Syrian rebel enclave commemorates anniversary of revolt with messages for Ukraine

Thousands of Syrian anti-regime protesters, driven by the general repudiation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gathered on Tuesday in Idlib, a rebel enclave in northwestern Syria, to mark 11 years of the conflict that has destroyed their country.

The war in Syria broke out on 15 March 2011 with the repression of pro-democracy protesters and the ensuing confrontation between the army and the rebels. But, over the years, it became more complex, following the intervention of foreign countries, including Russia, which supports Damascus, and left a country devastated and divided.

Congregated in the main square of Idlib, more than 5,000 people participated in one of the most important demonstrations for months in the last enclave to resist the regime of Bashar Al Asad, despite years of deadly offensives, backed by Moscow.

“It's been 11 years since the Syrian revolution started, but today it's as if it were the first day,” Salwa Abdelrahman tells AFP, among the crowd of protesters, some of whom were flying Ukrainian flags or banners with messages calling for intervention against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We have forgotten our wounds, forced displacement, massacres and arrests. We reiterate our promise to continue the revolution,” adds the 49-year-old protester, urging Ukrainians to continue to resist.

“My message to the Ukrainian people is not to abandon!” , he insists.

- “Same goal, same enemy” -

Many protesters hope that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24, and supported by Assad, will once again raise interest in their cause.

“What is happening in Ukraine today is identical to what is happening here, the enemy is the same and the target is the same,” says Radwan Atrash, another protester.

The Assad regime was hit hard after the 2011 national uprising, which degenerated into civil war.

But Putin's decision to intervene militarily to support the regime in 2015 changed the course of the conflict, saving Assad in extremis, and shattering the hope of millions of Syrians to overthrow the regime.

Most of the victims of the conflict, which has caused half a million deaths, are due to the Syrian regime and its allies, namely Russia, Iran and numerous militias.

Some four million people, at least half of whom are displaced, currently live in Idlib.

- “Fortify hospitals” -

The resistance encountered by Russian troops in Ukraine and the growing international revulsion against Putin seem to have given impetus to Syrian protesters.

“Fortify your hospitals with cinder blocks, the enemy Putin does not distinguish between civilians, wounded and fighters,” Ali Hamush, a doctor in a hospital in Idlib, advises Ukrainians.

Russian aviation bombed hospitals in Syria on multiple occasions, according to witnesses, doctors and human rights organizations.

In Ukraine, a children's hospital was hit by allegedly Russian shells in the besieged city of Mariupol last week, prompting great shock in the international community and accusations of war crimes against Putin.

Several human rights groups on Tuesday called for Syria not to be forgotten.

“As we watch with horror what is happening in Ukraine, we are reminded of the intense and worsening pain that the Syrian population has suffered,” Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said this week.

“One of the worst human tragedies of our time worsened last year, in the shadow of crises elsewhere,” he added.

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