Protests in Syria’s as-Suwayda demanding Assad’s departure enter third day

Protests in the city of As-Suwayda – North Press

AS-SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – For the 3rd day in a row, people in the city of as-Suwayda demonstrated against the deteriorating living situation on Tuesday, demanding the departure of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

 

The protest started in front of the governorate building, moving towards Sayr square in the city center, where protestors chanted for the departure of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power. Also, they chanted slogans against Turkish, Iranian, and Russian presence in Syria.

 

“We lost hope for the ruling authority. We never trust it and we demand it go away,” Ahmad Salem (a pseudonym), one of the protestors, told North Press. “All Syrian governorates must demonstrate and call for our rights, looted by the current government for over 50 years,” he said.  

 

“Our children are hungry, this family [al-Assad’s family] has been ruling the country for decades. It is enough,” said a woman who took part in the protests and refused to be named.

 

“I can no longer buy heart and blood pressure medications for my helpless mother. I took part in the protests for the sake of my sons and grandsons,” she added.

 

A North Press reporter witnessed the flow of protestors towards a main road in the city, followed by a traffic stop for half an hour. Then they returned to the governorate building after they passed by al-Mashnaqa square in the middle of as-Suwayda al-Qadima neighborhood, and the Syrian Radio and TV Center.

 

Syrian security forces arrested one of the young protesters, Raed Abdi al-Khatib, an hour after the end of the protest, according to local media reports.        

 

Dozens of people gathered on May 31 in Sayr square protesting against the deteriorating living situation and the high cost of basic foodstuffs as a result of the collapse of the Syrian pound against foreign currencies.

 

Even before the latest collapse of the Syrian pound, food prices increased 152% in April, according to WFP.

 

As-Suwayda governorate is the heartland of the country’s Druze minority community.