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Damascus Raises Putin Road Signs Despite Economic Turmoil

A picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military team in the streets of Damascus (The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military team in the streets of Damascus (The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
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Damascus Raises Putin Road Signs Despite Economic Turmoil

A picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military team in the streets of Damascus (The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)
A picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military team in the streets of Damascus (The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights)

The Damascus Chamber of Industry has expressed its support for the Russian army in its war against Ukraine by setting up road signs bearing the picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin across the Syrian capital.

"We support Russia- Victory to Russia – Justice prevails" is the slogan that was inscribed on the road signs.

In a Sunday Facebook post, the Chamber said that "time was right" to announce its stand in solidarity with Moscow because "Russia's leadership, army and people have long stood by Syria."

Some pictures show Putin with his defense minister and army chief of staff, while in other pictures, Putin appears alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A UK-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and several Syrian news websites reported the installation of the road signs and published samples of Putin's photos.

The Chamber celebrating Russia and its president comes at a time when a severe economic crisis is sweeping livelihoods in Syria, where regime-controlled areas are suffering the loss of essential commodities and medicines. Moreover, Syria's national currency had plummeted to a new low against foreign currencies.

Hikes in prices of basics and the depreciation of the Syrian pound had worsened with Russia waging its war against Ukraine on February 24.

Samer Al-Debs, who is considered one of the economic fronts of the Syrian regime, heads the Chamber. US sanctions were issued against him in 2016.

Markets within regime-controlled areas are witnessing great confusion, affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions imposed on Russia.

According to Observatory activists, sugar and oil have been lost in Syrian markets where sales are going down as a result of price hikes.

Prices of medicines also increased by up to 50%. Some drugs have gone missing from pharmacies as well.

Missing drugs include ibuprofen and medicines for chronic diseases treating patients with heart problems, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, multiple sclerosis.

Another commodity missing from Syrian markets is baby formula.

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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 11 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."