HASAKAH, Syria, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Rocks lay scattered across the M4 highway near the town of Tal Tamr in northeastern Syria on Monday, while burning tires sent columns of black smoke into the sky beneath road signs pointing toward Hasakah, Aleppo, Raqqa and Ras al-Ain.
Beyond the makeshift barricades, hundreds of oil tankers stood idle, their drivers stranded as residents blocked the key highway for a second consecutive day to protest sharp increases in fuel prices.
The blockade reflects the economic anxiety unleashed by new prices that took effect on Sept. 13, particularly a 40 percent increase in diesel.
For residents such as Ibrahim al-Salman, the issue is not simply about how Syria's fuel prices compare with those abroad, but about how much Syrians earn compared with what they are being asked to pay.
"You follow global oil prices? Then follow global incomes!" al-Salman told Xinhua.
His frustration reflects a deeper crisis. Years of conflict, inflation and lost livelihoods have severely eroded household purchasing power.
The World Bank says Syria's economy contracted by more than half between 2010 and 2024, while gross national income per capita fell to 830 U.S. dollars in 2024. About a quarter of Syrians were estimated to live in extreme poverty, with roughly two-thirds below the lower-middle-income poverty line.
The World Food Programme estimates that 7.2 million people in Syria remain acutely food insecure, including 1.6 million facing severe conditions.
The latest fuel price increases have added to the economic pressure. Diesel rose 40 percent from 125 to 175 Syrian pounds per liter, while 90-octane and 95-octane gasoline increased by nearly 26 percent and more than 28 percent, respectively. Household gas prices also rose.
In Tal Tamr, protesters used rocks, burning tires, and their presence on the highway to prevent tankers and trucks from passing.
Mohammad Nouri, another resident, told Xinhua that the road had been closed to tankers and trucks for about 48 hours and that the protest would continue until the decision was reconsidered.
"We will not stop until they reverse the decision," Nouri said.
The blockade has created a paradox: a protest against rising fuel prices is now disrupting the movement of the very oil on which Syria's energy system depends.
Hundreds of tankers have been left stationary along the highway, some loaded and others waiting to travel toward oil fields in northeastern Syria.
One tanker driver, who gave his name as Ibrahim, told Xinhua that about 600 tankers were stranded, with "no water, no food, nothing."
Yet some drivers said they shared the protesters' grievances.
Zakaria Ahmed said the higher diesel price had transformed the economics of tanker operations. A trip that previously generated about 1,500 dollars would now consume roughly 1,200 dollars in diesel, with another 300 dollars going to the driver.
"There is absolutely nothing left for the vehicle," Ahmed said.
The anger extends beyond Tal Tamr. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported protests and road blockages in parts of Hasakah, Deir al-Zour and Raqqa provinces, alongside strikes by some minibus drivers.
In Raqqa, the Britain-based watchdog reported disruption to fruit and vegetable trading at the city's wholesale market amid higher transportation costs.
The stakes reach far beyond the price at the pump. Diesel powers freight transport and agriculture and helps move food and other goods. Higher fuel costs therefore threaten to ripple through an already strained economy.
Meanwhile, the authorities face a supply problem. Official figures show Syria imports about 74 percent of its diesel, 81 percent of its gasoline and 96 percent of household gas. Domestic refining constraints have compounded the pressure.
Syria currently produces about 100,000 barrels of crude a day, compared with estimated domestic energy requirements equivalent to roughly 300,000 barrels.
Authorities say the new prices are subject to review and could rise or fall depending on international prices, procurement and shipping costs, exchange rates, domestic production and refining capacity.
They also point to efforts to reduce dependence on imports, including restoring oil wells and rehabilitating refineries. In the first half of 2026, 152 wells were returned to operation and 10 additional wells began production, according to official figures.
For now, however, those longer-term plans offer little relief to households confronting higher costs today.
On the M4, protesters demand affordable fuel, tanker drivers wait to return to work, and rows of vehicles sit motionless along a highway carrying the lifeblood of an economy struggling to recover.
For al-Salman, the issue ultimately comes back to the gap between prices and incomes.
"Follow our incomes too," he said. ■
