A wave of protests has swept cities in southern Syria since the government’s announcement on August 15 that they intended to increase the price of petrol by 200%, a devastating price increase for a population whose financial situation has been ravaged by twelve years of war. More than 90% of the population lives under the poverty line. Government employees earn, on average, a monthly salary of just 12 euros.
The first group to respond to the government’s announcement were truck drivers in As-Suwayda. They called for a general strike and mobilisation.
Shadi Al Dubaisi is a citizen journalist who lives in As-Suwayda. He participated in the protests.
"Protests took place in dozens of places across the governorate. The roads were blocked. The local headquarters of the Baath party [Editor’s note: Bashar al-Assad’s party] and its branches were shut down.
People spray painted walls and handed out pamphlets. The protesters called for the overthrow of the régime, the liberation of political detainees and the application of resolution 2254.
The protesters have popular support as well as the support of the sheikh of the Druze, Hikmat al-Hijri. He supports the calls of the protesters and warns against any harm coming to them. It seems as if the security forces are unable to shut down these protests because of the large popular support as well as the participation of people from all sectors of society, including young people, women and the clergy."
The strike largely took place in As-Suwayda. Images shared on August 20 by the local media As-Suwayda 24 show dozens of shops in the town centre shut down. On August 23, protesters set a large poster of Bashar al-Assad on fire.
Protests also took place in other cities. In Jableh, a town near the coastal city of Latakia, many people participated in the general strike. A video posted on social media on August 20 shows soldiers deployed to the town trying to force people to re-open their stores. Protests also took place in Deraa as well as in the suburbs of Damascus. In Nawa, a suburb of Deraa, security forces carried out a violent crackdown on a peaceful nighttime protest on August 20.
Firas Kontar, who is both French and Syrian, wrote the book Syria: The Impossible Revolution.
"The protests took place in places where the régime’s security services have less control. In Deraa, there is still a strong presence of militants from the Free Syrian Army, which means that the régime was unable to regain a firm hold on the territory.
People in As-Suwayda have never supported the régime or pro-régime militias. Instead, they supported the revolution from the beginning, which was embarrassing to the régime, which always pretended that minorities were on its side. It’s a big slap in the face for the régime.
We are experiencing the dislocation of a society, of a state that has left behind a terrible void in its wake. There’s been instability for the past 12 years. There won’t be an end to this conversation while Assad is here. The problems can’t be resolved with his presence. He is the knot that prevents any movement towards a pacification of the situation. And so this all continues." '
"Protests took place in dozens of places across the governorate. The roads were blocked. The local headquarters of the Baath party [Editor’s note: Bashar al-Assad’s party] and its branches were shut down.
People spray painted walls and handed out pamphlets. The protesters called for the overthrow of the régime, the liberation of political detainees and the application of resolution 2254.
The protesters have popular support as well as the support of the sheikh of the Druze, Hikmat al-Hijri. He supports the calls of the protesters and warns against any harm coming to them. It seems as if the security forces are unable to shut down these protests because of the large popular support as well as the participation of people from all sectors of society, including young people, women and the clergy."
The strike largely took place in As-Suwayda. Images shared on August 20 by the local media As-Suwayda 24 show dozens of shops in the town centre shut down. On August 23, protesters set a large poster of Bashar al-Assad on fire.
Protests also took place in other cities. In Jableh, a town near the coastal city of Latakia, many people participated in the general strike. A video posted on social media on August 20 shows soldiers deployed to the town trying to force people to re-open their stores. Protests also took place in Deraa as well as in the suburbs of Damascus. In Nawa, a suburb of Deraa, security forces carried out a violent crackdown on a peaceful nighttime protest on August 20.
Firas Kontar, who is both French and Syrian, wrote the book Syria: The Impossible Revolution.
"The protests took place in places where the régime’s security services have less control. In Deraa, there is still a strong presence of militants from the Free Syrian Army, which means that the régime was unable to regain a firm hold on the territory.
People in As-Suwayda have never supported the régime or pro-régime militias. Instead, they supported the revolution from the beginning, which was embarrassing to the régime, which always pretended that minorities were on its side. It’s a big slap in the face for the régime.
We are experiencing the dislocation of a society, of a state that has left behind a terrible void in its wake. There’s been instability for the past 12 years. There won’t be an end to this conversation while Assad is here. The problems can’t be resolved with his presence. He is the knot that prevents any movement towards a pacification of the situation. And so this all continues." '
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