Dispute between Government, Makhlouf Deepens Syria's Economic Woes

A man watches a Facebook video posted by Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf in Damascus on May 11, 2020. (AFP)
A man watches a Facebook video posted by Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf in Damascus on May 11, 2020. (AFP)
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Dispute between Government, Makhlouf Deepens Syria's Economic Woes

A man watches a Facebook video posted by Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf in Damascus on May 11, 2020. (AFP)
A man watches a Facebook video posted by Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf in Damascus on May 11, 2020. (AFP)

Concerns over the economy increased in Damascus as the result of the dispute between the government and businessman Rami Makhlouf.

The latter warned of an “economic meltdown” in the event that his company, Syriatel, collapsed.

The government’s Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority had informed two of Makhlouf’s companies, Syriatel and MTN mobile phone, to pay about 234 billion Syrian pounds to the state treasury as a penalty, after failing to meet a deadline to pay hundreds of millions in dues.

The businessman, who for decades had the country’s most prominent economic pillars, is facing a series of measures that would affect his shares in the state-owned Syrian Telecom Company (Syriatel), the country’s biggest mobile phone company.

Makhlouf published on Facebook on May 10 a letter from Syriatel to the government saying the company was ready to pay immediately “a first instalment to be determined on the basis of the liquidity available to the company.” He also criticized the Telecommunications and Regulatory Authority for posting a statement that contradicts his letter.

In response, the Authority issued a document on May 16, signed by five managers of Syriatel Mobile Telecom, in which they declared their approval of the Authority’s requests, but noted that Makhlouf had refused to give them the green light to proceed with the agreement.

Syria’s security bodies had launched a campaign of arrests earlier this month targeting dozens of employees of companies affiliated with Makhlouf, and stormed his house in Yaafur.

In a video on social media, the businessman implored his cousin, President Bashar Assad, to “intervene and put an end to the security services’ operations” and the release of his employees and managers.

Amid the dispute, anxiety mounted in the Syrian street over an economic deterioration, in parallel with the strict health measures imposed by the government over the coronavirus outbreak, which have compounded unemployment and poverty.



US Campaign Against Houthis Expected to Expand

A US fighter jet takes off from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman to strike Houthis (AP)
A US fighter jet takes off from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman to strike Houthis (AP)
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US Campaign Against Houthis Expected to Expand

A US fighter jet takes off from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman to strike Houthis (AP)
A US fighter jet takes off from the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman to strike Houthis (AP)

The US campaign against the Houthis, launched by President Donald Trump, entered its third week with new airstrikes targeting the group’s strongholds.

Late Tuesday into Wednesday, the strikes hit Houthi positions in Saada province in the north, Hajjah province, and extended to the coastal governorate of Hodeidah along the Red Sea.

This comes amid growing anticipation of expanded operations, following the deployment of a second US aircraft carrier to the region.

While the Houthis claimed to have targeted US forces in the northern Red Sea with drones and missiles, a Yemeni minister revealed widespread panic among the group's leaders.

He noted that they had begun selling off properties and smuggling their families out via Sana’a airport.

Trump ordered the campaign against the Houthis on March 15, aiming to force the group to halt threats to maritime security.

He vowed to use “deadly force” and “eliminate them entirely” after the Houthis escalated attacks following the collapse of the second phase of the Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas.

Houthi media reported that airstrikes targeted the al-Mansuriyah district in Hodeidah, claiming they hit a water project and killed four civilians. The group also acknowledged that eastern Saada city was struck by five air raids.

The US campaign is expected to expand in the coming days after Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the deployment of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the Middle East.

It will join the Harry S. Truman, which is currently leading strikes against the Houthis.

With the group remaining tight-lipped about its military losses, including equipment and senior figures, the full impact of the US offensive on its capabilities remains unclear.

Meanwhile, the Houthis’ defense minister claimed they were prepared for a “long-term confrontation.”

The Houthis joined the regional escalation following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, launching around 200 missiles and drones toward Israel.

However, the attacks had little military impact, with the only reported fatality occurring in Tel Aviv in June.