Civic activists and witnesses reported that protesters closed the headquarters of the ruling Baath Party in the city of Suwayda, southwestern Syria. Hundreds took to the streets once again for the seventh consecutive day of peaceful protests against deteriorating living conditions due to rising gasoline prices, calling for comprehensive political changes. Protesters chanted, "Leave, Bashar, we want to live with dignity" in the main square, where prominent Druze spiritual leaders announced their support for the protests, though they did not endorse calls to end the Assad family's five-decade rule.
A severe economic crisis has led to the collapse of the local currency, causing skyrocketing prices for food and basic supplies, which the Assad government attributes to Western sanctions. The rising opposition in government-aligned areas, which once stood by President Bashar al-Assad, poses the biggest challenge to him after a war that has lasted more than ten years. Rayan Ma’ruf, editor-in-chief of the local news site Suwayda 24, told Reuters that this is an unprecedented civil disobedience movement that enjoys broad community support from a large sector of the Druze community and its religious leaders.
Signs held by protesters in the city of Suwayda in both Arabic and English expressed their demands for freedom and change. Kinan Waqaf, a prominent journalist previously detained for criticizing the authorities, stated that officials have intensified security measures in coastal areas along the Mediterranean as a preemptive step to control the rising calls for strikes and protests against living conditions. Residents across the governorate reported that demonstrators also closed dozens of local branches of the Baath Party, whose officials hold senior government positions, with many of its members fleeing.
Officials, in private conversations, indicated that the authorities have remained silent regarding the expansion of protests but have instructed security agencies to stay out of sight and even vacated some checkpoints to avoid friction.
