Syria goes to the polls as new sanctions hit war-ravaged economy

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma cast their vote inside a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on July 19, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

DAMASCUS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria held a parliamentary election on Sunday, gripped by a collapsing economy and new U.S. sanctions after President Bashar al-Assad clawed back control of most of the country.

People voted across government territory at more than 7,000 polling stations, including for the first time in former rebel bastions that the army has recaptured over the last two years.