Demonstrators took to the streets of the government-held province of Sweida, in south-western Syria, on Sunday, in the latest in a series of protests over the country's dire economic situation.
Dozens of residents protested over fuel shortages, the sharp devaluation of the local currency and rising prices.
Fuel shortages have forced state agencies to close temporarily, led to the postponement of sporting events and put winter heating beyond reach for many.
Protesters demonstrated peacefully amid an intense security deployment, but vowed to continue until their demands were met, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor.
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Ahlam Warda, a single mother raising three children, sits next to a wood-fire heater at her home in Damascus, Syria. All photos: Reuters -
With another harsh winter around the corner, Syrians have to take yet more desperate measures to try and stay warm. 'Last year a neighbour's son died from the cold ... How can I not be worried about my children? They are young,' she said -
Syria's economic collapse, triggered by years of conflict, sanctions, a currency meltdown and the government's loss of its oil territories, has been pushing millions deeper into poverty every year -
People who still qualify for subsidised diesel can buy 50 litres for 500 Syrian pounds (less than 10 US cents) a litre, but supply has been slow and patchy and the quantities are not enough to last a family for long -
Many Syrians have switched their traditional diesel stoves, used to cook meals and heat homes, to alternatives fuelled by firewood or even pistachio shells -
Mohammad Kaweir said the advantage of shell heaters was that almond and pistachio shells needed to run them were always available in the market -
Abdullah Tuweit, who owns a workshop that produces heaters, began to convert them three years ago to allow them to run on more affordable husks and shells -
Suleiman Al Khaled, 34, uses a wood-fire heater at his home in Syria
Simmering discontent over Syria’s economic woes erupted into a violent protest on December 4 in the predominantly Druze city.
At least two people were killed — a protester and a police officer — as residents stormed the Sweida governor's office and tore down pictures of President Bashar Al Assad.
The size of the demonstrations has dwindled since then, due to fears protesters would face a crackdown by security forces, the observatory reported.
Protests are rare in most of Syria's government-held cities, although there have been other stand-offs in Sweida during particularly bad economic times.
The Druze enclave holds a mutually beneficial relationship with Syria’s regime and is given a small degree of autonomy in exchange for most of the province’s population staying out of the country’s civil war, which began in 2011.
Government-held Syria has become dependent on oil imports following the loss of control over its oil-producing eastern territory.
The government has blamed the fuel crisis on US sanctions that complicate and delay oil shipments from its ally, Iran.
