In an effort to give regime loyalists protection against economic gloom shrouding the crisis-torn Syria, President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday ordered a pay rise for all military and civil service personnel.

The salary increase, which includes a rise in pensions, was the second such move since the uprising against his rule erupted in March 2011, AFP news agency reports.

According to the decree, carried by the official SANA news agency, soldiers and civil servants will get a 40 percent pay rise on the first 10,000 pounds ($50) a month of their salaries, and a further 20 percent rise on the next 10,000,