Two Days of Gridlock
Private fuel stations across Damascus went idle for two days in early July 2026, sending long queues of vehicles into surrounding streets and snarling traffic in several districts of the capital. Drivers waited for hours as pumps sat unused.
Lines stretched from the Taiba station near Bab Sharqi back toward the gate of the old city, while stations at Karama Square and Liberation Square drew rapid congestion. One outlet in the Dowila'a area blocked a main road as cars backed up.
A Dispute Over Payment
Station operators denied staging a strike. A supervisor at one outlet attributed the halt to a change in how fuel is paid for, as stations moved from pricing and settling in US dollars (USD) to the Syrian pound (SYP). The changeover, operators said, slowed deliveries and left pumps dry as stock had to be re-priced and settlement with suppliers adjusted before stations could reopen.
To manage the crunch, stations capped sales at 20 liters per vehicle, aiming to spread limited supply across more drivers and ease the pressure at the busiest outlets.
Prices Cut Days Earlier
The disruption followed a round of official price reductions on 28 June 2026. The price of 95-octane gasoline was cut 20.39 percent to 130 pounds per liter, and diesel fell 14.37 percent to 107 pounds per liter. A household gas cylinder dropped 15.49 percent to 1,500 pounds. The gasoline cut of more than a fifth was steep by recent standards.
Lower official prices can widen the gap with parallel-market rates, adding pressure at the pump when supply is tight and encouraging drivers to fill up quickly while the new rates hold.
Currency Under Strain
The episode unfolded against a sliding currency. The Syrian pound has lost about 4.4 percent against the dollar over the past week, trading near 13,000 to the dollar. Moving fuel sales into pounds ties everyday transactions more tightly to a currency that has weakened steadily this year.
The cause of the stoppage remained disputed between station operators and the drivers waiting in the street through both days.