Syria Monthly Report

March 2022

International

  • Removal of sanctions, Syrian government response, Assad’s UAE visit, and implications

  • Syrian fighters in Ukraine, Russia

South & central

  • Prices increase further following Russian–Ukrainian conflict

  • Russian–Ukrainian conflict disrupts wheat imports

  • Militias and government forces clash in As-Sweida

Northeast

  • Conflict in Ukraine has knock-on effect on Syrian pound, inflation and prices in northeast

  • Teachers strike against depreciating salaries, poor conditions

Northwest

  • Storms, snow and freezing temperatures hit northwest

  • New increase in electricity prices in northern Aleppo

Summary

  • Rumors have circulated that the US government is considering removing sanctions in northern Syria, in areas outside the control of the Syrian government.

  • Devastating winter storms hit northwest Syria, with residents and IDPs in temporary shelters seeking new, often dangerous, ways to heat their homes and repair damaged properties.

  • President Putin approves the deployment of volunteers to fight alongside the Russian army and Russian-backed armed groups in Ukraine.

  • President Assad visits the UAE, in the first official visit to an Arab country since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

  • Ak Energy increases electricity prices in northern Aleppo, a decision which was met by protests by residents struggling to cope with regular hikes and higher energy bills.

  • Teachers hold protests across the northeast, calling for their salaries to be pegged to the black market rate of the Syrian pound amid its depreciation.

  • Price increases have been seen across the whole of Syria, largely attributed to the secondary effects of instability and Russian bans on grain exports as a result of the Russian–Ukrainian war. Markets in southern Syria in particular have seen supplies of food going down, while prices continue to rise – the coming of Ramadan is also considered a factor, with traders hoarding items to sell them at higher prices in anticipation of increased demand. In northeast Syria the Autonomous Administration faces continued protest against its inability to provide basic goods and services, exacerbated by instability to the west.