Baladi News – (Mona Ali)
In synchronization with Assad’s regime head visit to Hama and his exhibition tour in the regime-controlled part of its countryside, rapid changes took place in Lattakia and Damascus, the biggest cities controlled seemingly by Assad’s regime and truly by Russia and Iran governing the details of life in the regime-controlled areas.
Private sources in Lattakia reported that the city witnessed radical changes over the past few days. Many security and military checkpoints were removed. In addition, a campaign was launched to end the discrimination between the cars of officials and thugs and the cars of citizens. They also talked about harassments against the refugees from Aleppo, requiring them to return to their “safe” city.
In Damascus, the return of electricity in many neighborhoods was a huge surprise. The supply of electricity did not go off for whole to days, which has not been experienced for five years.
Concurrently, an exhibition campaign was launched to laud the tour of the president of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, along with his family to Hama governorate, where he met injured thugs after performing the Eid prayer in Hama city, the biggest Sunnite “center of gravity.”
Syrian writer and researcher Dr. Mazen Aktham Suleiman warned of “overestimating the indications of incidents and changes taking place inside Syria, as they might be intentional steps by the regime to keep us occupied with analysis of things that are not worthy of any deep examination.”
“In this context, we should be aware of two facts; the first is that the centers for deciding many details of the daily life in Syria are Iran and Russia. Secondly, many events and changes take place outside the circle of the regime due to its failing structure and the many parties working for their own interests, such as the National Defence militia and others,” added the speaker.
Dr. Suleiman’s analysis was in harmony with the analyses of other Syrian politicians who considered that the touches made by the regime are an attempt to reproduce itself as a ruler of the city. Meanwhile, others explained these changes as a prelude for the establishment of “de-escalation” zones that will demarcate the areas of influence of each party. Lattakia, according to an opposing activist that declined to be named, will witness the invitation of opposition figures to return and reconcile.