In response to calls by civil bodies and local councils, sit-in protests were held in the liberated areas on Monday to demonstrate solidarity with the civil defense volunteers following the Russian calls to force members of the rescue group out of the province. The Syrian civil defense has played a major role in exposing the Assad regime’s crimes against civilians over the past several years.
Activists pointed out that big sit-in protests were held in villages and towns in northern Syria under the title “Russia kills us. The civil defense saves us.” Participants raised signs that demonstrated solidarity with the rescue group.
On Sunday, activists and students gathered in the town of Kafranbel and the village of Haraki in southern rural Idlib to emphasize the important role of the Syrian civil defense and their noble work in saving civilians from under the rubble of the homes which are being destroyed by the Assad regime and Russian air forces.
Member of the Kafranbel Youth Group Ali Al-Amin told Smart News Network that the sit-protests aimed to express support for elements of the civil defense.
Obeida Dandash, a director of a hospital in rural Idlib, said that the sit-in protest sought to show moral support for the civil defense volunteers who help victims of the systematic bombing campaigns by the Russian and Assad regime air forces. He added: “He who wants to force the civil defense out of Idlib should leave our country alone. We and the civil defense are one.”
Nearly a hundred students in a school in the town of Harakai gathered to demonstrate solidarity with the Syrian civil defense. The school’s principal, Mazen Al-Abdullah, said that “all members of the civil defense are from the local residents and they do not contain any outsiders.”
A protest was also held in the town of Khan Sheikhoun with participants raising sings that read: “The Civil Defense are like beacons,” and “the civil defense; your hearts are as white as your helmets.”
The Syrian civil defense is an independent aid organization that helps victims of bombardments and documents civilian casualties across Syria. The volunteer group has received several international awards for its efforts to help civilians in the areas ravaged by war. Their centers have been a constant target of attacks by the Assad regime and Russian forces which killed and injured many of its members. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
