Thousands of the mainly Druze city of Sweida took to the streets for an eighth consecutive day on Sunday, protesting at worsening economic conditions and demanding the departure of Bashar al-Assad.
On Sunday, thousands of people from most of the cities and towns of the province came to gather in Al-Karama (the dignity) Square, (the city’s main square was known as al-Sayer), and it was remarkable that the presence of clerics, tribal sheikhs and leaders of local factions, who affirmed their commitment to the demands of civilians and not compromising them.
The protests sparked eight days ago by sudden steep gasoline price hikes, witnesses and civic activists said.
Al-Rased Network stated that an attempt to coordinate was made yesterday with the Public Prosecutor in Sweida, Fouad Salloum, in order to open the Palace of Justice and manage the affairs of citizens, but Salloum was the one who refused to open the Palace of Justice and sent a notice to the judges to close the Palace of Justice.
Clerics close to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, the spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community, confirmed that their coordination with the Public Prosecutor came at the request of the Sheikh Hajri, who wanted to continue facilitating people's affairs, but Salloum did not cooperate with his family, as he said.
The al-Rased said that a group of activists organizing protests in Sweida issued a statement yesterday, in which they affirmed the continuation of their movement, and identified some points in which they said they agreed on the continuity of the movement in its peaceful and civilized form, demanding regime change and rejecting any project to divide and implement Resolution 2254, which drew the map of the transitional phase and political change to achieve sustainable peace.
The city has remained in government hands during the conflict and its Druze minority has long resisted being drawn into a civil war that pits mainly rebels drawn from Syria's majority Sunni population against Assad’s rule.
Sheikh Hajri told followers last week that "These protests are the righteous voice of the Syrian people."
Over the past eight days, protesters burnt posters of al-Assad that hung in main squares and state headquarters, chanted "Go, go, Assad. We want to eat." Same chants could be heard at the start of pro-democracy protests in 2011 that were violently crushed by security forces and sparked a violent, over-decade long conflict.
Security sources said the authorities in Damascus have been careful to avoid any escalation in Sweida, Reuters reported.
Syria is in the throes of a deep economic crisis that saw its currency collapse, leading to soaring prices for food and basic supplies and which Assad's government blames on Western sanctions.
Protests in Sweida fuel officials' concern they could spread to the Mediterranean coastal areas, strongholds of Assad's minority Alawite sect and where there have been recently rare calls by activists for a strike, security sources and diplomats told Reuters.
State media did not mention the protests but pro-government commentators have blamed foreign powers for fueling the unrest and warned of wider chaos if they persist.
"If the regime declares war on the province we will get into a cycle of bloodshed that we were spared that opens the door for all possibilities," said Ryan Marouf, a civic activist and editor of the local Suwayda 24 news website, told Reuters on Thursday.
(With Reuters)
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