How Syria’s continuing food insecurity threatens national and regional stability

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People queue to get bread distributed by a charity initiative in a neighborhood in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 02 February 2025
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How Syria’s continuing food insecurity threatens national and regional stability

  • With more than half of Syria’s population facing food insecurity, experts call for reform and regional cooperation to prevent further conflict
  • Assad’s fall brought hope, but hunger has worsened for millions as violence, looting, and war damage disrupt food supplies

LONDON: More than half of Syria’s population faces food insecurity as the country grapples with the aftermath of 13 years of civil war, the abrupt collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime, and a surge of returnees.

Inadequate funding for aid organizations during this political transition risks deepening and prolonging the crisis.

A recent report by the Food Security Cluster, a UN-led coordination group, revealed that 14.5 million people in Syria are food insecure, including 9.1 million facing acute food insecurity and 5.4 million at risk of hunger.

The report, published on Jan. 25, emphasized that Syria’s sudden power shift and ongoing political transition have increased pressure on its fragile food systems, reshaping humanitarian needs.

Rola Dashti, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, described the current phase in Syria as a “critical juncture,” stressing that the country must either move toward reconstruction and reconciliation or risk falling into deeper chaos.

“The stakes for the country, and for the region, could not be higher,” she said in a January statement.

“Food insecurity is rampant, healthcare systems are crumbling, and entire communities have been uprooted. This is one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian crises, and our findings make clear it could get worse if immediate steps are not taken.”




A boy carries freshly-baked bread as people line up outside a bakery in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 21, 2024. (AFP)

On Dec. 8, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham seized control of Syria’s capital Damascus, following a sweeping 12-day offensive that toppled Assad.

And although Assad’s ouster provided some relief to Syrians, it also plunged the country into fresh political and economic uncertainty, with the country deeply fractured and up to 1 million refugees expected to return by June, according to UN figures.

Recent clashes have sparked a new wave of displacement, with some 1.1 million people newly displaced, mainly in Idlib, Aleppo, Homs, and Hama.

The surge in violence since late November has been a major driver of food insecurity, according to the Food Security Cluster’s report. Warehouses and public services have been looted, while damage to agricultural infrastructure has disrupted the planting season.




Syria’s political transition post-Assad has fueled the hunger crisis, leaving millions in urgent need of aid. (AFP file) 

This lawlessness, especially in northeastern and southern Syria, has created logistical challenges, blocked roads, and restricted aid access, severely disrupting food security.

Some 90 percent of Syrians currently live below the poverty line and some 16.7 million need humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.

Without bold reforms and swift international support, these needs are expected to grow, ESCWA warns.

The Food Security Cluster said $560 million is needed to fund a three-month emergency response providing food assistance and livelihood support during Syria’s political transition and uncertainty.

However, funding for aid remains insufficient. Cindy McCain, director of the World Food Programme, has said that some governments are reluctant to increase support for urgent humanitarian needs in Syria under the country’s new interim rulers.

And although the new leadership in Damascus has pledged a radical overhaul of the struggling economy, including privatization and public sector job cuts, it faces enormous challenges.

Western sanctions and more than a decade of conflict have left Syria’s economy in tatters. The country’s gross domestic product has contracted by 64 percent since the beginning of the war in 2011, according to a recent ESCWA report.

The report, released in late January, noted that Syria’s currency lost nearly two-thirds of its value against the US dollar in 2023 alone, driving consumer inflation to an estimated 40.2 percent in 2024.




Syria’s currency lost nearly two-thirds of its value against the US dollar in 2023 alone, driving consumer inflation to an estimated 40.2 percent in 2024. (AFP)

Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, believes the collapse of the Assad regime is largely tied to the failure of Syria’s economy.

“Government pay for officers in the army was $30 a month, and only $10 for enlisted men, which gives one a sense of the terrible need,” he told Arab News.

“The HTS government has increased those government wages by 400 percent, thanks to the largesse of Qatar, but wages remain extremely low.”

In mid-December, Syria’s interim government announced plans to dramatically increase the salaries of public servants. However, this plan involves laying off a third of the state workforce, Reuters reported.

The first wave of layoffs came just weeks after Assad’s ouster. Ministers in the interim government told Reuters that removing “ghost employees” — those who received salaries for doing little or nothing — was part of a crackdown on waste and corruption.




Syria’s interim government announced plans to dramatically increase the salaries of public servants. but the plan involves laying off a third of the state workforce. (AFP)

Landis says the layoffs are likely to worsen the hunger crisis for certain groups.

“Employees of the old regime are quickly being purged, as new employees whose ambitions and loyalties are better aligned with the new government are recruited by HTS,” he said.

“This means that hunger and insecurity is being redistributed to those Syrians who used to be favored by the Assad regime.”

Residents of Damascus and its hinterlands say that while the capital has seen an influx of foreign goods and a drop in prices since Assad’s departure, purchasing power remains low, especially as public servants and many private sector workers have not been paid in two months.

“We have a saying in Syria: a camel costs only one pound, but we don’t have that pound,” Umm Samir, a 55-year-old housekeeper from Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, Rif Dimashq, told Arab News.

“Prices of food have certainly dropped, and there are no shortages,” she said. “But in our area, many have not brought a pound home for almost two months.”

She added: “For example, a bottle of olive oil cost 100,000 Syrian pounds before Dec. 8; now it’s sold for 75,000. A kilogram of sugar was 20,000; now it’s 9,000.”




Blacksmiths work in a forge in the town of Douma, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. (AFP)

The drop in prices is partly due to a strengthening of the Syrian pound against the US dollar. On Friday, the dollar traded at 9,900 Syrian pounds, down from about 15,000 Syrian pounds before Dec. 8.

Syria expert Landis noted that while “food prices went down a bit once HTS took Damascus, because Turkish and foreign goods began to move freely into Syria without tariffs, bread prices went up.”

He added: “Bread is a major part of the Syrian diet, particularly for the 50 percent of Syrians facing food insecurity.”

Damascus residents told Arab News that a bundle of subsidized bread, which once cost 500 Syrian pounds, has seen its price jump to 4,000 Syrian pounds following Assad’s fall from power.




Syrians stand in queue to buy bread in the town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib. (AFP file)

When many cannot afford this essential food item, the influx of Turkish and Western goods — much more expensive than local products — makes little difference. If anything, it serves as a stark reminder of the struggle many families face to meet their basic needs.

Yusra, a 33-year-old computer engineer from Muhajreen, an upscale neighborhood in central Damascus, said that although three members of her household of six are breadwinners, they still could not afford many food items, such as meat, fruit, and sweets.

“It doesn’t matter that we now have Snickers bars, Ulker cookies, or brie cheese in local supermarkets when most people can’t afford basic things like sugar or apples,” she told Arab News.

“In my family, whenever we have an occasion, be it a birthday or Eid, we have to cut corners to buy cake or meat.




Syrians work at a vegetables market in Aleppo, on December 23, 2024. Aleppo's old city. (AFP)

“My brother works for a private marketing company but has not received his salary for January as the business is struggling.”

But the problem goes beyond families’ inability to meet basic needs. WFP chief McCain called Syria’s hunger crisis a national and regional security issue, particularly during this critical transition period.

“What’s at stake here is not just hunger — and hunger is big enough. But it’s about the future of this country and how it moves forward into this next phase,” she told the Associated Press during her first visit to Syria in mid-January.

On the national level, Syria expert Landis warns that if the interim government led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa fails to implement economic and political reforms, it will likely face growing opposition.




Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, speaks to the media during a meeting with Qatar's Minister of State Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 23, 2024. (REUTERS)

“Syrians are expecting the new government to jump start the economy, get the US and Western governments to lift sanctions, and to unite the country once again, which will mean that Syria’s oil and gas wells will once again be used by the Damascus government and not the Qamishli government,” he said, referring to the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

“It should be remembered that before 2011, oil and gas revenue provided 50 percent of the government budget. If President Al-Sharaa cannot get the economy back on its feet quickly, he is likely to face growing opposition and Syria is likely to remain turbulent and unstable.”




Farmers work to harvest wheat at a field in Raqa, northeastern Syria, on May 23, 2024. (AFP)

Since early December, protests have erupted across the country, with demands ranging from justice for disappeared activists to calls for improved public services and greater representation for various Syrian sects.

On the regional level, “a poor and hungry Syria will continue to pump out refugees,” Landis said. “All of Syria’s neighbors are counting on Syrian stability and economic growth to entice refugees to return home.”

He added: “If Syria stumbles, the reverberations will be felt throughout the region. The country will remain divided among foreign militaries and a battleground that could easily destabilize its neighbors.”




Caption

The UN warns that unless Syria achieves a stable transition, the hunger crisis will worsen, and reliance on aid will persist. The transition must establish inclusive governance, credible transitional justice, and stronger institutions to build public trust, according to ESCWA’s January report.

The report also states that the country’s stability and recovery depend on regional and international support, including sanctions relief and economic cooperation.

Without political and economic reforms in collaboration with regional and international partners, ESCWA believes Syria risks prolonged instability, further fragmentation, and becoming a haven for cross-border crime.
 

 


Pakistan, China and Russia to push for ceasefire as UN Security Council meets on Iran

Updated 18 min 18 sec ago
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Pakistan, China and Russia to push for ceasefire as UN Security Council meets on Iran

  • The three countries have circulated a draft resolution text and asked UNSC members to share comments by Monday
  • A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, France, Britain, Russia or China for it to pass

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, China and Russia will present a joint resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East, the Pakistani mission to the United Nations (UN) said on Sunday, ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to discuss US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.

The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, which condemns the attacks against “peaceful nuclear sites and facilities under the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and says that such attacks represent a threat to international peace and security, and to the entire safeguards regime of the IAEA, according to a draft seen by Arab News.

It calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue to reach an agreement acceptable to all parties that “guarantees the exclusively peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for complete lifting of all multilateral and unilateral sanctions.”

“Pakistan, China and Russia jointly have drafted a resolution and it is hoped that other countries like Algeria may also become its approvers,” Pakistan’s UN mission said.

“So far, it has been shared with the members countries for comments, which is a procedure before tabling it in the UNSC.”

The member countries will comment on the draft resolution and then a final draft will be tabled in the Security Council.

The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.

Iran requested the UN Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the US and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”

UN Secretary-General Guterres branded the US strikes on Iran as a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security.”

“At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace,” Guterres said in a statement.


Jordanian king chairs security meeting, affirms national unity amid regional tensions

Updated 22 June 2025
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Jordanian king chairs security meeting, affirms national unity amid regional tensions

  • King Abdullah II said that Jordan will not permit any party to exploit regional tensions to undermine the country’s firm stance on key Arab issues
  • The Iran-Israel conflict has escalated following US strikes on Sunday, as Tel Aviv and Tehran exchanged attacks for the 10th day

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan chaired a meeting on Sunday with officials and security agencies to emphasize national unity in the face of regional developments.

King Abdullah urged government institutions to tackle the economic effects of escalating tensions in the Middle East during the meeting at Al-Husseiniya Palace in Amman.

He said that Jordan will not permit any party to exploit regional tensions to undermine the country’s firm stance on key Arab issues. He said that Amman is committed to achieving a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Petra news agency reported.

He called for increased international efforts to achieve lasting peace in the region and to de-escalate tensions through diplomatic dialogue and negotiations, Petra added.

The Iran-Israel conflict has escalated following US strikes on three nuclear sites inside Iran on Sunday morning. Tel Aviv and Tehran have exchanged attacks over the past 10 days, risking a full-scale war in the Middle East.

The meeting was attended by several key figures, including Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Speaker of the House of Representatives Ahmad Safadi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, General Intelligence Department Director Maj. Gen. Ahmad Husni, and Public Security Directorate Director Maj. Gen. Obaidallah Maaytah.


Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills at least 15

People and rescuers inspect the damage at the site of a reported suicide attack at the Saint Elias church in Damascus’ Dwelaa.
Updated 22 min 49 sec ago
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Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills at least 15

  • Incident marks the first suicide bombing inside Damascus since Bashar Assad was toppled in December

DAMASCUS: At least 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria’s capital Damascus on Sunday, security sources said.
The incident marks the first suicide bombing inside Damascus since Bashar Assad was toppled in December.
Syria’s interior ministry said the suicide bomber was a member of Daesh. He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, the ministry added in a statement.
A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.
Syria’s state news agency cited the health ministry as putting the preliminary casualty toll at nine dead and 13 injured.
A livestream from the site by Syria’s civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from within the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered church pews and masonry.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who led the offensive against Assad before taking over in January for a transitional phase, has repeatedly said he will protect minorities during his tenure.


Israeli authorities arrest four Al-Aqsa guards, storm old prayer hall

Updated 22 June 2025
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Israeli authorities arrest four Al-Aqsa guards, storm old prayer hall

  • Israeli forces storm prayer hall beneath the Qibli Mosque, damaging its contents
  • Jerusalem Governorate says action is part of efforts to assert control over the mosque’s administration and undermine the Waqf authority

LONDON: Israeli authorities arrested four guards at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during a search raid on Saturday night inside the compound’s old prayer hall.

The Jerusalem Governorate, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, said that the detainees were identified as Mohammad Arbash, Ramzi Al-Zaanin, Basem Abu Juma, and Iyad Odeh. Several other guards and a firefighter in the compound were interrogated at the site by Israelis, the Wafa news agency reported.

Just after midnight on Saturday, Israeli forces stormed the old prayer hall at Al-Aqsa, a subterranean area beneath the Qibli Mosque, damaging its contents after breaking into storage cabinets and searching the premises, Wafa added.

The governorate said the latest Israeli action was part of efforts to assert control over the mosque’s administration and undermine the authority of the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem.

After less than a week of complete closure under a state of emergency linked to the ongoing war with Iran, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was reopened by Israeli authorities, allowing Palestinian and other Muslim worshippers to enter the site under strict regulations, Wafa reported.


Palestinian Authority considers phasing out shekel as Israeli banks refuse to accept surplus

Updated 22 June 2025
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Palestinian Authority considers phasing out shekel as Israeli banks refuse to accept surplus

  • Israeli banks’ refusal to accept the transfer of surplus shekels means fewer foreign currencies that are necessary for commerce and business
  • Israel’s finance minister in June ended a waiver that allowed Israeli banks to engage with Palestinian ones without being scrutinized for money laundering and financing extremism

LONDON: The Palestinian Authority is considering replacing the Israeli shekel as the primary currency in circulation due to its increasing accumulation in the banks.

The Palestine Monetary Authority announced on Sunday that it has taken significant steps to address the growing accumulation of shekels in Palestinian banks after Israeli banks’ continuing refusal to accept the transfer of surplus shekels in exchange for foreign currencies necessary for commerce and business.

The PMA is considering alternative options, including a shift away from using the shekel as the primary currency in circulation, the Wafa news agency reported.

In early June, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ended a waiver that allowed Israeli banks to engage with Palestinian banks without being scrutinized for money laundering and financing extremism.

Smotrich, who has been outspoken about weakening the Palestinian Authority and opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, made this decision shortly after being sanctioned by the UK and four European countries for inciting violence in the occupied West Bank.

The PMA said it aims to create a more resilient and sustainable digital economy in Palestine and has consulted various economic sectors and the Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture before it makes a final decision. Alongside phasing out the Israeli shekel, the PMA studied digital payment strategies to avoid shekel accumulation in Palestinian banks, Wafa reported.