27.06.2020, Geneva.
The Syrian People faces an unprecedented hunger crisis, spokeswoman of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Elisabeth Byrs said on June 26, the Anadolu Agency reports.
“Syrians today face an unprecedented hunger crisis,” said Byrs. She specified that basic food prices in Syria are the highest they have ever been seen during the nine year conflict.
The WFP spokeswoman pointed out that the crisis was caused by “a devastating combination of an economic standstill, the freefall of the Lebanese economy…and COVID-19 lockdown measures.”
Byrs added that the WFP urgently requires $200 million to provide food assistance to the Syrian Arab Republic.
On June 17, new US sanctions against Syria came into effect provoking the depreciation of the Syrian national currency that has approximately halved.
The US sanctions resulted in a sharp increase in food and fuel prices in the country.
The Syrian Government sells vital goods to its population at special prices counted on the basis of the pre-sanctions rate of the Syrian lira.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
