The province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, near the border with Turkey, is the last stronghold of insurgents and Islamists in the country. Most of it is controlled by Islamist paramilitaries of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sam (HTS) organization, which emerged from the Al Nusra Front.
In the autumn of 2019 the Syrian pound was in free fall. The reasons vary. The economy, weakened by years of civil war, had no prospects, sanctions against the Assad regime made life more expensive, and the economic crisis in Lebanon cast a shadow over neighboring Syria.
For these reasons, the Islamists decided in the summer of 2020 to introduce the Turkish pound as a means of payment. The de facto local authorities hoped that the Turkish pound would prevent the economic collapse of the province. The Islamists’ announcement of the new trading instrument came shortly before new US sanctions were imposed on the Assad regime and new pressure on the Syrian pound followed.
75% of the population depends on humanitarian aid
Syrian affairs expert Zaki Mehi of the British think tank Chatham House says that for about a year and a half the economy in Idlib has remained more or less stable: ».
An estimated 4 million people live in Idlib province, of which 1 million are in refugee camps. Nearly 75% of the population in this Syrian province depends, according to the international organization Human Rights Watch, on humanitarian aid. Add to this the pandemic and the constant bombardment of the southern parts of Idlib by the Assad regime and its allies. It should be noted that when the Turkish pound was introduced as a means of payment in Idlib in 2020, the Turkish lira-dollar exchange rate was 1: 6.8, while today at least 12 pounds are required for one US dollar.
“They will not be able to buy even bread”
Watad Petroleum, an Islamist-affiliated oil company in the Syrian province, has risen in price as soon as the Turkish pound depreciated. It is unknown who is moving the threads at Watad Petroleum. It is known, however, that most of the oil it circulates comes from Turkey and passes through Syria through the Bab al-Hava border post.
“Idlib does not have its own financial resources,” said Zaki Meihu. Wheat is grown in the region, but it is not enough to meet the region’s demand: “For this reason, the supply of the population depends mainly on imported Turkish products, on areas controlled by the Islamists or even on Kurdish lands.”
Till Kister, head of Medico International’s Collaborative Division, warns of a humanitarian catastrophe in Idlib province due to the pandemic and the coming winter: “Most workers are paid a daily wage in Turkish pounds. “If the pound continues to fall, then people will get to the point where they can not even buy bread.”
DW – Diana Hondali / Stefanos Georgakopoulos
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
.
