Electricity cut from Daraa and Suweida as protests continue in south Syria

Electricity was cut from the southern Syrian provinces of Suweida and Daraa on Tuesday, in what activists have said is an attempt by the ruling Assad regime to quell protests that have raged in the south for the past week.

According to a member of the Syrian rights monitoring group, "Horan Free League", power has been cut from both provinces since Tuesday morning, 22 August.

Protests were sparked last week by a sharp devaluation in the national currency and an increase in inflation. However, demonstrators' anger quickly turned towards the regime, and chants calling for its downfall have been accompanied by the storming of local government buildings.

Abu al-Baraa al-Hourani told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby al-Jadeed that the power line that connects the local Deir Ali power station to the country's capital had been cut since yesterday.

Media outlets close to the regime accused saboteurs of being behind the power cuts and said that the provincial power company was working to restore power in Suweida province.

Al-Hourani questioned the official explanation, as the power station said to have been attacked by saboteurs "is located near the defence battalion and two military checkpoints," explaining that it would be difficult for anyone to get past the security cordon there.

He further accused the regime of cutting electricity as retaliation against the ongoing protests.

Though there have been small-scale, on-and-off protests in both Daraa and Suweida in recent years, this week's demonstrations have been remarkable for their size and endurance.

A branch of the ruling Baath party's headquarters was raided yesterday in northern Daraa. At the same time, protesters burned a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a central square in Suweida city on Wednesday.

In the town of Nowa in Daraa province, regime security forces have shot at protesters, prompting an exchange of gunfire with local opposition fighters. Regime military forces later shelled the town, reportedly causing no injuries.

Authorities have thus far held off on interfering in Suweida province, where local Druze militias have a strong presence. In the past, the militias have ousted armed groups accused of being associated with the regime, which carried out kidnappings of civilians and activists alike.

Regime figures like Bashar al-Assad's cousin Riad Shalish have called for the security services to strike protesters "with an iron hand," accusing the state of not responding to the protests with the appropriate force.

Syria has been mired in an economic crisis since 2019, with about 90 per cent of the population in regime-held territory in poverty and over 60 per cent without proper access to food.

The country's 12-year-long civil war, prompted by the regime's violent crackdown on protesters, has destroyed much of its infrastructure and displaced over half of its population.

The worsening economic conditions have even prompted rare dissent in areas like Latakia, the familial home of Bashar al-Assad, where support for the regime is thought to be highest.

Citizens in Latakia have taken to social media to criticise the regime's economic policies and rule, with one resident daring Bashar al-Assad to come to his home to "arrest him himself."