A devastating war, relentless sanctions, a gutted economy under siege: All these have ground the Syrian pound down to a tenth of its value since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. Put another way: 100 Syrian pounds were worth about $2 in 2011. The pound’s latest downturn, analysts say, comes from the financial contretemps hitting Lebanon. He added the government had “no initiatives and no vision” to present to Syrian citizens who had been patient during the war. Assad and his Russian allies have declared the war to be essentially over, with the government as the victor.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 29, 2019 11:03 UTC