DAMASCUS (dpa-AFX) – After Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown at the weekend, employees of the Syrian central bank returned to their jobs, according to eyewitnesses. Residents watched as the employees entered the building in the capital Damascus. It is a step towards normality for the country.
The central bank employees initially stayed away from work due to the uncertain situation. Aid organizations then warned that this would make aid to the country more difficult as reliable money transfers would not be possible.
According to eyewitnesses, some people looted the central bank’s headquarters in Damascus on Sunday. “Some thefts were registered on Sunday,” said the head of a department at the central bank, Mohamed al-Imam, to the German Press Agency. Some of the money has now been returned.
According to eyewitnesses, private banks in Damascus are also open with reduced opening hours. A curfew continues to apply in the capital between 4 p.m. local time (2 p.m. CET) and 5 a.m. (3 a.m. CET)./wh/DP/jha