Qamishlo protests against the decision to raise the price of diesel continue

ARK News… The cities and towns of Syrian Kurdistan and other regions are witnessing widespread popular discontent and protests against the PYD administration raising the price of diesel in the areas under its control.

A week after the PYD administration issued a decision to raise the price of diesel by 400%, dozens of activists from the city of Qamishlo organized a protest against the decision, chanting: Continue until the decision is dropped, carrying banners that read: “Raising the price of diesel only serves the corrupt” and “We demand the cancellation of the decision to raise the price of diesel fuel by 400%.”

The protesters expressed their solidarity with the young man, Rebar Hussein, who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Youth Movement, affiliated with the PYD administration, and was subjected to torture and forced to record a video clip in which he apologizes for his request to the people to close the shops and join the protest in the city of Kobani in rejection of the decision to raise the price of diesel, carrying a banner that read: “All solidarity with Rebar Kobani.

On the 16th of this month, the PYD administration raised the price of “subsidized diesel” from 525 Syrian pounds to 2,100, and “free” from 1,700 to 4,600 Syrian pounds.

The cities of "Qamishlo - Kobani - Girke Lage - Derik - Manbij" witnessed popular discontent, and the people organized popular protests and closed shops and markets, demanding a reversal of the decision to raise fuel prices.

After raising the price of diesel fuel, the price of a package of tourist bread increased from 3,500 to 4,500 Syrian pounds, and the fare for private internal transportation in Qamishlo from 6,000 to 15,000 Syrian pounds.

The PYD administration’s areas of control contain the largest oil and energy fields in the countryside of Deir Ez-Zour and Hasakah, in addition to the largest natural gas fields, meaning about 90% of Syria’s energy sources.

The popular protests have entered their seventh day, and statements by PYD administration officials continue to confirm that they will not back down from the decision.

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