Protests in southern Syria gain momentum, spread to Aleppo

Anti-government protests in southern Syria continued on Thursday, the fifth day in a row, with demonstrations spreading to other parts of the country.

In Suwayda, a primarily Druze city in the southwest, hundreds of people gathered to hoist signs and deliver a message to President Bashar al-Assad, at one point chanting, “Syria is ours and it is not for Al-Assad’s family.” The protesters also denounced the deteriorating living conditions in the country and demanded the release of detainees. Some demonstrators additionally blocked several roads in Suwayda and the surrounding areas, reported the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The local news outlet, Suwayda 24, published a video showing a large crowd of young men chanting, “One, one, one. The Syrian people are one.”