Damascus (AFP)
President Bashar al-Assad sacked his Prime Minister on Thursday when Syria, bloodied by war since 2011, is facing a worsening of the economic crisis with a sharp depreciation of the national currency.
Appointed in 2016, Imad Khamis, 58, was relieved of his duties and replaced by Minister of Water Resources Hussein Arnous, who will lead the government until the legislative elections scheduled for July 19, the presidency said in a statement .
Like his predecessor, the new Prime Minister has been the subject of sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against the Assad regime for several years.
The dismissal of Mr. Khamis comes at a time when the government is criticized for its management of the crisis, aggravated by a sharp depreciation of the Syrian pound, in addition to the multiplication of austerity measures.
If the official exchange rate is currently 700 pounds for one dollar, in the parallel market the rate of the national currency has recently exceeded 3,000 pounds for a dollar.
Before the start of the war, which killed more than 380,000 people, thrown millions of Syrians out on the streets and devastated the country's infrastructure, the dollar was trading at 48 pounds at the rate set by the Central Bank.
In a parliamentary session on Sunday in Damascus, MP Achwaq Abbas lambasted "bad government policies", while another elected official demanded immediate action from the Central Bank.
- "César Law" -
From Sunday to Tuesday, dozens of people demonstrated against the economic policy of power in the southern province of Soueida, under the control of Mr. Assad's forces.
For experts, the current depreciation can be explained in particular by the reluctance of the business world before the adoption in mid-June of new American sanctions provided for by the "Caesar law".
The text, promulgated in December by President Donald Trump, provides for a freeze on all reconstruction aid for the Syrian authorities as well as sanctions against the government of Mr. Assad or companies collaborating with him.
Thursday, dozens of people, brandishing portraits of Mr. Assad and Syrian flags, demonstrated in Damascus to denounce the sanctions and support the president, said an AFP photographer.
"No to America and its sanctions", could be read on a sign. "Listen, listen to Donald Trump, the Syrian people will not be hungry," chanted the protesters.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), food prices have risen 133% since May 2019, in a country where 9.3 million people are food insecure.
"With the depreciation of the pound, prices for basic foods, especially rice, pasta, lentils and oil, are likely to continue to rise," said WFP spokeswoman Jessica Lawson.
- "Hunger, poverty" -
"These price increases are likely to plunge even more people into hunger, poverty, and food insecurity, while the purchasing power of Syrians continues to erode," she added.
The climate of economic confidence has also been eroded by the unexpected disgrace of the country's wealthiest businessman, Rami Makhlouf, cousin of the Syrian president, who saw his assets frozen, according to experts.
In May, the government adopted new cuts in gasoline subsidies. And in February, the authorities imposed a monthly ceiling on purchases of certain basic products at a subsidized price - rice, sugar or tea.
The crisis was amplified by the containment measures adopted against the Covid-19, but also by the economic sinking in neighboring Lebanon, hit by a shortage of dollars and a fall in its national currency.
According to analysts, Lebanon offered Syria and its business people access to dollars, which are vital for the economy and imports.
© 2020 AFP