following the U.S. military withdrawal.
Sanctions Relief Hasn't Reached Ordinary Syrians
Despite Syria's gradual reintegration into the global economy, most residents have yet to feel meaningful improvement. A Damascus café owner interviewed by RTVI says the average monthly salary is around $150–$200, while a basic standard of living requires at least $400–$600. "A lot of enterprises and factories have shut down. They were oriented toward local production, and now the market is flooded with imported goods," he told RTVI. In May 2026, Syrian authorities ceremonially conducted the country's first cashless payment in 15 years — yet in practice, residents still pay in cash almost everywhere and bank cards remain almost universally unaccepted.
Alawites Killed on Religious Grounds
On March 6, 2025, loyalists of the former regime attacked new security force posts in Latakia, killing 16 soldiers. The retaliation was disproportionate. In the days that followed, RTVI's field reporting documents roughly 1,500 people killed along the Syrian coast — broadly consistent with Human Rights Watch's World Report 2026, which recorded at least 1,400 killed in Alawi-majority areas of Tartous, Latakia, and Hama governorates. The UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria has determined the attacks may have amounted to war crimes.
According to a Syrian immigrant interviewed by RTVI, units of the new Syrian army and affiliated armed formations arrived citing an operation against regime loyalists, but killings on religious grounds and extrajudicial executions soon followed. Many of those targeted sought shelter on Russian military bases.
Christian Communities Report Rising Fear
In Maaloula — one of the last places where Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is still spoken — only about 250 Christian families remain, down from 800. Residents told RTVI that tensions escalated in December 2024, when a local clash drew more than 2,000 armed men to march on the town. "The fear is tangible, because extremist ideology is beginning to grow," one resident told RTVI.
From Al-Qaeda to Meetings with Putin and Trump
Syria's new transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — is a figure for whom the U.S. State Department once offered a $10 million bounty. Al-Sharaa founded Jabhat al-Nusra, designated by the U.S. as al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, which later rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. HTS entered Damascus in late 2024. Al-Sharaa has since met with both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
"That's exactly why al-Sharaa has been nicknamed the Chameleon," an expert tells RTVI. "It's very difficult to draw a line between radical and non-radical Islamists."
Kurdish Autonomy Collapsed After U.S. Withdrawal
In early 2026, the U.S. announced its troop withdrawal from Syria, ending more than a decade of alliance with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. "With the Kurds — meaning with their autonomy — it was over in a couple of days, because their sponsor, the United States, simply walked away from them," an expert tells RTVI.
The full special report "Syria After Assad" by Katya Kazanchuk is available exclusively on RTVI's YouTube channel RTVI News. Watch the full report via the link: https://youtu.be/F8wOMF-INC0?si=m2TZLsPU4Ml-vFwk
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