2023-09-30 11:00:18
Protesters tear up a portrait of former Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad, in Suweida (Syria), September 4, 2023. SUWAYDA 24 / VIA REUTERS
The town of Souweïda, in southern Syria, has been rebelling for more than forty days. Friday September 29, some 2,000 demonstrators, according to Agence France-Presse, met in Al-Karama (“dignity”) square, in the heart of the capital of the province of the same name, stronghold of the Druze minority . The signs brandished by women and men of several generations called for the fall of Bashar Al-Assad. The day was marked by a festive atmosphere, but also by rebellious gestures, such as the removal, from public infrastructure, of the portrait of the irremovable Syrian leader.
The city has been the scene of gatherings of residents – joined on Friday, a day off, by residents of neighboring villages – since the announcement by the Damascus authorities in mid-August of the lifting of gasoline subsidies and fuel oil, in a context of crisis and inflation. “We have been living in hell for twelve years. Public services no longer work: water, electricity… Every month, we are forced to experience new deprivations due to soaring prices. That’s enough ! », protests L., a teacher reached by telephone in Souweïda who requested anonymity. His monthly salary is equivalent to 20 dollars (19 euros). She takes part in demonstrations every day, “despite fear”.
Dissatisfaction with the high cost of living has already been expressed in Souweïda in 2022. But the current mobilization quickly took a political turn. The call for the application of Resolution 2254, this plan to exit the conflict adopted in December 2015 by the UN Security Council and which turned into a stillborn process thanks to Moscow’s support for its protégé of Damascus, has become the leitmotif of the demonstrators. “We want Syria to return to the forefront of the concerns of the United Nations, for there to be a political transition, without violence. The movement has revived the spirit of the 2011 revolution. The Assads must go. This family has controlled our lives for over fifty years.”continues L.
Read also: Syria: new anti-government demonstrations in the south of the country
The protesters, who brandish the multicolored Druze flag, have the support of two of the three spiritual leaders of the community, including Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, who receives them daily. The latter defends the peaceful nature of the movement. A position reiterated after three demonstrators were injured on September 13 by shots from Baath party guards, whose offices they were trying to block. But the sheikh warned that Souweida’s men would respond if attacked. The minority, which represented around 3% of the population before the conflict in Syria, had a balancing act during the war, displaying a form of neutrality and favoring the defense of the province.
You have 49.44% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
#living #hell #twelve #years