Thu 11 June 2020:
Syrian President Bashar Assad announced he had dismissed Prime Minister Imad Khamis on Thursday. Khamis had occupied the role since 2016.
“President Assad has issued decree number 143 for the year 2020 which relieves the prime minister Imad Muhammad Dib Khamis of his position,” an official statement from the president read.
“The government will continue to work until the next election,” the Syrian presidency added on Twitter.
الرئيس #الأسد يصدر الـ #مرسوم رقم 143 للعام 2020 القاضي بإعفاء رئيس مجلس الوزراء المهندس عماد محمد ديب #خميس من منصبه.. pic.twitter.com/6Bv2wjKcCr
— Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) June 11, 2020
The dismissal came after the deteriorating economic situation in Syria and the devaluation of the Syrian lira to unprecedented levels.
The Syrian currency has dropped to 2,500 liras per $1, compared to 990-1000 liras per $1 at the end of last year.
The collapse of the lira led to economic recession which prompted the closure of commercial stores in many Syrian provinces.
The devaluation of the country’s currency coincides with an anticipation that the first phase of a US sanctions package, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, will be implemented,
The first phase of the package includes a series of economic sanctions against the Syrian regime and its allies as well as the companies and individuals associated with it, with other punitive measures to follow.
Syrian authorities have placed the blame for the currency crisis squarely on Western countries for their sanctioning of Syria. Some anti-government protesters say a poor handling of the coronavirus crisis and the current regime’s decision to devalue the currency are responsible.
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