SOHR: Syrian Kurdish opposition party holds protests against price hikes in Syrian Kurdistan

The “living situation of the people is getting worse, day after day, because of the rapid and uncontrolled rise in prices of all materials necessary and essential for life.”

The Syrian Kurdish opposition party, the Kurdish National Council (KNC), held protests on Friday in several cities in the Syrian Kurdish region (Rojava) over worsening economic conditions in the area.

The KNC called on people to take to the streets to demonstrate against high fuel prices and worsening services next to the UN building in the city of Qamishlo on Friday, 5:00 in the afternoon.

Protests were also held in other cities in northern Syria, such as Derbisiya.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the internal security forces (Asayish) in Derbisiya secured the protest, despite threats by the Revolutionary Youth Movement to suppress the protest.

In Qamishlo, an unknown number of protestors were injured when a counterprotest by the Revolutionary Youth Movement attacked the protestors.The “living situation of the people is getting worse, day after day, because of the rapid and uncontrolled rise in prices of all materials necessary and essential for life,” the KNC said in a statement on Thursday.

The protests were held with slogans, “no to arrests, freedom to prisoners,” “no to raising fuel prices,” “no imposing taxes on citizens,” and “no to raising the price of bread.”

During the protest, senior KNC leader Mohammed Ismail said the slogans were not only the demand of the KNC, but “a request of all people.”

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), led by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), overturned an increase in the prices of automobile fuel, petrol, and cooking gas in May after widespread protests erupted against the decision in multiple cities.

However, the KNC said the AANES is once again raising the price of diesel, which it characterized as “the substance that automatically raises the prices of the rest of the materials and services.”

So far, the AANES has not responded to the accusations.

However, it’s unclear if the local authorities will allow the protests to continue

The Syria-based Rojava Information Centre (RIC) said that the Jazirah region (Hasakah province) will go into a coronavirus lockdown on Saturday at 6 am until next Friday (October 1) due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

“863 people have died in NES during the pandemic so far (according to official numbers; the true death toll is likely much higher),” the RIC said in a tweet.

 

 

Source: Kurdistan24