Residents in Syria’s Suwayda continue anti-government protests
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – The city of Suwayda, southern Syria, has been rocked by protests against deteriorating living conditions. For the seventh week in a row, demonstrators have demanded the release of detainees and the implementation of UN Resolution 2254, which calls for a political solution to the Syrian war.
Protestors gathered in the al-Karama square, and raised placards calling for implementing Resolution 2254 and bearing slogans such as, ‘No corruption,’ ‘We want to live,’ ‘Salute for Daraa heroes,’ and more.
Pro-government factions, such as the Arab Socialist Baath Party and the Syrian National Social Party, organized counter protests, calling for the withdrawal of the ‘American occupation’ from Syria.
Anti-government protestors said they considered the Baath Party’s march an attempt by the government to sow violence.
It is a “provocation and suppression of anyone who goes against the will of the government,” one demonstrator said, adding they are only demanding the “most basic needs of life, something which the government supporters themselves do not have.”
On January 19, unknown persons spray-painted the word ‘traitor’ and called for a general uprising on the walls of schools and the post office in Hazem, a village north of Suwayda.