International protests break out over rising oil and gas costs
Oil market shocks related to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have triggered international protests, unrest slated to grow as continued shocks send oil and gas prices soaring. After months of relative stability, clashes in the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks have led to a rise in oil prices, followed last […]
Oil market shocks related to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have triggered international protests, unrest slated to grow as continued shocks send oil and gas prices soaring.
After months of relative stability, clashes in the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks have led to a rise in oil prices, followed last week by a much greater shock after a surprise Houthi offensive seized the entire Red Sea coast. The seizure gave the U.S.-designated terrorist group a full chokehold over a key oil shipping route. The Houthis also launched attacks that shut down Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. The resulting price rises were felt worst in Europe and the Middle East, with war-ravaged Syria seeing the worst unrest.
” data-large-file=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs.webp” src=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs.webp” alt=”Syria riots” class=”wp-image-4729181″ srcset=”https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs-1.webp 1024w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs-1.webp?resize=300,200 300w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs-1.webp?resize=768,512 768w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs-1.webp?resize=150,100 150w, https://conservativemodern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/international-protests-break-out-over-rising-oil-and-gas-costs-1.webp?resize=696,464 696w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”>Protesters burn tires and other debris to block a highway as demonstrations over fuel price increases spread across Syria, in Maarat al-Numan, Idlib province, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahmed Albam)
Syria saw some of its biggest protests since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, a consequence of the government’s decision to raise the price of diesel 40%, from 125 to 175 Syrian pounds per liter, and gasoline by between 26% and 28% on Sunday. The raise followed another, smaller increase on Sept. 4, which had triggered smaller, mostly peaceful protests across six governorates.
The second, much larger increase, attributed to rising global fuel costs, led to an explosion of outrage among a population already struggling to get by as it tries to return to normal economic life after a decade and a half of grinding civil war.
“While earlier fuel protests in the northeast were largely peaceful, on 13 September protesters blocked the Hasaka–Deir ez-Zor highway, burned tires, and stopped oil tankers,” said Muaz Al Abdullah, Syria analyst at the open-source intelligence firm Armed Conflict Location & Event Data. “Fuel availability, rising prices, falling purchasing power, and poor services are all reasons that have accumulated public resentment, although demands are also shifting towards reversing decisions and removing officials, including the energy minister, showing that economic grievances are turning into grievances against the government.”
The protests and riots notably spread to Idlib and Hama for the first time, government strongholds that served as a base of support for Damascus. Idlib served as al Qaeda caliph-turned President Ahmed al Sharaa’s base for the last phase of the civil war, marking the only holdout that hadn’t been retaken by the Assad regime.
Outside of the new unrest in government strongholds, the protests were worst in the unstable northeast, the Kurdish-majority region only recently brought under government control. Some protesters called for the overthrow of Sharaa’s government.
Unrest wasn’t limited to Syria either. Smaller, more peaceful, but often disruptive protests have taken place across Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia.
In Guatemala, truckers and other demonstrators launched coordinated protests, including road blockades, across the country to protest rising fuel prices. The country’s parliament has scrambled to respond.
A small protest, which made up for its small size by marching directly on the home of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, took place in the Portuguese coastal city of Espinho over rising fuel costs. In the French coastal town of Fos-sur-Mer, protesters clashed with police on Tuesday over rising fuel prices and blocked a major fuel depot.
Filipino transport workers went on strike on Monday after the government raised fuel costs again, a change that went into effect on Tuesday.
Brent Crude rose above $100 per barrel for the first time in months earlier this month, and now sits at $101.88 as of Wednesday morning. West Texas Intermediate was slightly higher, at $103.56 per barrel.
