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Hundreds of protesters gathered in southern Syria this weekend calling for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, in a third week of demonstrations amid the country’s economic crisis.
More than 1,500 people took part in the protest on Friday, with videos shared on social media showing large crowds in the city center. Large crowds continued to gather in Suwayda on Sunday.
Chants like “Bashar, we don’t want you!” and “Come on, leave Bashar” were chanted repeatedly, again becoming one of the most popular slogans of the 2011 uprising.
The Druze-majority city of Suwayda has become a focus of protests that began last month after the government cut fuel subsidies but have morphed into larger anti-regime demonstrations in southern Syria calling for Broader political change.
Demonstrators burned pictures of Assad and stormed local offices of the ruling party.
“We know that we alone cannot completely change Syria,” said Rayan Maarouf, an activist and editor-in-chief of Sweida 24, a local media group.
“So these protests are a letter to the whole of Syria, please join us. It’s a letter to the world: the people here are not going to accept the situation, they are not going to stop until the regime falls. “
The Syrian government recently doubled wages for public sector employees and raised the minimum wage for the first time in almost two years.
“Despite this, we still cannot afford to support our family,” said Rawad, a 36-year-old protester in Suwayda. “The situation is so bad that most of our young people are forced to go abroad to work for a meager income.”
The demonstrations were reminiscent of the early days of the uprising in 2011, when Assad’s forces brutally crushed the nascent insurgency and plunged the country into civil war.
Backed by Iran and Russia, Assad regained control of about two-thirds of the country, but years of conflict, Western sanctions and the collapse of neighboring Lebanon’s banking system have brought the Syrian economy to the brink of collapse.
Its currency has fallen to record lows, reaching S$5,500 to the US dollar in August. Before the war, the RMB exchange rate against the US dollar was about S$47.
Suwayda remained under government control throughout the war, and conflict was largely avoided thanks to agreements struck between Druze leaders and the regime.
But the economic downturn has tested the deal, with a spate of protests in the city since 2020, most recently last winter.
Druze leaders have condoned the current wave of protests, leading to larger crowds, but so far the Assad government has refrained from a violent response.
“The regime has been very cautious in its treatment of Suweida,” said Hyde Hyde, a consulting fellow at Chatham House.
“Sveda is well-armed, so any military action or retaliation would turn some demonstrations into armed resistance — things could escalate quickly, and the regime knows that.”
Instead, Damascus has resorted to tactics such as shutting down most government services, raising fuel prices and more than doubling its military taxes.
“The regime is betting that they will get tired and eventually disband,” Hyde said.
But Assad’s army has been tougher on demonstrations elsewhere, with one activist telling the Financial Times that the pre-emptive roundup of young people in Homs “sends a clear message” about the risks of protests.
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