The Syrian civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 21st century, has devastated the nation and its people. With over half a million lives lost and millions displaced, it has sparked a humanitarian crisis that continues to reverberate. The European Union (EU) has responded to the Syrian conflict by imposing some of the most stringent sanctions in modern history, aiming to curtail the Assad regime’s ability to wage war against its own people. Yet, despite these measures, a clandestine supply chain is enabling the Syrian army to acquire new-looking, EU-branded trucks. This investigation reveals how these vehicles are circumventing sanctions through complex routes, exposing the limits of international embargoes and raising questions about enforcement.

Since 2011, Syria has been gripped by a civil war that has pitted the government of Bashar al-Assad against various opposition groups, with devastating consequences for civilians. The EU and its member states have sought to curb the violence by implementing sanctions targeting the Assad regime, key sectors of the Syrian economy, and individuals involved in human rights abuses. These sanctions have been some of the most comprehensive in the world, covering everything from oil exports to financial services.

However, sanctions are often riddled with loopholes, and enforcement is complicated. The responsibility to uphold these sanctions falls on individual EU member states, leading to discrepancies in their application. One area where these sanctions appear to be failing is in the export of commercial trucks, which, while not directly banned, are making their way into Syria through an intricate network of intermediaries and neighboring countries.

Videos and images shared on social media, including a notable one from Idlib, show the Syrian army using new-looking trucks from EU manufacturers such as Mercedes, Scania, Volvo, and Iveco. These trucks are being used to transport tanks, artillery, and other military equipment, crucial to the Assad regime’s ongoing war efforts. The footage includes Scania trucks-specifically models like the G460, G480, and R440-being utilized by the Tiger Forces, an elite Russian-backed Syrian military unit known for its role in major offensives.

While the exact timeline and method by which these trucks entered Syria remain unclear, their presence raises troubling questions. Syria does not publish detailed military procurement data, and some truck manufacturers outsource parts of their production processes, which could mean the trucks were assembled outside the EU. Nonetheless, evidence points to a well-established supply chain through countries such as Jordan and Lebanon, where sanctions are less stringent, allowing goods to flow more freely.

At the heart of this secretive supply chain are intermediaries-traders, customs brokers, and shipping agents-who facilitate the movement of trucks from the EU to Syria via neighboring countries. An undercover investigation, conducted by journalists working with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), shed light on how this system operates.

Through a series of interviews with truck traders and customs agents in Germany, Italy, Sweden, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, the investigators found that traders were well aware of the sanctions and devised creative ways to circumvent them. One trader based in Sweden, when asked about shipping trucks directly to Syria, made it clear that such a route would be blocked by Swedish authorities. However, he offered an alternative: shipping the trucks via Jordan, from where they could be smuggled into Syria with minimal scrutiny.

The traders detailed how trucks could be shipped to Jordan’s port of Aqaba, then transported to free zones like the Zarqa Free Zone, where customs oversight is lax. Once in these zones, the trucks could be easily moved to the Jordanian-Syrian Joint Free Zone near the border, and from there to Damascus without any official mention of Syria in the paperwork. This circuitous route mirrors similar tactics used by traders supplying goods to Russia via Belarus or Central Asia to bypass sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.

Economic free zones, which are special areas where customs regulations are relaxed, play a key role in facilitating this trade. Countries like Jordan and Lebanon host numerous free zones that allow goods to be stored, re-exported, or modified with minimal oversight. This makes it easier for traders to manipulate documentation, evade sanctions, and funnel trucks into Syria.

A visit to Jordan’s Zarqa Free Zone by an undercover reporter revealed about 50 trucks from EU manufacturers like Mercedes, Volvo, and Scania passing through the area. Customs officers at the zone indicated that these trucks were bound for Syria, though the final buyer and use of the vehicles could not be confirmed. The lax oversight in these zones, combined with the ability to falsify paperwork, makes them fertile ground for sanctions evasion.

As one Syrian customs agent described, the process of moving trucks through these free zones is often greased by bribes. An undercover reporter was told by a broker that paying bribes to customs officials was “mandatory” to ensure the trucks made it into Syria without problems. The cost of moving a single truck could be as much as $23,000, including the fees for bribes, customs paperwork, and shipping.

Jordan is not the only country acting as a conduit for trucks entering Syria. Lebanon, with its close geographic and economic ties to Syria, also plays a significant role. A Syria-based shipping agent revealed that trucks could be sent to Lebanon and then transited into Syria with ease. This route, like the one through Jordan, exploits the lack of stringent enforcement in Lebanon, which has not imposed the same level of sanctions on Syria as the EU or the United States.

One customs agent in Damascus provided documentary evidence showing that EU-made trucks had entered Syria in recent years. Among the documents was a customs clearance form for a second-hand Mercedes truck manufactured in Germany and priced at $38,260. Another declaration showed an Iveco truck made in Spain, priced at $216,696, being transported to a Syrian free zone in 2022.

The case of EU trucks being used in Syria highlights the challenges of enforcing sanctions in a globalized economy. While the EU sanctions on Syria are extensive, they are not foolproof. The laws governing these sanctions are often vague, and enforcement depends on the capacity and willingness of individual member states.

Sanctions do not explicitly ban the export of ordinary road trucks, even though they play a critical role in Syria’s war effort by transporting military equipment. As Tom Keatinge, a director at the UK-based think tank RUSI, points out, free trade zones and vague sanctions laws create “loopholes” that traders and intermediaries exploit.

The situation in Syria underscores the need for dynamic, evolving sanctions regimes that can adapt to new information and changing circumstances. Experts argue that without constant monitoring and adjustments, sanctions will continue to be circumvented, enabling authoritarian regimes to persist in their violent campaigns.

The ongoing flow of EU trucks into Syria, despite years of sanctions, reveals the cracks in the global sanctions system. Traders and intermediaries have mastered the art of evading sanctions, finding loopholes in free zones, manipulating paperwork, and paying bribes to ensure their goods reach the Syrian regime. While sanctions have succeeded in limiting Syria’s access to some military goods, they have not been able to fully prevent the flow of critical supplies, such as trucks used to transport heavy weaponry.

If the international community is serious about stopping the violence in Syria, sanctions enforcement must be tightened. Free zones, often overlooked in sanctions frameworks, need stricter oversight, and governments must be willing to close the loopholes that allow goods to flow into sanctioned countries. Without these measures, sanctions will continue to be a tool with limited efficacy, allowing the Syrian regime to wage war with impunity.

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