REVOLUTION ERUPTS IN SYRIA AS FUEL PRICES ARE INCREASED BY 25% TO 40% – FORWARD WITH THE ARAB REVOLUTION!
LARGE scale protests have erupted in Syria after the ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime raised fuel prices again.
The HTS oil ministry announced that fuel prices would be increased by 25-40 per cent at midnight Sunday, attributing the increase to the rise in the price of global energy commodities due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran disrupting oil and gas markets.
After the new prices came into effect, Syrians took to the streets in cities to protest against the hike.
They set up roadblocks, closing the M5 highway which connects the northern and southern parts of the country. ‘Protesters blocked the M5 highway near the town of Maarret al-Nuuman south of Idlib, expressing dissatisfaction with the increase in fuel prices,’ Alikhbariah TV channel reported on Sunday.
According to the TV channel, protesters in Mari and Al-Bab in the north of Aleppo province also took to the streets against the fuel prices rise.
Protesters blocked traffic in other Syrian cities as well.
In Raqqa, security forces clamped down on the protesters, clearing the roads and removing the tyres that had been set on fire.
Apart from Raqqa, Annahar reported protests in Deir ez-Zor and Hasakeh, which included burning tyres in front of the municipality building in Tal Abyad and road blockades in the 47 area, where videos showed protesters blocking the road in front of oil-truck tankers on the M4 road.
Regime forces reportedly fired live ammunition while attempting to disperse protesters in Raqqa, Hasakah, and Deir ez-Zor.
Meanwhile, the United States military forces have reportedly smuggled a new consignment of stolen Syrian oil out to American bases in Iraq.
The new fuel prices imposed by HTS on residents’ vehicles are SYP (Syrian pound) 195 per litre (about $1.60) for 95-octane gasoline and 90-octane gasoline at SYP 185 per litre ($1.52). For diesel oil, the price is SYP 175 per litre ($1.43). Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for household use is set at SYP 1,600 (about $13.11) per kg, and industrial LPG is priced at SYP 2,560 ($20.98) for each kg, (One US dollar = SYP 122).
The ministry estimates that Syria’s daily consumption stands at around 300,000 barrels, while domestic crude oil production is only 100,000 barrels per day, leaving a large share of demand to be met through imports.
The US military has long stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh.
The Bashar al-Assad government, however, repeatedly maintained that the US deployment is aimed at plundering the country’s natural resources.
US President Donald Trump has admitted on several occasions that American forces are in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
In infamous comments made in 2019, Trump said: ‘We’re keeping (Syria’s) oil. We have the oil. The oil is secure. We left troops behind only for the oil.’
Several countries, including Russia and China, have condemned US actions in plundering Syrian resources and have called on Washington to stop its continued looting of the war-torn country’s natural resources.
The workers of the world must give their 100% support to the Syrian workers and youth. Now is the time to establish a Workers and Farmers government in Syria so that the country’s wealth will be used for the benefit of the Syrian people and not so that a privileged ruling class can continue to live in luxury.
The Syrian workers and youth are in the same trench as the Palestinian masses and youth who are fully engaged in driving the imperialist powers out of the Middle East for ever.
Now is the time for the masses of Palestine, Egypt and the Middle East as a whole to give their full support to the Syrian workers and youth.
The imperialist powers must be run out of the Middle East! Forward to the victory of the Palestinian and Syrian peoples!
