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☆ Crowds in Syria openly protest Assad's government
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsCrowds in Syria openly protest Assad's governmentPostedCrowds gathered in Sweida, southern Syria, on Friday (September 22) to openly criticize the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad Locations: Syria, Sweida

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria Sunday urged donors not to reduce their funding as the war-torn country's economic crisis spirals. Political Cartoons View All 1148 ImagesWith international donor support dwindling, U.N. agencies have been cutting programs due to budget cuts for years. “We cannot accept that funding for Syria is going down while the humanitarian needs are increasing,” Pedersen said. “For Syria without addressing the political consequences of this crisis, the deep economic crisis and humanitarian suffering will also continue,” Pedersen said. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have tried to push Syria and Turkey to rekindle ties, the latter backing opposition groups in northwestern Syria.

Persons: Bashar Assad’s, Assad, Geir Pedersen, Faisal Mekdad, ” Pedersen, —, Pedersen, — Chehayeb Organizations: United Nations, Syria Sunday, Syrian Foreign, Arab League Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Sweida, Daraa, Russia, Iran, Damascus, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Beirut, Lebanon

☆ Syrians Tear Down Poster of Assad in Sweida as Protests Swell
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Demonstrators in the southern Syrian city of Sweida tore down a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday as anti-government protests that began three weeks ago swelled with crowds coming in from surrounding villages. Sweida is capital of a province of the same name that is home to most of Syria's minority Druze sect. The city remained in government hands throughout the civil war and was largely spared the violence seen elsewhere. In Sweida city, hundreds gathered in Karama Square on Friday as the protests, carrying the multi-coloured Druze flag. Residents of other government-held parts of Syria - where restrictions are tighter - have made more discrete gestures of protest to avoid detection by government forces.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Hey Bashar, Bashar's, Hafez al, Maya Gebeily, Frances Kerry Organizations: Farmers ' Union Locations: BEIRUT, Syrian, Sweida, Syria

☆ Syrians rally in south against Assad, economic decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

shouted a large crowd in the southern Druze city of Sweida. Home province of most of Syria's Druze community, Sweida remained in government hands throughout the war and was largely spared the violence seen elsewhere. Open criticism of the government remained rare in the areas it controls but as the economic situation grew worse, the discontent has gone public. Some Druze sheikhs have criticized protesters' calls for Assad to step down and say that any improvement to the socioeconomic situation must come through dialogue. They carried the three-star flag emblematic of Syria's uprising, as well as signs criticising the role of Iran, a key Assad ally.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Bashar, Sweida, Maya Gebeily, Nick Macfie Organizations: Sky News Arabia, REUTERS, Rights, Ba'ath, Thomson Locations: Damascus, Syria, Syrian, Rights BEIRUT, Sweida, Home, Daraa, Iran, Tartus

☆ Syria's Assad's ruling party shut by protests in rebellious Druze city
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Youths with welding machines sealed the gates of the building of the party led by President Bashar al Assad, which has been in power since a 1963 coup. A major economic crisis has seen the local currency collapse, leading to soaring prices for food and basic supplies and which Assad's government blames on Western sanctions. Across the province, scores of local branches of the Baath party whose officials hold top government posts were also closed by protesters with its cadres fleeing, residents said. In a rare act of defiance in areas under Assad's rule, protesters tore down posters of Assad, where the party has promoted a personality cult around him and his late father. Sweida, a city of over 100,000 people, has seen most public institutions shut and public transport on strike and businesses partially open, residents and civic activists said.

Persons: Bashar al Assad, Bashar, Assad, Kenan Waqaf, Sweida, Ryan Marouf, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Grant McCool Organizations: Baath, Protesters, Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Sweida, Russia, Iran

☆ Jordan strikes Iran-linked drugs factory in southern Syria - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The sources said one strike hit an abandoned drug facility in Syria's southern Deraa province linked to the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which is allied to Syria's government. Ramthan, a major drug dealer in southern Syria, has recruited hundreds of Bedouin transporters who join the ranks of Iran-linked militias that hold sway in southern Syria, Jordanian and regional intelligence sources say. He had been sentenced to death on several occasions in recent years in absentia by Jordanian courts for drugs trafficking, judicial sources say. The incident comes only days after Safadi threatened to strike inside Syria if Damascus would not rein in smuggling. The Iran-linked drug war posed a threat not only to Jordan's national security but also to Gulf countries, Safadi said.

☆ Syria port authority shuts all ports due to bad weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Waves crash during high winds in the Syrian port city of Banias, Syria, March 29, 2023. SANA/Handout via REUTERSDAMASCUS, March 29 (Reuters) - Syria's port authority has shut down all the country's sea ports including Tartous due to poor weather and high winds, state media reported on Wednesday. The port of Tartous had initially been exempt from the closure but the country's ports authority later said it was shutting down as conditions worsened. "There are winds and high waves in bursts and we cannot risk opening the ports at this time," Brigadier General Samer Kobrosli, the director general of the authority, told Reuters. The war-ravaged country operates seven sea ports through which it brings in basic needs including food and petroleum products.

☆ Protesters in southern Syria call for overthrow of President Assad
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Earlier, more than 200 people had gathered around the building in the center of the Druze-majority city, chanting slogans calling for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, they said, amid spiraling prices and economic hardship. Syrian state media said tens of “outlaws” stormed the governor’s office and burned files and official papers. Three witnesses told Reuters the governor was not in the building which was vacated before protesters stormed the offices. The minority Druze sect, whose faith draws its roots from Islam, have long resisted being drawn into the Syrian conflict that pits mainly Sunni rebels against Assad’s rule. Witnesses in Sweida told Reuters that once inside the building, demonstrators brought down pictures of Assad.

☆ Protesters storm governor's office in Syrian city, gunshots heard
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

AMMAN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Dozens of demonstrators angry over worsening economic conditions in Syria stormed the governor's office in the southern city of Sweida on Sunday and set fire to parts of the building amid a heavy exchange of gunfire, residents and witnesses said. Earlier, more than 200 people had gathereed around the building in the centre of the Druze-majority city chanting slogans calling for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, they said, amid spiralling prices and economic hardship. Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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