Dozens of Syrians protested in Damascus overnight into Wednesday demanding accountability for supporters of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, the latest such demonstrations in a country still recovering after years of civil war. Syria's new authorities have repeatedly vowed to provide justice and accountability for Assad-era atrocities, and have regularly announced the arrest of former military and security figures, launching trials for some while warning against acts of "revenge". Video footage posted on social media and confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor appeared to show dozens of people protesting in the capital's Mazzeh 86 neighborhood. A protest also erupted in front of a nearby mosque before security forces restored order. An AFP photographer saw a similar demonstration on Monday night on the outskirts of the capital. "Assad's shabiha forced us to leave in green buses" for tented displacement camps in the country's north, said protester Abdel-Rahman al-Qadri, 38, a former opposition fighter. He was referring to militiamen who helped crush dissent under Assad, and to evacuation deals imposed on some opposition-held areas during Syria's civil war, which erupted in 2011 and ended with the longtime ruler's 2024 ouster. "We deserve the houses they live in, we deserve the positions and public sector jobs," said Qadri, who is unemployed. Neighborhoods considered strongholds of the former authorities in the major cities of Aleppo and Idlib have seen similar protests in recent days, with participants calling for so-called "regime remnants" and "shabiha" to be put on trial. Local residents there said some protests have involved vandalism of private property, raising tensions and fears of vigilante justice. On Monday, interior ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba said authorities were committed to bringing perpetrators of Assad-era crimes to justice through legal avenues, but "the state categorically rejects turning the demand for accountability into an act of revenge". Last week, President Ahmed al-Sharaa warned that "it is important not to use transitional justice as a pretext for revenge". Lawyer Aref al-Shaal said on social media that authorities were "caught between street pressure demanding accountability immediately, and efforts to control the issue and to fight the 'shabiha' through an established legal framework that prevents a slippage towards chaos".
