Syrian Protesters Topple Statue of Syrian President's Father South of Damascus

People demolish the statue of former President of Syria Hafez al-Assad, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's father, in Daraa, as Syrian opposition factions said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa, Syria, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on December 7, 2024. Social Media via REUTERS
People demolish the statue of former President of Syria Hafez al-Assad, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's father, in Daraa, as Syrian opposition factions said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa, Syria, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on December 7, 2024. Social Media via REUTERS
TT

Syrian Protesters Topple Statue of Syrian President's Father South of Damascus

People demolish the statue of former President of Syria Hafez al-Assad, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's father, in Daraa, as Syrian opposition factions said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa, Syria, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on December 7, 2024. Social Media via REUTERS
People demolish the statue of former President of Syria Hafez al-Assad, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's father, in Daraa, as Syrian opposition factions said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa, Syria, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released on December 7, 2024. Social Media via REUTERS

Protesters brought down the statue of the late father of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a main square in Jermana suburb, nearly ten kilometers from the centre of Damascus, a witness and activists told Reuters.

The protesters in the mainly Druze inhabited suburb, who called for the downfall of Assad, also headed to government buildings in the heavily policed area of the capital where several security branches are located, they said.

The protesters headed to security offices to demand they evacuate from their area, activist Ryan Marouf, editor of Suwayda 24, a website that covers the province, told Reuters.

The authorities have tolerated most protests by the country's Druze minority, unlike in other government-held areas where demonstrators are fired on by security forces.

In a rare act of defiance in areas under Assad's rule, protesters also tore down posters of Assad, where the party has promoted a personality cult around him and his late father, former president Hafez al-Assad.

Last night saw clashes in the predominately Druze city of Suweida that led to at least five people being killed when local Druze militias raided the city's main police station, overran security offices and freed prisoners from the main prison

In Deraa city to the west of Suweida city, where former opposition militants and dissidents took control after the army pulled out its troops, a statue of Assad was brought down last night, residents said, as people fired gunshots in celebration.



Palestinian Group Says It Will Release Body of Israeli Hostage on Thursday

 A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)
A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)
TT

Palestinian Group Says It Will Release Body of Israeli Hostage on Thursday

 A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)
A woman reacts as she stands next to photos of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, displayed on a tent at a plaza known as the Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP)

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that it would release the body of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz on Thursday.

The group said Lifshitz was one of the hostages killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza.

Hamas is set to release the bodies of three other hostages on Thursday, members of the Bibas family.

Hamas gunmen captured Yarden and Shiri Bibas and their two children when they led an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Yarden was released on February 1, 2025.

Hamas will also release six living hostages on Saturday, including Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengisto, who were held in Gaza before the start of war there.