Hundreds of Factories Closed in Syria Under HTS Rule: Report

By Staff, Agencies

Under the current al-Qaeda-linked administration, hundreds of factories and plants have been closed across multiple provinces in Syria, driven by lack of security, electricity shortages, and illegal foreign imports, a new report reveals.

Over the past three months, Syria’s industrial sector has suffered severe setbacks, with around 420 factories, plants and workshops shutting down across key provinces, including Aleppo, Damascus, Latakia, Tartous, and Homs.

The closures followed the rise to power of foreign-backed militants, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, in Damascus on December 8, when the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was unseated following a rapid two-week onslaught.

According to industrialist Ahmed Anqa, the lack of security has worsened the situation, with unidentified gunmen looting industrial sites like Sheikh Najjar in Aleppo, Hasiya in Homs, and Adra near Damascus.

Additionally, unreliable electricity and a sharp increase in diesel prices to 30 percent since the fall of Assad -have driven up production costs.

Syria’s struggling manufacturers now face fierce competition from cheap foreign imports, particularly from neighboring Turkey, which flood the country without government oversight.

Anqa cited smuggled goods and electricity cuts as factors affecting local producers and businesses, undercutting official rates and increasing costs.

Furthermore, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the economic crisis has worsened due to mass public sector layoffs, including 12,000 Latakia province employees and 500 General Company employees.

According to a report by Syria TV, up to half a million state employees could face job cuts as part of the HTS-led administration's shift toward a “competitive free-market economy.”

“The goal is to balance private sector growth with support for the most vulnerable,” interim Minister of Finance Basil Abdel Hanan told Reuters.

These sweeping reforms, which include privatizing state-run enterprises and removing “ghost employees,” have sparked widespread concern.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has begun communications with Syrian officials, raising fears that the country might fall into debt traps unless it focuses on production, exports, and building its dollar reserves.