Fuel Price Hike Sparks Syria's Widest Protests Since Assad's Fall

Demonstrators blocked roads and burned tyres in cities and towns across Syria on Sunday, September 14, 2026, after the transitional government announced on September 13 that diesel prices would rise by up to 40 percent, petrol by at least 25-28 percent, and cooking gas by around 9 percent — the second hike within nine days. Protests broke out from Aleppo and Idlib in the north to Hama in central Syria and Daraa in the south, with demonstrators cutting the main Damascus-Aleppo highway and the Aleppo-Turkiye highway near al-Bab. It marked the most widespread public unrest since Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December 2024. Energy Minister Mohammed al-Bashir defended the increase, citing 'exceptional and complex circumstances' and Syria's fuel supply gap — the country produces about 102,000 barrels of oil per day against domestic demand of roughly 325,000 bpd, forcing heavy imports amid disruptions to Russian fuel exports. The government framed the hikes as temporary, tied to a refinery overhaul at Baniyas intended to raise capacity from 80,000 to 130,000 barrels per day. Protests continued into the following days, spreading to Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah and, by September 16, to a blockade of the M4 highway near Tal Tamr in the northeast that stranded hundreds of fuel tankers.