SUWAYDA, Syria — Residents in the southern province of Suwayda have been taking to the streets since January amid popular anger, calling for improving the living conditions and loosening the security grip imposed on them by the Syrian government.  Despite initiatives promising better conditions for the province where the security situation has been relatively calm, the popular demands are far from being met, as no actual solutions to the daily crises have been proposed. In fact, the security branches affiliated with the regime have been imposing more restrictions, by arresting people and recruiting young men in their ranks and fueling the situation by ignoring the appeal of the elders to stop the arrests and kidnappings amid harsh living conditions and ongoing demonstrations.

Mohammad al-Hammadi, a journalist from Daraa who works with local newspapers, told Al-Monitor that the regime’s offensive in northern Syria to control the area and the ongoing arrest campaigns in the province of Daraa after the regime took control of it in 2018 have all affected Bashar al-Assad’s policy in Suwayda.

He noted that Assad now seeks to subjugate the province of Suwayda by imposing restrictions on its residents, especially since his control there has become less apparent lately. Assad is thus pursuing this policy to impose state prestige through a systematic blockade that brings the province back under the regime’s control with minimal losses, Hammadi added.

The Syrian regime wants to escape responsibility from the deteriorating situation in Suwayda and blame it on local factions. Chaos has thus ensued, despite elders from the area constantly demanding that the government forces play their role effectively and hold those responsible from both sides accountable. Activists on social media have reported over 20 incidents of kidnapping and detention by unknown perpetrators in February.