Protesters block road to Damascus airport

Residents of Damascus blocked off the road linking the airport to the city, in apparent protest at the government’s failure to break a siege of two Alawite-majority towns.

The pro-government, Alawite-majority towns of Fua and Kafraya have been under siege since the rebel Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest) coalition took control of the province earlier this year.

Jaish al-Fatah launched a renewed assault on the villages reportedly in retaliation for the government assault on Zabadani in southwest Syria.

Protesters burnt refuse canisters and tyres on the road leading from Damascus International Airport.

Dissent among the supporters of President Bashar al-Assad is rare, with many seeing uncritical support of the government as the only alternative to an existential threat from sectarian rebel groups.

However, there have been intermittent protests over a number of issues.

Earlier this month, outrage over the road rage killing of a military commander by Suleiman al-Assad - Bashar al-Assad’s cousin - led to sit-ins and protests by Alawites in the government stronghold of Latakia.

Suleiman was later arrested, while many protesters called for his execution; many expressed frustration at the impunity with which they say members of the Assad family operate in Syria.

Though there have been limited shows of dissent by those living in Alawite-majority areas, observers say the community is left with little choice but to continue supporting Assad.

"Only a fool would think the tens of thousands of families who have lost relatives fighting for Assad are happy with him or the way he has handled things," said a Syrian analyst who tweets as The 47th. 

"But at this point it is very late - too much blood and too much involvement have left Shiites and Alawites no room but to support Assad. 

"Will [these protests] gain traction? Will we see more mass demonstrations? I highly doubt it."

Failed ceasefire

A 48-hour ceasefire arranged in both Fua and Kafraya and Zabadani broke down on Friday.

Rebel group Ahrar al-Sham claimed that Iranian mediators had accepted the release of 1,500 female detainees from government prisons as part of an exchange to allow people out of the besieged towns

However, they said that the proposal had been rejected by the Syrian government

The Syrian government blamed the rebels for the failure of the ceasefire.

“One of the reasons that the ceasefire was violated was because Ahrar al-Sham called for complete withdrawal of the Syrian troops from the villages of Kafraya and Fua,” said a government spokesperson.