Syrian security forces and police deployed in the southern region of Sweida on Tuesday to prevent rallies from taking place to demand the release of detainees held during last week’s anti-regime protests.
The Sweida 24 Network reported that security forces took to the streets after a few women protested in front of the Sweida municipal building to demand the release of the prisoners.
The regime security forces in Sweida ordered that some of the detainees be transferred to prisons in Damascus where anti-regime protesters are being held.
Regime forces detained several demonstrators last week in Sweida city, which had seen days of anti-government protests amid a crash in the local currency and sharp price increases.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, reported at the time that regime supporters attacked the protesters with “hard objects” wounding several. It said security forces detained more than 10 protesters.
The Observatory said the detentions led to another protest in which the demonstrators called for the release of those detained. Some protesters also called for the overthrow of president Bashar Assad, whose regime has crushed nationwide uprising that began in 2011.
Separately, masses of Daraa residents took part in the funeral of Fifth Legion members who were killed in a bus bombing on Saturday. Many chanted against the regime and the deployment of Iranian forces and Hezbollah in Syria.
Nine members of the legion were killed and 20 wounded in the roadside bomb attack in the eastern Daraa countryside.
This was the first such attack against the legion since its formation in 2018. It was established after a settlement was reached with the warring parties and that allowed the regime to recapture the region.
The Fifth Legion is affiliated with Russia and is comprised of former members of opposition factions that had fought against the regime. Rather than join Damascus’ forces, they opted to join Russia-backed forces and they take their orders directly from Russian officers. The legion boasts some 2,000 members who hail from Daraa and they each receive a monthly salary of 200 dollars.
The legion has been involved in an unspoken rivalry with the 4th Armored Division commanded by Maher Assad, Bashar’s brother.
Activists in southern Syria said that the bus attack coincided with new calls by the legion to recruit new members to its ranks at a time when it appeared that the 4th Armored Division was gaining sway with the local population. The Division has in turn been seeking to bring in new members to its ranks, luring them with financial gain and a pledge that they would remain deployed in the South.
