THERE IS NO SYRIA:

In Syria's largely agricultural and remote Suweida province, rumblings of discontent have broken out into protest.

Demonstrations in the province erupted again last week over the regime's decision to end subsidies for hundreds of thousands of families, creating further hardship on middle-income and other families who have been pushed deep into poverty.

The main road from Damascus to Suweida was blocked by protesters calling for better economic conditions and more daringly, the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2254, which would lead to free elections in Syria. Such defiance is usually dealt with ruthlessly by the regime and there are signs that Assad intends a similar solution to the crisis in Suweida. [...]

There has been a more visually Druze component to the protests, one expert on the religious group that forms a majority in Suweida told me but who could not be named due to the nature of their job. 

"They were singing songs about Druze dignity and so forth, the classical Druze narrative. That is striking for me," they told me. 

This could point to more widespread support for the movement, particularly with a member of the Sheikh Al-Aql - the generally pro-regime Druze clergy - voicing sympathy for protesters on the condition they remain peaceful.

"The protests are different from any time before due to the participation of various groups of people - the poor, civilians, clerics, university students, and political opponents," journalist Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of As-Suwayda 24 monitoring group told The New Arab.

"There are various demands related to political change - the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254 and the call for a civil and democratic state. There are other demands related to living and economic conditions, accountability for the corrupt in the government, and a fair redistribution of national wealth."

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