Damascus, Jun 23 (IANS): Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has announced salary raise for state servants, military personnel and retired employees, state-run SANA news agency reported.

According to the presidential decree, the raise for the current state employees and military personnel will be divided into the categories -- 40 percent increase on the first 10,000 Syrian pounds of the salary, 20 percent on the second 10,000, 10 percent on the third and five percent on the fourth 10,000.

The raise for the retirees starts from 25 percent on the first 10,000 Syrian pounds, 25 percent on the second and 10 percent on the third 10,000.

Xinhua said the raise comes in light of a hike in the US exchange rate against the Syrian pound, and recent data shows that public servants have lost 70 percent of their income.

Prices of almost all commodities in Syria have increased by 200 percent over the past few months, making a lot of commodities out of reach for many people.