In Syria, an anti-regime demonstration was fired upon with live ammunition. Rallies take place every day in the Druze town of Soueïda in the south of the country, to protest against the extremely expensive life. This is the first time since the abortive uprising of 2011 that a mobilization has been violently repressed. In Iraq, several hundred thousand Syrian Arabs have taken refuge there since the civil war.
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With our correspondent in Erbil, Théo Renaudon
In southern Syria, the protest movement against the regime enters its fourth week today. Demonstrators have since denounced the high cost of living in this predominantly Druze region, bordering Jordan. In Iraq, the slogans of Soueïda gatherings ring out in the ears of Samir, a Syrian from the city who is following the situation very closely: “ These are peaceful demonstrations. No one carries weapons and no one attacks anyone. People are coming out for their rights. They want nothing more than to be able to eat properly. »
Bassem, also from Soueïda, supports the demonstrations, but doubts that other cities will join them: “ I think the other governorates that participated in the Arab Spring protests have tasted too much blood, destruction and death. I expect them not to get up. Yet they should do so, precisely because there was much destruction and many casualties in their protests at the time. »
The Syrian civil war, which has lasted for twelve years, has left more than 400,000 dead and 4 million refugees.
The first names of those interviewed have been changed.
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