BEIRUT – Residents of a village southeast of Idlib held protests Thursday against the presence of Al-Nusra Front fighters, according to reports circulating on social media.
Demonstrations were held in Sinjar calling on Al-Nusra Front to immediately move its bases away from civilians in the village, local media activist Mohammad Balaas wrote on Facebook.
The activist also posted a picture of the protest, showing a procession of young men marching down one of the villages streets.
Meanwhile, a video posted on Facebook shows demonstrators chanting: “Sinjar is free...Jabha [Nusra Front] get out” and “the people want the downfall of the regime.”
A day before the protest, a regime airstrike targeted the village, according to opposition and pro-regime media outlets. However, the reports did not say if the bombing killed any residents.
The opposition Shaam News Network, in turn, said that the residents of the town took to the streets to demand the withdrawal of Al-Nusra Front fighters after the Islamist militants “imposed a tax on the sheep market the day before.”