SYRIA: Merchants in northern town of Sarmada close their shops in protest in solidarity with restive towns and to economically pressure Damascus

Record ID: 280934

  • Title: SYRIA: Merchants in northern town of Sarmada close their shops in protest in solidarity with restive towns and to economically pressure Damascus
  • Date: 11th June 2012
  • Summary: SARMADA, IDLIB PROVINCE, SYRIA (JUNE 6, 2012) (AMATEUR VIDEO OBTAINED BY REUTERS) TRACKING SHOT THROUGH STREET SHOWING SHUTTERS OF CLOSED SHOPS VARIOUS OF CLOSED SHOP FRONTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNNAMED SARMADA MERCHANT SAYING: "We, the merchants in Syria, have started a strike in solidarity with towns and cities and villages which are unable to conduct business at thi
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6EB1D6T2O4XAD7TJSSKQ9L9HR
  • Story Text: Merchants in the Syrian town of Sarmada in the northern Idlib province closed their shops on Wednesday (June 6) in solidarity with restive towns throughout the country, and in protest against recent killings of Syrian civilians.
    In an amateur video obtained by Reuters, shutters of shops were seen lowered in the northern town, one of several anti-Assad hotspots.
    A merchant who did not wish to reveal his name said businesses in his town wanted to condemn massacres said to be committed by Syrian authorities.
    "We, Syrian merchants, started a strike in solidarity with towns unable to do business at this time and to condemn the massacres committed by the regime in every village and city in Syria. It is also a way to pressure the state and al Assad regime to economically collapse, God willing."
    Syria was rocked on Thursday (June 7) with news of a new massacre in the village of Mazraat al-Qubeir, where at least 78 villagers, including women and children, are reported to have been killed by militants loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
    And in the Syrian capital, in the biggest act of civil disobedience by Damascus merchants in the country's 15-month-old uprising, many stores have been closed for over week in protest against the massacre of more than 100 people in Houla on May 25.
  • Copyright Holder: AMATEUR VIDEO (CAN SELL)
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