The economic crisis in Damascus deteriorated over the past few days, as the Russian-sponsored Syrian Refugee Conference that aimed to secure the return of the displaced concluded.
The value of the Syrian pound recorded a new decline against the dollar, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Thursday that the stifling crisis continues in regime-controlled areas.
SOHR noted that the residents were facing huge difficulties in obtaining bread, after the authorities failed to provide bakeries with subsidized flour.
Sources quoted by SOHR said that a huge fight broke out in front of a bakery in the regime-held city of Souran, north of Hama, due to the severe overcrowding outside the bakeries.
The skirmish left many people injured.
Massive queues were also seen in front of bakeries in Latakia.
The sources reported that the famous “Ibn al-Ameed” bakeries in the Rukn al-Din area in Damascus were closed due to the depletion of flour.
In parallel, the Syrian pound’s value hit a new record low against the dollar, registering 2,582 SYP for purchase and 2,612 SYP for selling.
Meanwhile, the International Conference on the Return of Syrian Refugees expressed, in its closing statement, “firm support for the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Syria” and the need to “continue the war on terrorism until the elimination of all UN-designated terrorist organizations.”
“There is no military solution to the crisis in Syria,” the statement read, adding that any political solution “must be led and implemented by the Syrians themselves.”
It also rejected “all illegal unilateral sanctions, especially in light of the spread of the coronavirus”, and underlined the necessity for the international community to facilitate the safe return of Syrian refugees.
