Syria fuel price hikes test public patience with economic recovery

The sight of protesters blocking roads and burning tyres on the streets of several Syrian cities and towns has highlighted popular anger over a government decision to increase fuel prices and a wider cost-of-living crisis.

The protests, which erupted on Sunday, come after months of complaints about soaring energy costs and criticisms that the lives of many Syrians have not improved since the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024.

The Syrian government has defended its efforts, arguing that it will take time to overcome decades of economic stagnation and international isolation.

The trigger for Sunday’s protests was a government announcement that diesel prices would rise by 40 percent, petrol by at least 25 percent and cooking gas around nine percent.

The government said the increases were temporary and caused by a spike in refined petroleum products following the US-Israeli war on Iran and renewed hostilities in Yemen. However, the Syrian parliament has summoned Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir for a hearing on rising fuel costs, a sign that officials were concerned by the public outcry.

When anti-regime forces overthrew al-Assad’s government, much of the country erupted in celebration.

It came after more than a decade of war and the 50-year rule of the al-Assad family, which had led to international sanctions on the country.

Aside from expectations that freedoms would increase after the fall of the regime, which operated as a police state, many Syrians also hoped the country’s dire economic conditions would improve.