by Bassem Mroue, Daily Star, Lebanon

Story Summary
Already grappling with severe fuel shortages and winter temperatures that drop below freezing, Syrians now must spend hours in line every day for gasoline or a few loaves of bread at soaring prices as President Bashar Assad’s regime faces mounting difficulties in providing basic services to its people.

On a recent day in the poor Damascus neighborhood of Rukneddine, more than a 100 people stood outside al-Ameed bakery waiting to get 1.35 kilograms (3 pounds) of subsidized bread for 15 pounds (16 cents). Nowadays, Syrians can choose between subsidized bread or standard bread known as “touristic,” which is abundant but four times more expensive than the subsidized.

The government has fixed gasoline prices at about 75 cents per liter, but shortages mean residents must wait up to six hours in lines to fill up.

The government has not said what currency reserves it has left, but the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit estimates it to be a little more than $4.5 billion.

The government price is about 79 pounds.

Whether in Aleppo or Damascus or the capital’s suburbs, Syrians are weary of the strain of a conflict that has killed more than 60,000 people.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Middle-East/2013/Jan-22/203373-syrians-struggle-with-shortages-as-economy-buckles.ashx#ixzz2IjV64n7P
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)