Taxi drivers push cars that ran out of fuel to a petrol station in Damascus on April 16. Syria has been forced to adopt new measures to curb fuel shortages that the Assad government blames on Western sanctions imposed on the war-torn country. Photo: Louai Beshara / AFP As US sanctions strangle Iran’s fuel sector, Syria’s other key ally stands to consolidate its economic stake Life in Syria’s largest cities, including the capital Damascus, has ground to a near-standstill in recent days, as residents face extreme shortages in fuel and petroleum products. For the average Syrian living in government-controlled areas — now encompassing more than two-thirds of the country, and home to the majority of the population — the crisis is unprecedented. The tightening of United States and European Union sanctions against the Syrian energy and financial sectors, with the recent wave of stringent American measures against maritime petroleum […]