AANES News

The Syrian pound’s rapid freefall has pushed the AANES to price its grain procurement prices in dollars as it competes with the Syrian government to buy the local crop. 

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has issued a law regulating the operations of foreign exchange dealers as the sector gains increasing importance. The law’s timing is a reminder of the importance of remittances for the Syrian economy and of foreign exchange dealers at a time western sanctions are restricting the operations of local banks.

A recent increase in employee salaries by the Syrian Salvation Government and the AANES has highlighted the increasing gap with salaries paid by the Syrian government.

A new report surveying the varying socio-economic conditions in IDP camps across all four zones of control in Syria.

In this interview, The Syria Report speaks with Mohammad Hassno, CEO of the Assistance Coordination Unit, a Syrian opposition organisation that coordinates humanitarian efforts and facilitates the flow of information between donors, executive agencies, and local partners. 

Since the catastrophic earthquakes devastated parts of northern Syria one week ago, killing 5,800 people, injuring thousands, leaving 5.30 million homeless, and destroying infrastructure and residential buildings, the regime, opposition authorities, and local organisations began carrying out disaster relief efforts in affected areas. 

By the middle of last year, inflation had already reached 55 percent, according to a new consumer price index issued by an independent Syrian organisation. Meanwhile, the government has lifted one of the last tools it used to keep a lid on prices, risking further price increases.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has issued several statements and briefs about its plans for 2023 and its performance in 2022, indicating a notable shift towards prioritising the water, agriculture, and health sectors.

Since late November, Turkey has been attacking areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, causing deaths, injuries, and widespread damage to key oil fields, gas plants, power stations, and other civilian infrastructure.

To further cement its governance, the Syrian Salvation Government, the political arm of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, has begun issuing compulsory identification cards for residents in areas under its control. The cards are required to receive essential services and to conduct any transaction.  

The Syrian president recently issued two decisions increasing the salaries of Syrian judges, while the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria raised public employee salaries.

The number of early recovery projects (ERPs) implemented inside opposition areas has increased by nine percent during the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, hundreds of ERPs have been implemented in areas controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Syria’s cotton and olive harvests are forecast to be slightly higher this year, helping the government generate much-needed foreign currency. Meanwhile, olive and olive oil production has remained stable throughout the conflict.

Wheat and barley production has declined significantly across all of Syria for the second year in a row due to climate change, low water levels in the Euphrates River, and production input shortages, according to official data. This season's wheat production is 75 percent lower than pre-crisis volumes.

As cholera cases rise and water supplies dwindle, the Syrian government recently began operating a new water desalination plant in the Hassakeh governorate in an effort to provide potable water to residents. The plants are only meant to be used in cases of emergency, i.e. in a situation of a dramatic shortage in water supplies, likely to preserve underground water reserves. So far, the government has only activated fifteen out of the twenty plants.

Syria’s oil and gas sector has suffered indirect and direct losses totalling USD 107.10 billion from the start of the uprising in 2011 until mid-2022, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum provided a breakdown of oil and gas production during the first half of the year

Low water levels are straining Syria’s agricultural sector and forcing Syrians to face rising prices and water-borne diseases as the country endures a severe and long-term drought, according to various reports and statements.

The government increased the price at which it buys cotton and tobacco from local farmers by up to 67 percent per tonne.

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria issued on June 11 a tender for the supply of 18,000 tons of fuel oil for a bitumen refinery it operates in Hassakeh.

The government has increased unsubsidised oil prices, attributing the hike to “rising global oil prices” and to its effort “to narrow the wide gap with black market prices.” Damascus has also announced a new Iranian credit line for the purchase of oil supplies from Tehran.