Anti-government protests in southern Syria

Druze protestors, via Syria Observer

The Syrian revolution is not dead. This week regime-controlled parts of southern Syria have exploded with protests: men and women, religious and secular, Sunni and Druze, merchants and public sector workers, bearded clerics and girls in jeans. Twelve years after Daraa gave birth to the revolution, a decade after Assad's chemical war on rebel civilians began in Ghouta, eight years after the Russian intervention that rescued Assad's regime. 

I've been tweeting about the protests and am pasting my thread from Threadreaders, so apologies for any format glitches and check back there for updates.

Bob From Brockley 🥤

@bobfrombrockley

Aug 17 • 19 tweets • 5 min read  Read on Twitter

Thursday 17/08

Inspiring general strike in Al-Suwayda, Syria, including by shopkeepers and public sector workers. Slogans call for dignity and reject the house of Assad.

In an effort to contain protest, yesterday Syria’s dictator Assad doubled state salaries (they’re now just 8% of an average family’s cost of living). Seven minutes later he raised the price of diesel by 300% and gasoline by 170%. 

18/08

Mass protests across southern Syria, especially Daraa, after Friday prayers last night, demanding the fall of the House of Assad and decent living conditions. (Political liberty and social struggles are intertwined under a warlord kleptocracy.)

This is the city of Nawa (pop. 60,000)

And Tafas (pop. 30,000), one of the cradles of the 2011 revolution — regime-occupied since 2018 but in intermittent revolt ever since.

Protests spread to a suburb of Damascus on Friday, a rarity for the country's capital city. [Getty, via New Arab]

UPDATE 20/08

Protests are continuing tonight across Daraa

Daraa, home to a million people, one of the most densely populated parts of Syria. Regime control is weak; some of the protests are armed.

Protests today inc towns Da’el, Tasil, al-Sanamayn & Saham al-Jawlan, among first places to rise up in 2011.

Meanwhile in neighbouring (Druze-majority) As-Suwayda Governorate there have been 42 protests

Government forces are now firing live ammunition directly at civilian protestors

Southern Syria protests continue

21/08

Shouts shake As-Suwayda city as a group of Druze clerics and residents from the tiny Druze village Hazm in the Lajat arrive at Al-Seer/Al-Karama Square.

(via @zead454 )

x.com/suwayda24/stat…

Druze religious leaders are supporting the uprising. It is one of the many Assadist lies (which too many westerners have bought) that the revolution is Islamist and the regime represents minorities.

The sun sets on another day of protest across southern Syria.

Map of today’s protests in As-Suwayda:

22/08

Protest continuing this morning:

More footage from anti-government protests in al-Suweida. The flags are the Druze flag.

23/08

Protests continue to grow in Suwaida, southern Syria.

Chants: "Long live Syria & the downfall of Bashar al-Assad”, "Bashar, Bashar, we don't want you!"

24/08

Footage from today’s protest. #Suwayda

Anti-sectarian message from the protest. The Ba’athist divide to conquer strategy is crumbling again.