Renewed protests have swept Syria’s southwestern governorate of As Suweida as demonstrators marched and staged sit-ins demanding the establishment of a country for “all Syrians” and implementing UN resolution 2254, which calls for a political transition in the country.
On Monday, protesters blocked roads between villages as well as the Damascus-Suweida Highway. They only opened roads for students, emergency cases, and trucks with food and fuel.
In the provincial city, also named As Suweida, protesters gathered in front of a prominent place of worship and marched towards the main square in large numbers. They also blocked roads using burning tires and shouted anti-government slogans.
The recent wave of demonstrations comes as discontent grows among Syrians towards the deteriorating living and economic conditions in the country.
Protesters called on all Syrians, including soldiers, civilians, and civil servants to disrupt the status quo and join the peaceful demonstrations demanding the basic and legitimate rights of citizens.
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Demonstrators called on civil servants to skip work on Tuesday and join the protests. They also pushed shop owners to close their stores in the city and for government institutions to shut down.
Hamza, a protester in As Suweida, said that shuttering government institutions comes to deliver the demands of demonstrators and defend the rights of civil servants.
According to Hamza, civil servants are getting paid the shocking wage of $40 a month.
Rayan Maarouf, an editor at the As Suweida 24 news network, told Asharq al-Awsat that protests dispersed on Monday noon with calls for renewing them on Tuesday.
Maarouf pointed out that protests in As Suweida included individuals from the whole social spectrum in the governorate. Notable participation was made by clerics, intellectuals, and key opposition figures.
Sporadic protests turned into a demonstration denouncing the authority in Syria, noted Maarouf, adding that demonstrators chanted against humiliation and injustice and condemned the corruption of the authority and the waste of public money.
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