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.



EU Official: 175 Mn Euro Syria Recovery Package 'Clear Message' of Support

EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
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EU Official: 175 Mn Euro Syria Recovery Package 'Clear Message' of Support

EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)
EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica arrives to attend a College of Commissioners meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on May 21, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

Visiting EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica said Thursday that a 175 million euro package for war-torn Syria was a "clear message" of support for its reconstruction.

Suica announced the package in Damascus Wednesday, saying it would focus on sectors including energy, education, health and agriculture, helping rebuild Syria's economy, support its institutions and promote human rights.

"I came here... with a clear message that we are here to assist and help Syria on its recovery," Suica told AFP in an interview on Thursday.

"We want that reconstruction and recovery will be Syria-owned and Syria-led," she said, on the first visit by an EU commissioner since a transitional government was unveiled in late March.

"We want to see Syria to be a regular, normal, democratic country in the future," she added.

The European Union announced last month it would lift economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help its recovery.

"This is a pivotal moment -- a new chapter in EU-Syria relations," Suica said on X, calling her meeting with interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa "constructive".

Like Syria's neighbors, Western governments are keen to steer it onto the road to stability after the war triggered an exodus of millions of refugees.

Refugee returns should be "safe, voluntary and dignified", Suica said.

The EU has not designated Syria as a safe country for returns "because we don't want to push people to come here and then they don't have a home", she said.