Despite being on the brink of collapse, the Lebanese economy is keeping a troublesome neighbour afloat: Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. In order to dodge international sanctions on the Assad regime – notably the US-imposed Caesar Act – products such as food and petrol are being smuggled across the border into Syria on a massive scale. Our reporters James André and Mayssa Awad investigated a phenomenon that costs the Lebanese economy a whopping $15 million a day and prevents the international community from coming to its aid.
Lebanon-Syria border: Smuggling and sanctions, the new frontline
