MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) – Syria’s financial losses from the ongoing armed conflict in the country stand at around $100 billion, a senior official with the Middle Eastern nation's government said Tuesday.
“According to preliminary estimates, I believe it is $100 billion. Plus or minus 10 percent because this is not a final figure,” Syrian Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Qadri Jamil said in an interview with Rossia-24 television network.
“GDP has fallen at least 30 percent, maybe more,” he said, adding that Syria’s oil industry has been hit with production currently at a standstill.
On Oct. 2, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Al-Halqi was cited by news agencies as estimating the damage incurred by the public and private sectors of the economy at $16.5 billion.
The United Nations estimates that the Syrian conflict has claimed over 100,000 lives.
