The largest protests since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024 have erupted in Syria. People took to the streets after authorities significantly raised fuel prices. Protesters burned tires and blocked roads, writes the BBC.
On Sunday, September 13, the Syrian government announced a 40% increase in the price of diesel fuel and a 28% increase in gasoline. Authorities called this a temporary measure, linked to rising global prices for oil and petroleum products. Another reason was the shutdown of the Baniyas oil refinery for modernization — the larger of two such enterprises in Syria.
Syrian Minister of Energy Mohammed al-Bashir reported that the country currently produces only about 102 thousand barrels of oil per day, while consuming about 325 thousand. Therefore, Syria has to import fuel.
Residents of the country fear that the increase in gasoline and diesel prices will lead to a rise in prices for almost all goods and services. In response, they began to take to the streets, burn car tires, and block highways.
On Monday, reports of protests came from Hama, Khan Shaykhun, and Maarat al-Numan, located near the highway that leads through Aleppo to the Turkish border. Protests also took place in Azaz and Al-Bab in the Damascus area, as well as in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, Hasakah, and other cities in the east of the country. Protests also occurred in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, in areas inhabited by Syrian Kurds.
The BBC's fact-checking service confirmed the authenticity of videos of disturbances at two border crossings — one on the border with Iraq, the other on the border with Turkey.
An AFP correspondent in Qamishli reported that hundreds of people took to the streets. They held placards with inscriptions "No to the policy of hunger!" and "No to fuel price increases!", and also chanted: "Fuel for the people!"
Taxi drivers particularly acutely felt the consequences of the price hike. A taxi driver from Damascus named Mohammed told Reuters that the day before he filled his car with 10 liters of gasoline for 185 thousand old Syrian pounds, and earned 225 thousand for the whole day. After deducting the cost of fuel, he was left with only 20-25 thousand pounds. After the denomination carried out in Syria in early 2026, this corresponds to 200-250 new pounds — less than two dollars.
Another Damascus taxi driver, Imad Abu-Ras, stated that after gasoline and diesel, vegetables and food products would start to get more expensive. He said he has five children and needs to buy five packs of flatbreads daily. If their price rises to nine thousand old Syrian pounds per pack, bread alone for his family will require about 40 thousand pounds per day, or approximately one million pounds per month. This is about 76 dollars.
Economists also consider the public's fears regarding further price increases to be justified. Syrian economist Hassan Murad noted that the problem of rising fuel prices is not limited only to the cost of a liter of gasoline or diesel. It affects transportation costs, food prices, public purchasing power, enterprise profitability, employment, and investments.
According to him, the increase in fuel prices could also affect the overall ability of the Syrian economy to recover and emerge from the current crisis.
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