The February 6 earthquakes that struck Türkiye and Syria revealed how far the Syrian regime would capitalise on humanitarian issues in achieving political goals. However, such efforts or endeavours in this regard are not new   themes for the regime; as such behaviour has been evident since 2020, that is, with the onset of calm in the country. 

It was also evident during the devasting earthquakes that the regime was actively seeking to increase the level of communication and coordination with the international community, in attempts to expand its role in managing and delivering humanitarian aid into the country. AS such, the regime is working on utilising such catastrophic conditions   to restore political legitimacy. 

Moreover, the regime has been supported by its allies, especially Russia and Iran, to achieve its goals of investing in humanitarian issues, benefiting from the regional countries’ calculations regarding migration issues and their desire to ease the burdens resulting from hosting refugees and fears of new waves of asylum seekers. 

This report, in fact, reviews the strategy and the approach that the regime has followed in investing in humanitarian issues, in a way that helps actors, stakeholders, and decision-makers understand the objectives and nature of the regime's intervention in the humanitarian file.  

Nevertheless, this report does not aim to evaluate the humanitarian actions of organizations and executive bodies either those affiliated with the regime or affiliated with the United Nations or others.