Soaring fuel prices make Syrian winter even colder
Facing a harsh winter, people in rebel-held areas of Syria are having an especially hard time as the currency's value has plummeted and prices have skyrocketed.
ALEPPO, Syria — Syrians in opposition-controlled areas of Idlib and Aleppo provinces are suffering under poor living conditions, with most of them struggling to meet even basic needs after almost nine years of civil war. But the recent collapse of the Syrian pound has made their situation even harder. Heating, food, decent housing, clean running water and other services have become quite costly.
“Winter has been very harsh this year," Aymen Suweid, a media activist from northern Aleppo, told Al-Monitor. "The vast majority of people in the Aleppo countryside were unable to cover heating costs due to the soaring prices of fuel. The price of a barrel of diesel fuel used for heating stands at 90,000 pounds, which is the equivalent of $100, compared with $35 last year.”
