The words “demonstrations” and “Syria” have rarely been used in the same sentence since those of 2011 in Deraa, repressed in blood and the beginnings of civil war. Since Sunday February 6, the south of the country has been the scene of a peaceful protest movement aimed at denouncing the end of a social assistance program and, more broadly, the deterioration of living conditions for the population, who live in 80% in poverty, according to the UN.
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In several towns in the Soueïda region, south of Damascus, hundreds of residents are braving the cold to chant slogans openly hostile to the policies of Damascus and to the president himself, such as “Al Assad out!” ».
Footage broadcast by local TV channel Suwayda24 shows protesters holding up bread in Soueïda’s town square, but also blocked roads and burning tires. The Damascus-Soueïda axis, towns a hundred kilometers apart, has also been closed on several occasions.
Products ten times more expensive
The protesters accuse the Syrian government of having stopped subsidizing basic necessities, such as bread or petrol, even though the population is bearing the brunt of the economic slump and the fall of the Syrian lira (the exchange rate unofficial is about 3,500 lira to the dollar). According to the Syrian opposition daily Enab Baladithe inhabitants find themselves forced to pay for certain essential foodstuffs up to ten times their usual price.
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Another measure set fire to the powder: the exclusion of 600,000 families from another social assistance program which allowed the poorest to benefit from basic products – rice, oil, sugar – with the help of a “smart” chip card. If international sanctions aggravate the crisis, the regime, which provides barely three hours of electricity a day to the population, is accused of being at the head of an entire mafia economy and of not caring much about the population.
L’exception druze
The region in which this unusual movement was born is not insignificant. Soueïda is mainly populated by Druze, a minority fairly close to the Alawites, the other branch of Syrian Shiism to which the Assad family belongs. These Druze, considered rather loyal to the Syrian authorities, were spared during the war and enjoy a certain autonomy. Their religious leader nevertheless gave his support to the demonstrators.
The inhabitants of Soueïda regularly pound the pavement, as in June 2020 or March 2021, without being victims of repression. This time, their demands are aimed directly at President Assad. Worse, the demonstrators are calling for the application of UN resolution 2254, which advocates a political transition.
On Wednesday, the government also sent significant military and police reinforcements from Damascus to the region. During the day, demonstrators called for the movement to be extended to “all Syrians to restore their dignity and the rights stolen by the Assad regime”, urging “to demonstrate across the country”. On Thursday, the demonstrations continued for the fifth consecutive day and a new call to demonstrate was maintained for Friday.