In a bid to quell #protests, Syrian government forces deploy mass troops to the governorate of #Suwayda in south #Syria.https://t.co/Xyqjx0uHpw
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) December 4, 2022
Military vehicles with soldiers onboard headed from Daraa towards Suwayda, south Syria, in line with protests sweeping the governorate.
A local source told North Press he "saw military reinforcements heading from Brigade 12 located in the town of Izraa, north Daraa, towards the governorate of Suwayda."
According to the source, such reinforcement were sent following the recent popular protests in the city.
Today morning, tens of locals in Suwayda organized a protest in front of the governorate building that was met with fire in which a young man was killed and five others were maimed.
Reinforcement included military vehicles onboard tens of soldiers and four-wheel-drive vehicles installed with anti-aircraft heavy machine guns.
Brigade 12, which is nearly a 14 km distance from the city of Suwayda, is a biggest force within the Fifth Division. It is home to a mass number of military personnel and vehicles.
Two dead as protesters, police clash in southern Syria
Something in Syria unconnected to the War on Terror.
[Rudaw] A protester and a policeman were killed Sunday in Syria's southern city of Sweida as security forces cracked down on a rare demonstration by hundreds against deteriorating living conditions.Tensions were high in the regime-held city after protesters threw rocks at a government building and stormed it, removing a large picture of
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
from its facade, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"At least one protester and one police officer were killed," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
The protester was rubbed out when security forces opened fire after demonstrators entered the building, he said, adding that government forces have fanned out in the city, dispersing protesters.
Local news outlet Suwayda24 confirmed the two deaths and said four others were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds in the Druze-majority city.
The Sweida region south of Damascus is the heartland of the Druze, who made up less than three percent of Syria's pre-war population and have largely kept out of the country's civil war.
That war has killed nearly half a million people since it began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests, fragmenting the country and causing economic collapse.
- 'PURSUE THE OUTLAWS' -
Suwayda24 posted images on social media earlier in the day that showed protesters calling for the fall of the regime as security forces stood guard outside the building.
Other images showed a military vehicle on fire and burning tyres on main streets of the city. Gunshots could be heard in some of the footage.
Syria's interior ministry said a "group of outlaws" killed one policeman while they tried to storm police headquarters.
Some protesters carried weapons, the ministry said.
"We will pursue the outlaws, and take legal measures against anyone who tries to tamper with the security and stability of the Sweida governorate and the safety of its citizens," the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
State television said "lawbreakers" had stormed the provincial government building and "set fire to official documents and files".
Syria's economy has been pummelled by both its long-running civil war and Western sanctions against Damascus, and the value of the local currency has plummeted.
Ninety percent of the population now lives below the poverty line and 12.4 million people are food insecure, according to the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
Sweida and other cities have been hit hard by nationwide electricity rationing and chronic fuel shortages that severely hamper daily life.
It’s a worldwide problem, guys, thanks to certain really stupid decisions made by presidents Putin and Biden, not to mention a good many others around the world. I wish y’all were special, because that would mean dear Dr. Bashir Assad would be able to make it all better with the wave of his hand, but your aren’t and he can’t.
The government in recent days announced further austerity measures, including more electricity rationing.In February, hundreds erupted into the streets in Sweida to demand better living conditions and democratic rule, the Observatory said at the time. Smaller protests were held there in 2020.
| The Times of Israel adds: |
Anti-government demonstrations are rare in Syria where
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
stamped out a pro-democracy uprising over a decade ago. Assad survived the resulting civil war but the conflict has plunged Syria into poverty, coupled with a food security and energy crisis.
Though Sweida has generally been spared from the civil war, anti-corruption protests have occurred in the Druze-majority province over the past few years, with tensions simmering between residents and the Syrian government led by Assad.
Dozens of residents gather by the Sweida governorate building, decrying the dire economic situation and chanting anti-government slogans before some break into the building.
| Dozens? That’s not very big. The Rudaw article above makes it sound like furious crowds were rampaging across the city. |