Ahmad al-Shara, the President of Syria, has sparked a wave of protests in several cities across the country following the increase in fuel prices. In these protests, demonstrators have gathered on the main highways and reacted to the price hikes.
Increase in fuel prices and public reaction
The Syrian government announced on Sunday that it has raised the price of diesel by up to 40% and the price of gasoline by up to 28%. Government officials have stated that this price increase is temporary and a result of a sharp rise in global fuel supply costs. These changes in fuel prices have led to the largest protests since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime about two years ago, especially during the weekend holidays.
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Following the increase in diesel prices, protesters set fire to tires and blocked main roads, including the highway connecting Damascus to Aleppo. This increase in fuel prices has added to the economic pressure on people who have been facing a livelihood crisis for years. The United Nations Development Programme estimates that 90% of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line, while this figure was about one-third of the population before the civil war began in 2011.
Details of the price increase and its consequences
In addition to the 40% increase in diesel prices, the Syrian government has raised the price of domestic and industrial gas by about 9%, the price of super gasoline (95 octane) by 28% to 195 lira, and the price of regular gasoline (90 octane) by 26% to 185 lira. Protesters have also prevented oil tanker convoys from moving towards Syria's central refineries and have called for the dismissal of the ministers of energy and economy, as well as the head of the Syrian National Oil Company.
In Aleppo, protesters emphasized the unbearable conditions and demanded an immediate reduction in fuel prices and attention to their living conditions from Ahmad al-Shara. Meanwhile, Abdulhamid Salat, the spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of Energy, stated that this price increase is a temporary measure resulting from the rise in global fuel supply costs and the country's heavy dependence on imports, and it can be reconsidered with changing circumstances.
Syria is heavily dependent on Russian crude oil, importing about 60,000 barrels of oil from this country daily this year. However, fuel imports from Moscow have been disrupted due to attacks on Russian refineries and export restrictions imposed by Moscow. Additionally, the three-month closure of the Baniyas refinery, Syria's largest refinery, for major repairs has exacerbated fuel shortages within the country.
This price increase has caused the price of super gasoline to rise by about 86% since February, and the price of diesel has more than doubled. As the price of Brent crude oil has significantly increased from $72.48 to $104.61 per barrel, protesters are demanding an immediate change in the government's economic policies.
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