Experts call them the largest in nearly two years since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. People took to the streets in several provinces, burned tires, and blocked key roads, including the strategic highway between Damascus and Aleppo. The actions swept through Hama, Khan Shaykhun, Maarat al-Numan, and also affected Idlib, the suburbs of Aleppo, Daraa, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah. Demonstrators stopped convoys of fuel trucks, demanding the cancellation of the decision to raise fuel prices and, in a number of cases, the resignations of Energy Minister Muhammad al-Bashir, Economy Minister Muhammad Nidal al-Shaar, and the head of the Syrian Oil Company.
The immediate trigger was a sharp increase in prices for petroleum products that took effect in the early hours of Sunday. Diesel rose in price by 40% — from 125 to 175 Syrian pounds per liter, A-95 and A-90 gasoline by 28% and 26% respectively, and household gas cylinders by about 9%.
The authorities called the measure temporary, explaining it by rising global costs for purchasing refined fuel and a two-month major overhaul of the key refinery in Baniyas, which temporarily reduces domestic refining capacity and forces an increase in imports. According to the Ministry of Energy, the country produces about 100,000–102,000 barrels of oil per day while requiring around 300,000–325,000, and the difference has to be covered through external supplies. The situation is compounded by a deep socioeconomic crisis: according to estimates by the United Nations Development Programme, about 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line, while inflation and currency depreciation in 2026 have multiplied the cost of transportation, heating, and food.
At present, the protests are continuing for a second day and have covered at least eight provinces. Participants are blocking logistics corridors, including the Damascus–Aleppo highway, roads to Turkey, the Gaziantep–Aleppo section, and the Deir ez-Zor–Raqqa highway. This is causing disruptions in the delivery of feedstock to refineries and raising the costs of domestic transportation.
At the same time, pressure on the government is growing in the political field: more than 50 members of the People’s Assembly have signed an appeal demanding that the energy minister be summoned for hearings. Parliament, in turn, approved an emergency session scheduled for Thursday, September 17, at 12:00, which will be held in the People’s Assembly building in Damascus in order to obtain explanations about the reasons for the price increase, the decision-making procedure, and its impact on citizens’ purchasing power.
Ministry of Energy spokesperson Abdelhamid Salat emphasized that tariffs can be adjusted both upward and downward depending on external conditions, while Minister al-Bashir himself characterizes the increase as a forced temporary measure. The authorities also point to financial pressure in the sector: in 2026, the Syrian Electricity Company (SEC) owed about $1.7 billion to the Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) for supplies of gas and other energy carriers.
The potential risks for Syria appear multifaceted. In socioeconomic terms, the rising cost of diesel directly hits transportation, logistics, agriculture, and small business, which could accelerate the rise in prices for goods and services and increase the burden on households already living in conditions of extreme poverty. If shortages and high import costs persist, localized fuel disruptions are possible, especially in remote areas.
In the political dimension, the broad geography of the protests is becoming a test of the authorities’ ability to balance between concessions and forceful measures without escalation; parliamentary hearings and demands for resignations create a precedent for cabinet accountability, but at the same time expose divergences within the elites.
In regions where armed groups de facto control the situation, different approaches to suppression or settlement are possible, which could weaken unity of governance and strengthen the fragmentation of support for the authorities.
The logistical consequences are already palpable: blockades of highways and routes for delivering feedstock to refineries temporarily disrupt domestic supplies and increase the costs of humanitarian operations, while the expansion of unrest in the northwest raises risks for the stability of border zones and potential refugee flows. In the markets, the direct impact on global oil supplies is limited, but the political risk premium for the Middle East is growing, which could affect energy prices and the sovereign risks of neighboring countries.
The coming weeks will be decisive. If the authorities maintain the wording of a “temporary increase” and announce a review of tariffs after the completion of the modernization of the Baniyas refinery (capacity is planned to be increased from about 80,000 to 130,000 barrels per day), the protests may gradually subside with targeted concessions — subsidies for transportation and agriculture, preferential tariffs for vulnerable groups. However, if high prices and disruptions persist, an expansion of actions to major urban centers cannot be ruled out, which would force the redistribution of security forces, increase the risk of local clashes, and worsen the investment climate.
The positive scenario presupposes an acceleration of the restoration of refinery capacity, stabilization of import channels, and the introduction of a transparent price review mechanism with targeted support, which could reduce social tension. The key indicators will be the decisions following the parliamentary hearings, the dynamics of fuel supplies after the partial restoration of refinery capacity, and the scale of the government’s concessions in tariff policy.
