UN envoy urges end to sanctions on Syria following Assad's ouster

The United Nations special envoy for Syria called for a quick end to Western sanctions after the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

The Syrian government has been under strict sanctions by the United States, European Union and others for years as a result of Assad's brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and later spiralled into a civil war.

The conflict has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. Rebuilding has been stymied to a large degree by sanctions that aimed to prevent the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure and property in government-held areas in the absence of a political solution.

“We can hopefully see a quick end to the sanctions so that we can see a rallying around the building of Syria,” UN envoy Geir Pedersen told reporters during a visit to Damascus on Sunday.

Pedersen came to the Syrian capital to meet with officials of the new interim government set up by the former opposition forces who toppled Assad, led by the anti-regime group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, or HTS.

The interim government is set to govern until March, but it has not yet made clear the process under which a new permanent administration would replace it.

“We need to get the political process underway that is inclusive of all Syrians,” Pedersen said. “That process needs to be led by the Syrians themselves.”

He called for “justice and accountability for crimes” committed during the war and for the international community to step up humanitarian aid.