Syria: Economic Crisis Exhausts Damascus, Regime Blames 'Autonomous Administration'

Syrian schoolchildren walk as US troops patrol near Turkish border in Hassakeh, Syria Nov. 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo
Syrian schoolchildren walk as US troops patrol near Turkish border in Hassakeh, Syria Nov. 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo
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Syria: Economic Crisis Exhausts Damascus, Regime Blames 'Autonomous Administration'

Syrian schoolchildren walk as US troops patrol near Turkish border in Hassakeh, Syria Nov. 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo
Syrian schoolchildren walk as US troops patrol near Turkish border in Hassakeh, Syria Nov. 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo

Markets in Damascus registered a decrease in the exchange rate of the Syrian pound against the US dollar, a few hours after the explosion of one of the branch gas lines in Al-Sukhnah in the desert of Homs, on the administrative borders of Deir Ezzor governorate.

The USD exchange rate in Damascus hit SYP 3040 on Saturday, while in Aleppo it reached SYP 3030, amid the exacerbation of the fuel and bread crises in the regime-controlled areas.

In parallel, the Syrian Jazira region saw the eruption of chaos. A video broadcast by Kurdish activists in the city of Hassakeh showed the police chasing a number of civilian demonstrators, who were protesting against a security siege imposed on the neighborhoods of the city center, which is controlled by the Syrian regime.

On the other hand, the imam and preacher of the Great Mosque in Hassakeh, Ahmed Ismail, called on the “international community and humanitarian organizations” to convey the voice of the people to the world, and to shed light on the “harsh siege” imposed by the Syrian Democratic Forces on the people of the cities of Hassakeh and Qamishli.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that the Syrian regime forces and their security apparatus continue to impose a blockade on areas controlled by the Kurdish forces within the towns and villages of the northern countryside of Aleppo, “where the Fourth Division checkpoints prevent the entry of flour, fuel, and medicine.”

The neighborhoods of Hassakeh are witnessing an unprecedented military mobilization on both sides, with military skirmishes recorded despite Moscow’s efforts to reduce the escalation.



Trump Says He May Ease Sanctions on Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)
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Trump Says He May Ease Sanctions on Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with US President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he may ease US sanctions on Syria in response to a query from his Turkish counterpart.

Syria has struggled to implement conditions set out by Washington for relief from US sanctions, which keep the country cut off from the global financial system and make economic recovery extremely challenging after 14 years of grinding war.

"We may take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start," Trump told reporters.

He said he had been asked about Syria sanctions by Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Many people have asked me about that, because the way we have them sanctioned, it doesn't really give them much of a start. So we want to see we can help them out," Trump said.