(25 Mar 2025)
SYRIA SECURITY FORCES IFTAR
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
LENGTH: 3:01
++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: STORYLINE WAS UPDATED AT 1324 GMT TO CORRECT DAY FROM SUNDAY TO MONDAY. PLEASE USE THIS VERSION++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus countryside, Syria – 24 March 2025
1. Man making call to prayer at sunset, which signals that it is time for people to break their fast with a meal called iftar in Arabic
2. Various of Syrian security personnel eating at an iftar banquet organized for them
3. Various of men preparing food
4. Various of security personnel eating
5. Man pouring juice out of traditional brass jug
6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hamza Beirqdaar, from the Syrian Ministry of Defense:
"Today, the 70th Division, which falls under the Ministry of Defense, is organizing a Ramadan banquet for a number of fighters from the division in Damascus countryside. There are around 1,000 fighters and this is the first such iftar."
7. Syrian security personnel walking into iftar banquet
8. Various of security personnel on guard outside the iftar banquet
9. Security forces walking into iftar banquet
10. Various of security forces inside iftar banquet shaking hands with Beirqdaar and others
11. Beirqdaar addressing attendees
12. Security forces seated
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hamza Beirqdaar, from the Syrian Ministry of Defense:
"This banquet was organized to bring together all members of the division, for them to get to know each other and break their fast together at the same time. And it’s also so the fighters can stay up-to-date and be aware of military and field developments."
14. Various of security personnel praying together
STORYLINE:
Security forces from the new Syrian government came together on Monday to break their fast together during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Members of the 70th Division of the army broke bread and prayed together at the gathering held in Damascus countryside.
"There are around 1,000 fighters and this is the first such iftar," said Hamza Beirqdaar of the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
This Ramadan — the Muslim holy month of daily fasting and heightened worship — comes as Syria undergoes a complex transition.
It is the first Ramadan that Syrians observe after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December.
Relief, hope and joy at new openings — after 53 years of the Assad dynasty’s reign, prolonged civil war and crushing economic woes — intermingle with uncertainty, fear by some, and a particularly bloody and worrisome wave of violence.
The daily fast in Ramadan includes abstaining from all food and drink – not even a sip of water is allowed – from dawn to sunset before breaking the fast in a meal known as “iftar” in Arabic
Security forces filed into the banquet and took their seats and waited for sundown so they could break their fast.
As they ate their fast-breaking meal, a man brought them juice poured out of traditional brass jug.
Beirqdaar said the gathering is a chance to allow the troops to get to know each other and stay up to date on military and field developments.
This Ramadan, Syrians marked the 14th anniversary of the start of their country’s civil war.
The conflict began as one of several popular uprisings against Arab dictators, before Assad crushed what started as largely peaceful protests and a civil war erupted.
AP video shot by Ghaith Alsayed
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