Latest news with #Damascus-based
Shafaq News
18-05-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Trump's Syria sanctions shift jolts pound, leaves prices soaring
Shafaq News/ President Donald Trump's announcement to suspend US sanctions on Syria sparked swift gains in the local currency, yet failed to ease daily economic pressures for ordinary Syrians. The Syrian pound surged over 40% immediately after Trump's speech in Riyadh last Tuesday, according to Damascus-based exchange office owner Samir al-Subhi. He told Shafaq News that the dollar dropped from 12,000 to nearly 8,000 Syrian pounds, driven by 'market optimism and psychological relief,' despite the lack of an official implementation mechanism. Al-Subhi said the financial sector would be the first to benefit if sanctions are formally lifted, particularly banking and remittance channels. However, the pound has since slid back above 10,000 per dollar due to the absence of actionable US policy, though it remains about 20% stronger than pre-announcement levels. He added that lifting sanctions could unlock remittance flows directly into Syrian banks and attract investment into reconstruction and infrastructure — if supported by complementary local policy. Disconnect Between Currency and Living Cost Despite temporary improvements in the exchange rate, prices for food, clothing, medicine, fuel, and transport remain high across Damascus. Civil servant Salwa al-Sayyed told Shafaq News that salary hikes promised by the government — reportedly up to 400% — have not materialized, and some workers have gone months without pay. Business owners attribute inflation to import dependency and the high cost of production, including power outages, taxes, and lack of state support. 'Even if sanctions are lifted, without serious local reforms we won't feel the impact,' said Hussam al-Halabi, who runs a small food packaging facility. Uncertainty Over Trump's Announcement Syrian economist Karam al-Shaar cautioned that Trump's use of terms like 'suspend' or 'freeze' rather than 'lift' leaves the actual policy direction unclear. 'There are rumors of conditions Damascus must meet — the details are still missing,' he said. Sanctions Legacy Spanning Decades US sanctions on Syria began in 1979, intensified in 2005 under the Syria Accountability Act, and were significantly expanded after 2011. The most sweeping measures came in 2019 through the Caesar Act, named after a defector who smuggled out graphic evidence of torture in Syrian prisons. The legislation blocked trade, investment, and reconstruction, further isolating Syria's economy.
Arab News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Syria briefly detains head of Palestinian group: faction officials
DAMASCUS: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command officials said Syrian Arab Republic authorities on Saturday briefly detained the head of the faction, which was close to ousted ruler Bashar Assad's government. Talal Naji's detention came just weeks after Palestinian group Islamic Jihad's armed wing said the new authorities had held two of its officials on unspecified charges. The United States, which considers Palestinian factions including the PFLP-GC to be 'terrorist' organizations, has said Washington will not ease Assad-era sanctions on Syria until it has verified progress on priorities including acting against 'terrorism.' An official from the Damascus-based PFLP-GC, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive, told AFP that 'secretary-general Talal Naji was arrested' in the city. Another official confirmed the arrest, while a third faction source said 'Naji was asked... to report to one of the security branches and has not returned. Most likely he was arrested.' Two PFLP-GC officials later confirmed Naji had been released, with one saying he was held for 10 hours and freed after 'local and international mediation.' The official said it remained unclear why he had been arrested. The second source confirmed Naji's release, saying: 'He's at home and in good health.' Last month, a statement from the Al-Quds Brigades said Islamic Jihad's Syria official Khaled Khaled and organizing committee member Yasser Al-Zafri had been detained for days 'without explanation.' The Iran-backed group expressed hope 'that our brothers in the Syrian government' will free the pair, noting their detention comes as the group is 'fighting the Zionist enemy' in the Gaza Strip. In late March, US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Syria's new authorities should 'fully renounce and suppress terrorism, exclude foreign terrorist fighters from any official roles (and) prevent Iran and its proxies from exploiting Syrian territory.' The PFLP-GC was founded in 1968 after breaking away from the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. When conflict erupted in Syria in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests, the PFLP-GC stood firmly by Assad's government. After militants and rebels overran parts of the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus in 2012, the PFLP-GC's armed wing fought alongside Syrian government forces to take it back. The group is designated as a 'terrorist organization' by the United States and European Union and is accused of masterminding the deadly bombing of Swissair Flight SR330 in February 1970, as well as several attacks on Israeli civilians.
Asharq Al-Awsat
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syria Detains Damascus-Based Leader of Prominent Palestinian Faction
Syria on Saturday detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. Talal Naji, 79, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, or PFLP-GC, was detained Saturday morning shortly after he left his house with a driver and two guards, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that shortly after Naji was detained near his home in the Mazze neighborhood, security officials came to his home and questioned two unarmed guards for about an hour. A Syrian government official told the AP that Naji was taken for questioning and should be released later. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The PFLP-GC became known for dramatic attacks against Israel, including the hijacking an El Al jetliner in 1968 and the machine gunning of another airliner at Zurich airport in 1969. In 1970, it planted a bomb on a Swissair jet that blew up on a flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on aboard. Naji's arrest comes nearly two weeks after Syrian authorities detained two members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. The group identified the two officials arrested at the time as its leader in Syria Khaled Khaled and another senior official Yasser Zafari. The Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Under Assad, several Palestinians factions were based in Syria and some of them remained after the fall of his 54-year Assad family in December.
LBCI
03-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Syria detains head of Palestinian group based in Damascus: Faction officials
Officials from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) said Syrian authorities on Saturday detained the head of the faction, which was close to ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad's government. An official from the Damascus-based faction, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive, told AFP that "secretary-general Talal Naji was arrested" in the capital. A second official confirmed the arrest, while a third source from the faction said "Naji was asked... to report to one of the security branches and has not returned. Most likely he was arrested." AFP
San Francisco Chronicle
03-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Syria detains Damascus-based leader of prominent Palestinian faction
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria on Saturday detained a prominent Damascus-based Palestinian official whose group was close to the government of ousted president Bashar Assad. Talal Naji, 79, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, or PFLP-GC, was detained Saturday morning shortly after he left his house with a driver and two guards, a Palestinian official told The Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that shortly after Naji was detained near his home in the Mazze neighborhood, security officials came to his home and questioned two unarmed guards for about an hour. A Syrian government official told the AP that Naji was taken for questioning and should be released later. The official spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The PFLP-GC became known for dramatic attacks against Israel, including the hijacking an El Al jetliner in 1968 and the machine gunning of another airliner at Zurich airport in 1969. In 1970, it planted a bomb on a Swissair jet that blew up on a flight from Zurich to Tel Aviv, killing all 47 on aboard. Naji's arrest comes nearly two weeks after Syrian authorities detained two members of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. The group identified the two officials arrested at the time as its leader in Syria Khaled Khaled and another senior official Yasser Zafari. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
