Syria’s Assad Sacks PM as Anti-government Protests Flare

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sacked his prime minister, as Damascus struggles to contend with an intensifying economic crisis and renewed anti-government protests. “President Assad issue[d] decree number 143 for year 2020, which relieves… Imad Muhammad Dib Khamis of his position,” the presidency announced in a statement. Khamis, who had been Syria’s prime minister since 2016, was replaced by Hussein Arnous for an interim period ahead of parliamentary elections slated for mid-July. Khamis’ firing follows sharp criticism of Damascus’ handling of a financial crisis that has seen the black-market value of the Syrian currency plummet over the past week from about 2,300 to 3,000 pounds to the US dollar. The official rate, which stood at stood at 47 when the conflict erupted nearly a decade ago, is currently hovering at around 700. In response, Syrians have staged rare demonstrations centered in the city of Sweida, where individuals reportedly marched through streets while shouting slogans such as “The people want to topple the [Assad] regime.” The Syrian government has blamed the country’s deepening economic woes on a series of new US sanctions – collectively known as the Caesar Act – which will take effect later this month. The civil war in Syria began in 2011 with a violent crackdown on anti-Assad protests and has since morphed into a brutal proxy battle between world powers. The ongoing fighting has killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced more than 10 million.