Syria’s reistatement to the Arab League in 2023 after a 12-year suspension did little to improve the economic and security situation in the war-torn country that has effectively become an arena for an American-Iranian conflict.
Syria’s return to the organization did little to lifting sanctions against Damascus, which is still languishing under an economic and financial crisis that has led to a 100% collapse of the pound from 2022. The crushing crisis sparked protests in the southern Sweida city in August.
In February, another disaster struck the country: a devastating earthquake that left 23,000 people dead in Syria and neighboring Türkiye. The tragedy hit regime- and opposition-held regions in Syria’s west and north.
In what was seen as the first step in Damascus’ rapprochement with its Arab fold, countries in the region dispatched urgent aid to the people affected.
Months later in May, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the Arab summit in Jeddah, with Syria’s membership being restored.
At the event, he hoped the summit would “mark the beginning of a new phase of Arab work towards peace in our region, as well as prosperity instead of war and destruction.”
“This is a historic opportunity to rearrange our affairs with minimal foreign meddling,” he added.
Arab leaders at the summit agreed to “bolster joint Arab cooperation to tackle the fallout and repercussions of displacement, terrorism and drug smuggling.” They stressed the need for “effective and tangible steps that would lead to a solution to the crisis in Syria.”
In reality, however, no progress has since been made in the refugee file and the drug smuggling from Syria through Jordan to Arab countries did not stop. Jordanian and Syrian officials even met in July to tackle the phenomenon.
Jordan has reported dozens of smuggling operations throughout the year, most recently four attempts over a four-day period in December.
Jordanian officials said the operations have become “regulated”. Drones are employed in the process that is protected by armed groups. Amman has resorted to air raids on a number of occasions to thwart the smugglers.
On the security level, no radical change took place in 2023. ISIS is still active and continues to launch attacks against government forces and civilians. Notable attacks took place against truffle hunters in February and April. In October, ISIS launched a drone attack against a military academy graduation ceremony in Homs city, leaving at least 100 people dead.
Moreover, little progress has been achieved in unifying authorities in Syria and pushing for the withdrawal of foreign forces.
Hezbollah and allied Iran-aligned militias continue to be deployed in the country. Israel, in turn, has continued to carry out air raids against these groups. These attacks intensified with the eruption of its war on Gaza in October. The raids took Damascus and Aleppo airports out of service for two whole months.
The war on Gaza effectively turned Syria into an open arena for conflict between Iran – through its proxies – and the United States. Pro-Iran militias continued to attack American forces in eastern and northeastern Syria, while they retaliated by striking the militants. The Pentagon had also announced its targeting of Iranian Revolutionary Guards forces in Syria.
Amid the stalemate, the economy continued to crumble, pushing people to the streets in Sweida city in August and they continued through December.
The rallies spread to Daraa, where protesters demanded the ouster of the regime, release of prisoners and implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2254.
The demonstrations also spread to Deir Ezzor, the Aleppo and Idlib countrysides, and some regime-held regions in Damascus and Tartus.
Assad had a busy year, first visiting Jeddah for the Arab summit. He then made official visits to the United Arab Emirates, Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin, and China, where he met President Xi Jinping.
