Syria dreamed of a new dawn after Assad, but economic misery clouds its future

​The increases triggered demonstrations across Syria is the most widespread since Assad's fall. Protesters burned tyres, blocked key roads, including the highway linking Damascus to Aleppo, and disrupted crude tanker convoys heading towards refineries in central Syria. Nearly two years after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, Syrians who had hoped for a better life under President Ahmed al-Sharaa are still struggling to afford basic necessities. Rising food, fuel and electricity costs are deepening an economic crisis that has fuelled public anger against the new administration.The government's inability to ease the financial burden on households was laid bare in September, when a sharp increase in fuel prices triggered widespread protests. The unrest forced authorities to partially roll back the decision, according to a Reuters report.The government had raised diesel prices by 40 per cent on September 14, taking them to 175 Syrian pounds per litre from 125 pounds. It also increased the prices of 95-octane petrol by 28 per cent to 195 pounds, 90-octane petrol by 26 per cent to 185 pounds, and household and industrial gas by around 9 per cent.The increases triggered demonstrations across Sy...