The continuous collapse of the Syrian currency sparked anger on social media, at a time when the dollar exchange rate approached the barrier of 4,000 pounds yesterday, Tuesday.

Angry reactions emerged through the hashtag # the Syrian Pound, which topped the list of the most traded on the Twitter platform, following the sharp decline in the local currency amid the worsening economic conditions.

"The dollar today in Syria has reached 4 thousand pounds, and the free fall will reach 5 thousand. The Assad regime does not have any ability to control high prices and deal with high inflation," the Syrian researcher Radwan Ziadeh wrote on Twitter.

He added, "The situation will worsen, the poverty rate will expand, and famine will inevitably come, with a social imbalance such as the spread of crime. Assad must be stopped and Syria and the Syrians saved," as he put it.

The dollar today # Syria has reached 4000 pounds and the free fall will reach 5000 The Assad regime has no ability to control high prices and deal with high inflation, the situation will get worse and the poverty rate will expand and famine will inevitably come with social imbalance such as the spread of crime, the Assad regime must be stopped And saving # Syria and the Syrians

- Radwan Ziadeh Radwan Ziadeh (@radwanziadeh) March 2, 2021

"The Syrian economy has no capacity to recover in light of the political blockage and resource depletion," said Syrian researcher Hisham Munawar.

The Syrian pound continues to sink and touches the 4 thousand


Syrian

pound barrier in front of the dollar. The

Syrian economy has no ability to recover in light of the political blockage and the depletion of resources.


Who saves the Syrians from the repercussions of the collapse of their currency!

- Hisham Munawar (@ Hicham78) March 2, 2021

As for the activist Maria Al-Sheikh, she tweeted, "The euro is its motto, survival of the strongest, the dollar is its motto, survival of the better, and the Syrian pound is its motto, survival of God."

# The euro is its motto, survival of the strongest. # The dollar is its motto, survival for the better. # The Syrian lira is its motto, staying for God. # Thaer Sheikh Ali

- Mariah Sheikh (@Maria_Alsheikh) March 2, 2021

 Scarcity of dollars

After 10 years of war, Syria is experiencing a stifling economic crisis, which has been finally exacerbated by measures to address the "Covid-19" epidemic.

Several Syrian merchants told the French Press Agency by phone that the Syrian pound has depreciated, and the exchange rate on the black market touched 4,000 pounds against the dollar for the first time since the start of the war.

Two websites specializing in monitoring the parallel market price reported that the exchange rate ranged between 3,900 and 4,000 pounds in Damascus.

A trader, who preferred not to be named, stated that "there is a great shortage of dollars in the market."

Another said, "It seems that the situation is completely related to what is happening in Lebanon."

Since January, the Syrian pound has witnessed a new decline, as the exchange rate in the past weeks has ranged between 3 thousand and 3500 pounds to the dollar, while the official exchange rate approved by the Central Bank is equivalent to 1256 pounds against the dollar.

Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound has deteriorated by nearly 99% on the black market.

 What are the reasons?

"What is happening in Lebanon affects the Syrian pound, because Lebanon is one of the most important corridors linking the Syrian government to the foreign market," said Zaki Mahshi, an economist and researcher at Chatham House.

And the accelerating economic collapse in neighboring Lebanon, where many Syrians, including businessmen, are depositing their money, have made the situation worse in Syria.

On Tuesday, the Lebanese pound recorded an unprecedented decline, and the dollar exchange rate hit the 10,000 mark on the black market.

Zaki Mahshi pointed to another reason that lies in the adoption of a new banknote of 5,000 Syrian Pounds, at a time when the country is witnessing a scarcity of hard currencies and no improvement in its economic activities.

The majority of Syrians today live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations, while the prices of goods across the country have doubled in the last year.

12.4 million people suffer from food insecurity, according to the World Food Program.