Protests call for improved services, overdue payments

Various areas across Syria witnessed protests and local complaints on Thursday, with demands focusing on improving services, protecting livelihoods, addressing living conditions, and paying delayed financial dues.

In the city of Azaz in Aleppo countryside, craftsmen and business owners protested outside the municipality building against a decision to relocate their shops to the new industrial zone, calling for consideration of the nature of their work and interests.

According to local sources, the protest ended with an agreement with the municipality not to close the existing shops, while only clearing the road area. Discussions also included allocating an alternative site for the industrial zone on the western side of the city.

In Hama countryside, residents of the Jabal al-Shahshabo villages held a protest demanding improved services, including access to drinking water, electricity, roads, healthcare, and education. They also called for the rehabilitation of schools and public facilities and for creating conditions to enable displaced people to return to their villages.

In Deir Ez-Zor, complaints have also increased among traders and drivers over what they described as restrictive measures at the city’s entrances. Local sources said that fines and delays have affected the movement of goods and trucks, which has contributed to higher transportation costs and increased prices of some commodities in markets.

In Hasakah, employees in the municipal, electricity, and agriculture sectors continue to demand the payment of salaries and financial dues that have been delayed for nearly six months. Employees stressed that they are continuing to carry out their duties despite the living pressures caused by the delayed payments.

In Aleppo, teachers and education sector workers in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods are demanding their integration in accordance with the agreement held between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Syrian Transitional Government on January 29, as well as the payment of their dues on a par with other areas of the Autonomous Administration.

ANHA