Hundreds of people took part in protests across Syria on Sunday in the provinces of Al-Hasakah in the northeast, Idlib in the northwest, Deir Ezzor and Raqqa in the east, and rural areas of Aleppo in the north, Syrian media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
The demonstrations began after Syria's Ministry of Energy announced on Saturday an increase in the prices of petroleum products, which it described as temporary and attributed to what it called an exceptional rise in the global cost of acquiring these products, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.
Highways blocked with burning tyres
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported unrest in several provinces and said protesters had blocked the international highway linking Deir Ezzor and Aleppo near Huwayjat Shannan in Raqqa province using burning tyres. The group also said demonstrators had halted the passage of fuel tanker trucks in other parts of northeastern Syria, including on the road between Al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor.
Syrian state channel Al-Ikhbariya reported separately that protesters had blocked the M5 highway in a rural area south of Idlib, near the town of Maarat al-Numan.
According to the Spanish news agency EFE, residents in Muhaimida, in rural Deir Ezzor, said they had prevented security forces from dispersing a demonstration there, though the claim could not be independently verified.
Fears over transport and food costs
Protesters fear the price increase will push up the cost of transport and food in a country still struggling to rebuild after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The Syrian committee responsible for setting fuel prices raised the price of 95-octane gasoline by 28.3%, to 195 new Syrian pounds, or 1.37 euros, per litre. Diesel rose by 40%, to 175 pounds, or 1.24 euros, per litre. The increase is the largest recorded since the start of Syria's political transition.
It is also the second fuel price rise in September, following a smaller adjustment on 4 September.
Wider economic unrest
Syria has seen repeated protests over economic issues since the start of the year, including over wages, the price of bread and the broader cost of living, EFE reported.
