‘People don’t have money’: Syrian fuel hikes deepen economic pain

Higher diesel and petrol prices are pushing up transport and food costs across an already impoverished Syria.

Demonstrators block a road with flaming tyres while protesting hikes to fuel prices in al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo in northern Syria, on September 14, 2026 [Bakr Alkasem/AFP]

Damascus, Syria – The fuel price hike hit at midnight on Sunday. By Monday morning, frustration had poured into the streets , sparking open defiance across Syria.

A sudden government decree drove diesel prices up by 40 percent overnight and petrol by 28 percent. For millions of Syrians, the price increase is a direct threat to their survival.

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Demonstrators quickly gathered in public squares from Aleppo and Idlib in the north to Hama in central Syria and Deraa in the south, burning tyres and blocking key roads – including the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo.

The initial wave of demonstrations has since eased in some areas, but the anger has not disappeared. On Wednesday, protesters in northeastern Syria blocked the M4 highway near Tal Tamr, stranding hundreds of oil tankers. Demonstrators said they would not reopen the route unless the price increases were reversed.

Beyond the protests, a black market for diesel is booming. Syrian security units have started intercepting tankers caught heading to unlicensed refineries to fill up on illegal fuel.

Repeated price increases

The anger stems from the immediate fallout from the government’s decision, which comes on the back of the high international price of oil, largely a result of the consequences of the United States-Israel war on Iran.

The United Nations estimates that nearly 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line; any jump in fuel costs instantly drives up the price of transport and basic food.

And Sunday’s hike came on top of repeated increases. Since February, the price of 95-octane petrol has risen by about 86 percent, while diesel has more than doubled. Over the same period, benchmark Brent crude rose by about 44 percent.

It all comes as Syria continues its recovery from a devastating, more than decade-long war, which only ended with the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The new government has been attempting to improve the country’s economy, including by successfully working to remove most of the international sanctions that had been placed on the country for years.

But for many Syrians, economic improvements are not coming fast enough .

In Damascus, minibuses – a lifeline for the working class – raised fares immediately from 30 to 45 cents. Drivers say their margins are practically gone. One US dollar is equivalent to about 130 new Syrian pounds .

Adel Ali Meree, a bus driver, worked an eight-hour shift only to see his earnings swallowed by the fuel tank.

“I spent all my money on diesel. I only have four and a half dollars left,” he explained. “At the end of the day, I might earn only $10. I could make this money doing any other kind of work. It’s just not worth it.”

Larger operators face the same grim maths. Bashar Sleiman operates a tour bus that needs 90 litres of diesel daily. With the price hikes, the cost to fill his tank jumped from the equivalent of $84 to $120.

His company hasn’t yet finalised a new pricing structure, but he expects to increase his usual $110-$125 daily rate by at least $15 to cover the increased costs.

“If a tourist comes thinking they will spend $1,500, they will need more,” Sleiman said. “The hotels, food, transportation, and a tour guide will all get more expensive. Traffic has been a bit lighter the last couple of days, but this won’t last. Nobody can afford not to generate an income.”

Cross-border routes are also taking a hit. Ahmed Sweid drives a 25-passenger bus for the Shaheen transport company, running between Idlib and Beirut.

A round trip now requires $280 in diesel alone. So far, the company has kept its ticket price at $40, relying on fully booked buses to absorb the financial blow, but operators remain anxious.

At local markets, the crisis is just as obvious. In the Mezzeh neighbourhood of Damascus, produce seller Ahmed Obeid said his delivery freight charges had tripled overnight, jumping from $4 to $12 a load.

“When fuel prices go up, transport costs go up,” Obeid said. “That extra cost is passed on to the consumer. But people don’t have money.”

Damascus officials blame the high cost of securing fuel internationally. The Ministry of Energy says Syria currently produces about 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day, while the domestic market needs roughly 300,000 to 325,000 barrels of oil and petroleum products, leaving the country heavily reliant on imports. It says about 60 percent of Syria’s diesel supply is currently imported.

Syria’s People’s Assembly was set to question Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir over the price increases on Thursday, but on Wednesday said that the session had been postponed until September 20 as the ministry needed more time to prepare.

The government does insist the price hikes are temporary.

But for Syrians dealing with ruined infrastructure and massive inflation, waiting for global markets to stabilise isn’t an option.

For a population just trying to buy groceries, a “temporary” shock is simply too long to survive.

柴油和汽油价格上涨，推高了本已贫困的叙利亚的交通和食品成本。

2026年9月14日，在叙利亚北部阿勒颇东北部的巴卜市，示威者用燃烧的轮胎封锁道路，抗议燃油价格上涨。[Bakr Alkasem/AFP]

叙利亚大马士革——燃油价格上涨于周日午夜生效。到周一早上，民众的愤怒情绪涌上街头，引发了叙利亚各地的公开抗议活动。

政府突然颁布法令，一夜之间柴油价格上涨40%，汽油价格上涨28%。对数百万叙利亚人来说，价格上涨直接威胁到他们的生存。

叙利亚废除阿萨德时代的“恐怖主义”法庭，库尔德紧张局势加剧（列表1/3）

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美国拟批准向以色列提供6万枚重型炸弹（共3份清单中的第3份）：这意味着什么？

从北部的阿勒颇和伊德利卜到叙利亚中部的哈马，再到南部的德拉，示威者迅速聚集在公共广场上，焚烧轮胎，封锁主要道路，包括大马士革和阿勒颇之间的主要公路。

最初一波示威活动在一些地区已经缓和，但民众的愤怒情绪并未消散。周三，叙利亚东北部塔尔塔姆尔附近的M4公路遭到示威者封锁，数百辆油罐车被困。示威者表示，除非油价上涨得到纠正，否则他们不会重新开放这条道路。

除了抗议活动之外，柴油黑市也异常火爆。叙利亚安全部队已开始拦截前往无证炼油厂装载非法燃料的油罐车。

价格持续上涨

民众的愤怒源于政府决定的直接后果，而这一决定是在国际油价高企的背景下做出的，这主要是由于美国和以色列对伊朗发动战争的后果造成的。

联合国估计，近90%的叙利亚人生活在贫困线以下；燃料成本的任何上涨都会立即推高交通和基本食品的价格。

周日的涨价是在此前多次上涨的基础上进行的。自2月份以来，95号汽油价格已上涨约86%，柴油价格更是翻了一番多。同期，基准布伦特原油价格上涨了约44%。

这一切都发生在叙利亚继续从长达十多年的毁灭性战争中恢复之际，这场战争直到2024年12月巴沙尔·阿萨德政权垮台才结束。新政府一直在努力改善国家经济，包括成功地解除多年来对该国实施的大部分国际制裁。

但对许多叙利亚人来说，经济改善的速度还不够快。

在叙利亚首都大马士革，作为工薪阶层生命线的迷你巴士立即将票价从30美分提高到45美分。司机们表示，他们的利润几乎为零。1美元约等于130新叙利亚镑。

公交车司机阿德尔·阿里·梅里辛勤工作了八个小时，却眼睁睁地看着自己的收入被油箱吞噬。

“我把所有的钱都花在柴油上了，现在只剩下四块五了，”他解释说。“一天下来，我可能只能挣到十美元。我做其他任何工作都能挣到这些钱，这根本不值得。”

规模较大的运营商也面临着同样的严峻形势。巴沙尔·苏莱曼运营着一辆旅游巴士，每天需要90升柴油。随着油价上涨，加满油箱的成本从相当于84美元飙升至120美元。

他的公司尚未最终确定新的定价结构，但他预计会将通常的每日 110 至 125 美元的收费标准至少提高 15 美元，以弥补增加的成本。

“如果游客来的时候以为会花1500美元，那他们肯定要花更多，”斯莱曼说。“酒店、餐饮、交通和导游的费用都会上涨。过去几天交通稍微顺畅了一些，但这不会持续太久。谁也负担不起没有收入的后果。”

跨境路线也受到了冲击。艾哈迈德·斯韦德为沙欣运输公司驾驶一辆25座巴士，往返于伊德利卜和贝鲁特之间。

现在，单程柴油费就需要280美元。目前，该公司仍将票价维持在40美元，指望巴士满座来抵消经济损失，但运营商仍然忧心忡忡。

在当地市场，危机同样显而易见。在大马士革的梅泽区，农产品商贩艾哈迈德·奥贝德表示，他的运费一夜之间翻了三倍，从每车4美元涨到了12美元。

奥贝德说：“燃油价格上涨，运输成本也会上涨。这部分额外成本最终会转嫁到消费者身上。但人们没钱。”

大马士革官员将燃料短缺归咎于国际燃料供应成本高昂。能源部表示，叙利亚目前每天生产约10万桶原油，而国内市场每天需要约30万至32.5万桶石油及石油产品，这使得该国严重依赖进口。能源部称，叙利亚目前约60%的柴油供应依赖进口。

叙利亚人民议会原定于周四就物价上涨问题质询能源部长穆罕默德·巴希尔，但周三表示，由于能源部需要更多时间准备，会议已推迟至 9 月 20 日。

政府坚称物价上涨只是暂时的。

但对于基础设施损毁、通货膨胀严重的叙利亚人来说，等待全球市场稳定下来并非一个可行的选择。

对于只想购买生活必需品的民众来说，“暂时的”冲击持续时间太长，难以承受。