During more than nine years of war, Umm Ahmed and her family remained free from battles and bombing, but today they fear for their five children from starvation with the erosion of their purchasing power due to the sharp decline in the value of the Syrian pound.

Um Ahmed, 39, who lives in the town of Bennish in northwestern Syria, told Agence France Presse: "Since the war began, we have tasted all kinds of pain and suffering, and I think starvation is what we will taste" in the coming period.

The local currency witnessed a rapid decline in its value during the past few days in the parallel market, as its exchange rate rose against the dollar between Saturday and Monday from 2300 to more than three thousand, while the official exchange rate is fixed at 700 pounds. This caused an insane rise in the prices of food and commodities throughout the country and prompted some stores to close their doors amid widespread resentment among the population.

With the prices soaring, Umm Ahmed is considering buying a bag of flour and preparing the supplies in anticipation of the next stage. "If the currency continues to collapse, we are in for a major famine and nobody will be able to buy his needs," she says.

"These are things we have been hearing about on television in some African countries," she adds with distress.

Umm Ahmed continues, noting that her husband is working intermittently, "We are now living on some savings ... We also sold a land that we inherited, but I do not think that the money will last much in light of the high cost."

And some institutions in Idlib had to close their doors, according to what an AFP correspondent saw, due to the difficulty of continuing due to the high exchange rate.

Idlib witnessed recent demonstrations against the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham (formerly Al-Nusra Front) due to the high price of bread, as it is the party that determines its price.

The Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham, along with other less powerful armed factions, controls half of the Idlib area and its periphery, where three million people reside, about half of whom are displaced from other governorates and are living with aid.

After nine years of war, Syria is witnessing a severe economic crisis, which was recently aggravated by the response to the Covid-19 epidemic. The accelerated economic meltdown in neighboring Lebanon, where many Syrians deposited their money, also made the situation worse.

Analysts point out that fears of the repercussions of the implementation of the Caesar Law, which was adopted by Washington and imposes sanctions on Damascus and its collaborators, is an additional reason for the devaluation of the lira. It will start in mid-June.

The conflict of prominent businessman Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and one of the pillars of the country economically, with the authorities, has negative repercussions on the trust factor.

"The government cannot allow a further rise in prices because it knows that this will lead to social turmoil that cannot be contained," said Zaki Mahshi, economist and researcher with "Chatham House".

However, he talks about "several factors indicating that the Syrian pound will continue to decline" against the dollar.

Last Sunday, Syrian Prime Minister Emad Khamis said: "What is happening today on the lira is part of the big war," blaming "coercive measures" and US sanctions on Syria for the deterioration.

A number of members of the People's Assembly launched a scathing attack on the Khamis government, accusing it of default.

The devaluation of the lira sparked widespread discontent among merchants. And pushed dozens of residents of the city of the mostly Druze Druze in southern Syria to demonstrate since Sunday in protest against the difficult living conditions. They shouted anti-government slogans, according to video clips posted by the local "Sweida 24" news network.

The majority of Syrians live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, while food prices have risen by 133% since May 2019, according to the World Food Program.

"More than nine million people suffer from food insecurity at a time when food prices continue to rise and the value of the Syrian pound is declining at a record rate," wrote Mark Cates, Deputy Regional Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs on Syria at the United Nations on Tuesday.

In Damascus, Lamis Al-Sheikh (52 years old) slowly started the economy with her food purchases. "Prices are on fire ... and every day we see a new price list higher than the previous day," she says.

"We change our daily food according to prices. They say we are still at the beginning, so God will help us," she added, expressing her fear that "one day I will go to the market and return without buying anything because of the high prices."

The price does not distinguish between one region and another, regardless of the controlling parties.

In Qamishli, the most prominent city in the area under the control of the Kurdish autonomous administration (Northeast), some shops closed and the number of customers declined in markets that used to be crowded with streets, shops and cafes.

Inside his foodstuff store, Rashid Omri, 50, checks bills, expressing his displeasure at the "price in the morning and in the afternoon."

"When we sell the goods, we lose, and when we buy them, we lose," he said, adding that "everything that happens is a loss by loss."

The rapid and continuous rise of the dollar exchange rate overwhelms the conversation of the people on the street.

In the Qamishli market, Umm Alaa, 55, is searching for what she can buy at the lowest possible price.

The mother says to three children, one of whom is still living with her, that the cost of meals has become very high, "Is it not forbidden for the price of an oil bottle to reach 3,500 liras after it was only 500 liras?"

"This drop (in the exchange rate) kills us."

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