Residents dissatisfied with government’s closure of crossings in Syria’s Manbij
MANBIJ, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, residents of the city of Manbij, north Syria, expressed their dissatisfaction with the high prices of vegetables, coinciding with the Syrian government’s closure of al-Tayha crossing and preventing goods and vegetables to enter the area.
“The high prices of vegetables affect us as those of limited income,” Turki Hanifi, a resident of Manbij, told North Press.
“The closure of the crossings has greatly affected the markets, as the amount of vegetables now in the market is not sufficient for the needs of the region’s residents,” Hanifi added.
He pointed out that the traders monopolize the goods to raise prices, as they store them in refrigerators designated for preserving vegetables and present them in the market in batches.
For his part, Salem Muhammad, owner of a vegetable store in al-Hal Market, told North Press that they have experienced large losses due to price instability.
“Two days ago, the prices of vegetables increased illogically, and after the traders brought quantities of vegetables, the prices decreased,” he added.
Muhammad indicated that two days ago, the price of tomatoes rose to 2,500 SYP per kilo, but today it decreased to 1,000.
These prices are still high, in light of the great collapse of the value of the Syrian pound and the difficult living conditions.
Today, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Syrian pound in Manbij has reached 3,550 SYP.
Residents of Manbij demanded to reopen the crossings and supply goods, including vegetables, so that prices return as they were before, in order to continue the buying and selling process.
The residents suffer from the lack of daily household needs, especially vegetables and consumables that were imported from the Syrian government-held areas.
Until now, the reasons for the Syrian government’s closure of the three crossings that connect its areas with the AANES-held areas is unknown.
The Syrian government has continued to close three crossings with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) held areas, including al-Tayha crossing, which connects Manbij with government-held areas since March 21.