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Large-scale demonstrationsÌý in theÌýÌýon Thursday and continued until Sunday, with more protests called for on Monday.

Protesters blocked several roads, burned tyresÌýand chanted slogans callingÌýfor the fall of Bashar Al-Assad.

The demonstrations were sparked by the 's decision to cancelÌýhalf a million rationing cards, whichÌýareÌýgiven to vulnerable citizens to at a subsidised rate.

"We want a decent life," Bassam, a protestor who requested anonymity,Ìýtold °®Âþµº's Arabic-language siteÌýAl-Araby Al-Jadeed.

"They have not taken any decisionÌýin the interest of the people. All the decisions they tookÌýimpoverished us."

Images of the protests inÌýSuweidaÌýcirculated widely on Twitter over the weekend.

"Our children died from hunger and from cold," one protestor screamed in a video shared by local monitorÌýSuwayda24.

صرخة من مدينة : ولادنا ماتت من الجوع والبرد !

— السويداء 24 (@suwayda24)

Druze-dominatedÌýSuweida has largely stayed out of the Syrian civil war, preferring to maintain its own security than align with either the opposition or the Assad regime.Ìý

Sporadic demonstrations took place in the province in the summer of 2020, signallingÌýa growing resentment against the Syrian regimeÌýlargely driven by the collapse of the economy.Ìý

Syria remains mostly isolated from the outside world due to US-imposed sanctions. Its currency has plummeted since the start of the war andÌýshortages of staple goods likeÌýfuel and flour are a constant.Ìý

"We stood by the state and its institutions for the past ten years, but we are against these policies that aim to impoverish us and make us leave the country," Ammar Barjas, another protestor, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. "My salary was worth $500 inÌý 2010, today it has dropped to $27."

Many have also blamed state corruption and the regime's huge military expenditure forÌýthe hardships.

The Syrian war, sparked by the brutal repression of anti-regimeÌýprotests in 2011, has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

One third of Syria's pre-war population has left the country and 90 percentÌýof Syrians now live below the poverty lineÌýaccording to the UN.