Surprise at protest in Syrian province

Both government and opposition caught off guard by rare protests in al-Raqqa, once considered an Assad stronghold.

Northern province joins Syria''s uprising

The Syrian province of al-Raqqa has seen rare anti-government protests on Friday that took by surprise both the government and the opposition.

The northern province was once a government stronghold and anti-government protests since the uprising began last year were modest.

Last November, President Bashar al-Assad broke with tradition to perform Muslim Eid Al Adha prayers in Raqqa, rather than in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

His visit was seen as a way of saying thank you for the support of Raqqa’s people since the uprising began.

But it appears Assad may no longer have that support.

Al Jazeera’s Nisreen el-Shamayleh reports.

Source: Al Jazeera