Fuel price hikes spark protests across Syria

Syria's Energy Ministry has raised fuel prices by up to 40 percent, triggering protests in several governorates and a parliamentary hearing for the energy minister.

• Syria's Energy Ministry has raised petroleum product prices by between 25 and 40 percent, attributing the increase to exceptional global insurance costs and maintenance at the Baniyas refinery.
• Protests have erupted in Idlib, Hama and eastern areas, with demonstrators in Aleppo burning tires on the Aleppo–Turkey highway and residents in Hasaka blocking fuel tankers.
• Protesters demanded the government reverse the increases and raise wages in line with living costs, chanting "the people want the fall of the minister."
• The Syrian People's Council has approved a hearing session for Energy Minister Muhammad al-Bashir on Thursday to discuss the new price list.
• Protests spread to multiple Syrian cities on Sunday, with demonstrators voicing frustration that living conditions have not improved since Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024.
• The price increases break down to roughly 40 percent for diesel, 25 percent for petrol, and about nine percent for cooking gas.
• President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government defended the hikes, saying recovery from decades of economic stagnation and sanctions will take time.