(9 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus, Syria – 9 March 2025
1. Various of activists gathering in al Marjeh Square in Damascus holding banners condemning killing of security personnel and civilians on Syrian coast
2. Participants chanting
3. Various of gathering and banners
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Imad Al Hassan, activist:
“We stood here to say that we must hold all violators accountable. The revolution originally began because a security agency assaulted a child and was not held accountable. If we repeat the same mistake, we will be dragging ourselves into a vicious cycle.”
5. Various of clashes between some activists and opponents to gathering UPSOUND gunfire
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) May Makarem, activist:
“Honestly, right now, no one really understands what happened. All we saw was gunfire, and people started attacking each other. I attribute this to the fact that emotions are still unsettled due to the lack of accountability for those who committed crimes. When someone stands today and says, ‘I won’t forgive the blood of my son’, it’s because they haven’t seen any legal action taken against those who murdered him, whether through arrest or even killing. To some extent, I can understand them. But let’s hold on to the hope that transitional justice will take place and that everyone who committed crimes against the Syrian people will be held accountable.”
7. Various of Syrian general security members deploying to restore order
STORYLINE:
Dozens of Syrian activists gathered Sunday in central Damascus for a silent sit in, condemning the killing of Syrian public security personnel and civilians in ongoing violence on the Syrian coast.
Participants held banners in various languages with messages such as: “No peace without justice,” “Syrian blood is one,” and “No mother should lose her children anymore,” along with other similar statements.
The activists denounced the growing cycle of violence, calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
“The revolution originally began because a security agency assaulted a child and was not held accountable," said Imad Al Hassan, a participant in the sit in.
“If we repeat the same mistake, we will be dragging ourselves into a vicious cycle,” he added.
Arguments that escalated into clashes broke out between protest opponents and supporters.
An armed civilian fired shots to disperse people, prompting public security forces to intervene to restore order and prevent further violence.
"All we saw was gunfire, and people started attacking each other," said May Makarem, another participant.
"I attribute this to the fact that emotions are still unsettled due to the lack of accountability for those who committed crimes," she added.
Clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad erupted Thursday in cities along the Syrian coast.
The fighting and revenge killings that followed have raised the death toll to more than 1,000, a war monitoring group said Saturday, making it one of the deadliest acts of violence since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago.
The Associated Press could not independently verify the numbers.
AP video shot by Ghaith Alsayed
Production by Ali Sharafeddine
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