BEIRUT: Demonstrators in the southern Syrian city of Sweida tore down a portrait of President Bashar Assad on Friday as anti-government protests that began three weeks ago swelled with crowds coming in from surrounding villages.
In footage posted on activist pages, a group of men could be seen ripping a banner portraying Assad’s face that was hanging above the local branch of the Farmers’ Union.
They then proceeded to weld shut the doors of the offices.
Criticism of Assad has been growing in Sweida since demonstrations began in mid-August over the removal of fuel subsidies, the latest in a string of measures that have put a strain on people suffering from an economic meltdown.
Sweida is capital of a province of the same name that is home to most of Syria’s minority Druze sect. The city remained in government hands throughout the civil war and was largely spared the violence seen elsewhere.
Open criticism of the government has been rare in government-controlled areas of the country, but the economic situation has prompted public discontent that is increasingly directed at Assad.
In Sweida city, hundreds gathered in Karama Square on Friday as the protests, carrying the multi-colored Druze flag.
“We raised our voices and Assad ran in fear!” the crowds chanted. “Hey Bashar, we don’t want you!“
Earlier this week, demonstrators tore down a portrait of Bashar’s father, former President Hafez Assad, that had been hanging on a government building and smashed a bust of his head, slapping it with their shoes.
Residents of other government-held parts of Syria — where restrictions are tighter — have made more discrete gestures of protest to avoid detection by government forces.
Syrians tear down poster of Assad in Sweida as protests swell
https://arab.news/mxx66
Syrians tear down poster of Assad in Sweida as protests swell
- In footage posted on activist pages, a group of men could be seen ripping a banner portraying Assad’s face that was hanging above the local branch of the Farmers’ Union
- Criticism of Assad has been growing in Sweida since demonstrations began in mid-August over the removal of fuel subsidies
Lebanon approves release of former minister accused of corruption
- Salam is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019
- The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s judiciary approved the release on bail of former economy minister Amin Salam on Tuesday after six months of detention over corruption linked to contracts deemed suspicious, a judicial official said.
Salam, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Najib Mikati from 2021 to 2025, is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019.
The official, who requested anonymity, told AFP Lebanon’s judiciary “agreed to release former economy minister Amin Salam on bail of nine billion Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $100,000” and a travel ban.
The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison.
In June, another judicial official said Salam had been arrested in connection with alleged “falsification, embezzlement and suspicious contracts.”
Salam’s adviser Fadi Tamim was sentenced in 2023 to one year in prison for blackmail and personal enrichment at the expense of insurance companies.
The former minister’s brother Karim Salam was also arrested earlier this year in a “case of illicit enrichment, forgery and extortion of insurance companies,” committed “under cover of the minister himself,” the official said in June.
Many in Lebanon attribute the economic crisis to mismanagement and corruption that has plagued state institutions for decades.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who both took office this year, have vowed to make the fight against endemic corruption a priority, as part of the reforms demanded by international donors.
Both have vowed to uphold the independence of the judiciary and prevent interference in its work, in a country plagued by official impunity.
In September, former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, was released after being detained for over a year by paying a record bail of more than $14 million.
