Demonstrations have swept across various regions of Syria in condemnation of mass killings of Alawites in the country’s coastal region, and in protest at Israeli interference in the Arab nation’s internal affairs.
Demonstrations have swept across various regions of Syria, particularly in the southwestern province of Suweida, in condemnation of mass killings of Alawites in the country’s coastal region, and in protest at Israeli interference in the Arab nation’s internal affairs.
Hundreds of protesters, including women and children, gathered in a main square in Suweida on Friday to demand the withdrawal of militants affiliated with Syria’s ruling Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime following deadly sectarian violence last month.
The protesters also held up placards calling for the opening of a humanitarian corridor from neighboring Jordan.
The demonstrators then lambasted HTS authorities for imposing a blockade in several parts of Suweida province.
Activist Rawan Abu Assaf said protesters’ demands included “lifting the blockade imposed on Suweida province and the withdrawal of HTS forces from all its villages.”
Similar protests were reportedly held in the southwestern province of Dara’a and the Damascus countryside.
Protesters chanted slogans underscoring Syrian national identity, and rejected all forms of foreign military or political intervention.
The demonstrations reflected rising public anger over both external meddling and domestic repression.
Criticism was also directed at the HTS regime’s recent announcement of a local investigation into the events.
Protesters rejected the committee’s legitimacy, insisting that “the aggressor cannot investigate its own crimes,” and demanded an international inquiry instead.
The rallies also called for the disclosure of the fate of hundreds of missing residents from Suweida and condemned the incitement and disinformation spread by HTS officials and affiliated media outlets.
Protesters urged Damascus to allow foreign journalists to enter Suweida, after the ruling regime’s forces reportedly barred press access in recent days.
Violence targeting Syria’s Alawite community persists in the aftermath of the brutal campaign executed by HTS forces in March.
According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a minimum of 1,600 Alawite civilians were killed in at least 55 distinct massacres during a three-day span beginning on March 7. These massacres were also marked by the organized looting and incineration of Alawite residences.
Since the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, the Israeli military has been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army.
Israel has been widely condemned for the termination of the 1974 ceasefire agreement with Syria and for exploiting the chaos in the Arab nation in the wake of Assad’s downfall to make a land grab.
The United Nations has condemned ongoing Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory and repeated violations in and around the buffer zone created as part of a 1974 ceasefire agreement with Damascus.