Syria’s Assad fires central bank chief amid currency failures

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired the head of the country’s central bank, Hazem Karfoul, on Tuesday.

Syrian state-run media did not offer reasons for the dismissal, but it comes as the country’s currency continues to collapse amid US and international sanctions and an economic crisis in neighboring Lebanon.

The Syrian pound stood at some 3,300 to the US dollar this week on the black market after hitting a low of 4,600 to the dollar last month, The Associated Press reported.  The official rate is 1,256 Syrian pounds to the dollar; the pound traded at 47 to the dollar when the Syrian conflict began 10 years ago.

Syrian authorities have clamped down on foreign currency hoarding and limited withdrawals from citizens’ bank accounts to a maximum of 2 million pounds ($570) in recent weeks to stem the descent.