Protests erupt over fuel price hikes in northeast Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Hundreds of people protested Sunday in Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor governorates against a government decision to raise fuel prices, blocking several main and secondary roads with burning tires.
Late Saturday night, the Permanent Committee for Pricing Petroleum Products and Mineral Resources in Syria issued a new temporary price list for petroleum products, with the new prices taking effect Sunday.
Under the new price list, the price of one liter of 95-octane gasoline rose to 195 Syrian pounds, while 90-octane gasoline reached 185 pounds and diesel 175 pounds. The price of household gas rose to 1,600 pounds, while industrial gas reached 2,560 pounds.
The protests in Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor included calls for lower fuel prices and measures to ease the cost-of-living burden on residents.
Protesters blocked several roads and prevented oil tankers from passing through parts of Hasakah and the Deir ez-Zor countryside. Several locations also witnessed gatherings in which participants voiced opposition to the new fuel price increases.
In the Raqqa countryside, protesters blocked the international Deir ez-Zor–Aleppo road near Huwayja Shanan with burning tires. The Deir ez-Zor–Raqqa highway was also blocked in protest against rising fuel prices, while roads in the Karama area were closed and oil tankers prevented from passing.