Politics

Assad tasks Arnous with forming new government after re-election

Damascus, Aug 1 (EFE).- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday renewed confidence in prime minister Hussein Arnous despite the serious economic crisis in the country.

Assad, whose fourth consecutive tenure began on 17 July following his overwhelming victory in May’s controversial elections, issued a decree tasking Arnous to form a new government, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

Arnous – born in 1953 in Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in the country – was first named prime minister in June 2020, replacing sacked Imad Khamis amid the ongoing severe economic crisis.

Over 80 percent of Syrians, who have been struggling with basic goods shortages, are under the poverty threshold, according to the United Nations.

The government blames the crisis on the sanctions the United States imposed on Assad and his entourage, including Arnous. EFE

rz-ar-ppa/ta/mp

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