Anti-government protests in the Druze majority region continued for the eighth day as economic conditions in Syria become increasingly dire
Protesters in Syria’s southern Suwayda region raided the local offices of the ruling Baath party on 23 August, as anti-government protests sparked by the country’s severe economic and financial crisis continue.
Opposition activists said protesters also partially blocked a highway linking the Druze-majority Suwayda governorate to Damascus.
According to the Syrian Observer, the protests began on 16 August, following a significant currency depreciation, with one US dollar reaching the equivalent of 15,000 Syrian pounds.
At the start of the Syrian war 2011, one US dollar was equivalent to 47 Syrian pounds. Earlier last week, the Syrian government lifted fuel subsidies, increasing fuel prices from 3,000 pounds to 8,000 Syrian pounds per liter.
Protests have also taken place in the nearby Deraa governorate on the Jordanian border.
In December, protesters similarly stormed the Baath party offices in Suwayda, which led to clashes that killed one policeman and one protester.
The economic situation in Syria has become increasingly dire following more than a decade of war and US sanctions, which US officials have admitted are meant to crush the Syrian economy and prevent reconstruction as part of Washington’s broader regime change effort.
🔗Source:The Cradle
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