Calls to overthrow regime gain momentum in south Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Activists in the southern Syria city of al-Suwayda said on Saturday that they do not know how long the regime’s silence will last after more than three weeks of growing anti-government protests in the rebellious city.

“We have not observed any violations by the Syrian regime forces so far against the demonstrators, unlike what happened in previous years or in the various Syrian regions,” an activist from Suwayda24 told Rudaw English on Saturday, speaking anonymously. “But we do not know how long this official silence of the regime will continue.” 

The demonstrations, which began in the Druze-majority city on August 20, were triggered by a surge in prices after the government decided to lift fuel subsidies.

In Suwayda’s al-Karama square on Saturday, people chanted slogans like “Listen Bashar, Syrian people will not kneel” and “Down the dictator’s rule,” according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Suwayda24 activist said the protests are growing and that Bedouin tribes and residents of regime-held Daraa province are also joining. 

“Participation in today’s demonstrations was large compared to the population of al-Suwayda… I believe the number of participants was more than 3,000,” the activist said, adding that authorities are trying to stop the protests from growing. “There are a number of bus drivers who refused to transport demonstrators from their various cities and towns to the city of Suwayda after threats from security services to cut their fuel allocations.” 

But the people are determined to join the protests and some have paid as much as a quarter of their income to reach public squares in Suwayda where the demonstrations are happening, the activist said, adding, “The momentum of the demonstrations continues. All demonstrators are calling for the overthrow of the Assad regime and the implementation of UN [Security Council] Resolution 2254.”

Syrians rose up against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, leading to a full-scale civil war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and has left millions more in need of humanitarian assistance. 

Largely assisted by Russian air attacks and Iranian support, Assad restored control over most of the country after 12 years of war that displaced almost half of the Syrian population. 

February's disastrous earthquake, which rocked both Syria and Turkey killing tens of thousands of people, was a catalyst for Saudi-led efforts to normalize relations with Assad, culminating in Arab states readmitting Syria into the Arab League after a 12-year hiatus.