The Renewed Protests in al-Suwayda': Interview

The southern Syrian province of al-Suwayda’, which has a Druze majority, has witnessed a renewed round of protests, motivated primarily by the economic crisis afflicting government areas with the rises in prices and the reductions in subsidised goods for segments of the population. I would say that the protests this time seem different from previous rounds of protests in the province in that they enjoy sympathy from a broader cross-section of the population, even among those who might be seen as more sympathetic to and supportive of the Syrian government and the Syrian state.