Syrian President Bashar al Assad sacked his prime minister Imad Khamis, who has held the post since 2016, by decree on Thursday, official media in Damascus report. Hussein Arnous, current Minister of Water Resources, has been appointed to replace him.
Read also: Syria: the Druze slingshot sets out again in the South
No reason is given by the media. Aged 67, born in Idlib, an engineer by training, Hussein Arnous held many government offices and was governor of the province of Daïr az Zour. Syria, in civil war for almost ten years, is plunged into a serious economic crisis and the Syrian pound has fallen in recent days to record lows.
The Damascus government is subject to American and European sanctions and the country is also suffering from the financial crisis in Lebanon, a major supplier of foreign exchange. In the past year alone, the Syrian currency has lost more than 80% of its value. This week, several hundred people demonstrated in the town of Soueïda, predominantly Druze, against the worsening of living conditions.
Protesters demanded the departure of Assad, while Soueïda, located in the south of the country, had not risen against the regime during peaceful protests in spring 2011, the violent repression of which by the security forces led to civil war.
Read also: Israel multiplies its raids against the Shiite axis in Syria
