Syria: Thousands protest against US sanctions in Damascus

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Thousands of supporters of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad rallied against US sanctions in western Damascus on Wednesday.

Footage shows demonstrators holding Syrian flags, anti-US banners and pictures of Assad, dancing and chanting.

They condemned the latest American sanctions against Assad from the so-called Caesar Act.

“Caesar’s sanctions affect the financial health of the citizens, unlike all global sanctions. They affect even civilians meaning the punishment is against the people specifically. And this will affect first of all, access to medicines, secondly, infant formula, and thirdly everything that can be purchased from abroad and not manufactured at home​,” said Syrian journalist Yaroub Kheirbeik.​

The Caesar Act targeting businesses and officials financing the Syrian government is set to come into effect on June 17. ​

The rally in Damascus came after rare anti-government protests over worsening economic situation in the city of Suweida.

SOT, Yaroub Kheirbeik, journalist (Arabic): “Caesar’s sanctions affect the financial health of the citizens. Unlike all global sanctions, they even affect the civilians, meaning the punishment is on the people specifically, and this will affect first of all access to medicine, secondly, infant formula, and thirdly everything that can be purchased from abroad and not manufactured at home. I think that resilience can be found in supporting agriculture, and most of all, at this moment some help from friendly states like Russia and China. Today, is a real test for the option to go east. Can China and Russia stand up to the US? That is the question. The Syrian people are gathering today to say that they refuse [the sanctions], that America is not a destiny [not the only choice], that there is a possibility of going east and also to rely on ourselves. There is confidence in the Syrian leadership and we can overcome this matter and this has been proven by a decrease in the exchange rate of the dollar by more than 30 percent.”

Video ID: 20200612-010

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