Syria is buckling under the stresses caused by civil war, a brutal dictatorship, punishing international sanctions, and most recently the devastation caused by earthquakes in the region last February.

At the same time, the effectiveness of sanctions meant to hurt and isolate the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad is being questioned. Recently, a group of former U.S. officials and Syria experts urged President Biden to rethink U.S. policy and make sanctions more effective.

NPR's Aya Batrawy traveled to a government-controlled area of Syria to learn more about what life under sanctions is like there.

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