A member of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) political committee, Abdelbaset Abdullatif, has highlighted the escalating deterioration of the institutions under the Assad regime. The issue at hand is no longer confined to defections among soldiers; now even state employees are leaving their jobs en masse due to inadequate salaries that fail to sustain them on a daily basis.
Abdullatif stated that in recent years, the Assad regime suffered from the desertion of soldiers and officers who refused to carry out orders to harm the Syrian people. Today, it faces the loss of public sector employees who opt to leave their jobs prematurely, well before reaching retirement age.
He emphasized that the Assad regime, which Iran and Russia have striven to shield from military collapse, keeping it partially alive, may find itself without any protection against economic collapse.
This development follows reports in pro-Assad newspapers about a surge in resignations across state sectors. Requests to leave jobs are pouring in to regime officials, with many employees not even reaching retirement age.
Local media has revealed that the As-Suwayda governorate alone has witnessed 400 recent resignations. This widespread exodus from the public sector, whether through resignations or retirement requests based on years of service rather than job age, raises concerns about the potential depletion of the public sector’s workforce.
It is worth noting that since late last year, the Syrian pound has experienced significant depreciation. This prompted the regime’s central bank to adjust the official exchange rate to match that of the black market. Areas under the Assad regime are grappling with an oppressive economic crisis, marked by a scarcity of oil derivatives, soaring poverty rates reaching 90 percent, halted production, and limited electricity provision to citizens.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
