Syria: Hundreds protest after al-Hasakah university buildings destroyed

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Hundreds of protesters gathered to denounce the destruction led by US forces of university buildings in Presidents Square in the city of al-Hasakah on Wednesday.

The President of Euphrates University said on Monday that several buildings were severely damaged after the US-led coalition bombed them.

The damage to the university campus happened while US-led forces were targeting fugitives who had escaped from the prison, after the Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIS, ISIL) attacked the facility on January 20.

The US confirmed a number of IS leaders were captured or killed during the attack on the detention centre, in a statement released by the US Department of State on January 31.

The protesters today held a vigil and a sit in to decry the attacks. “I am against the destruction of Al-Hasakah colleges. These are educational headquarters, not military headquarters,” said one protester at the demonstration. “Our only hope is the colleges, and it is impossible to let them turn into military headquarters,” he continued.

According to local media, the US backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also prevented students of the university from taking exams.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT, Protester (Arabic): “We are from Ghweran, from neighbourhood of the cemetery. They forced us to evacuate our homes, and when we returned to our houses, we found them ruined and stolen, all the homes were stolen. We reject all these actions and condemn the presence of America and its allies and condemn the Turkish colonialism that destroyed civilisations in Afrin, Ain al-Arab and Ras al-Ain. We do not accept that, Citizens will make sacrifices for the return our Homeland, Syria.”

SOT, Protester (Arabic): “Firstly, I am against the destruction of al-Hasakah colleges. These are educational headquarters and not military headquarters, and secondly, colleges are the centre of [our residence] and our only hope as well. It is impossible to allow them to be turned into military headquarters.”

SOT, Protester (Arabic): “This is a protest stand against the American occupation and its agents and the seizure of university campuses and colleges. In the beginning, there had bombed the colleges and ruined our examination process, which affected the students. These practices indicate their terror. We are here always and forever with our country, our country’s army, and our country’s leader. We hope that universities and colleges will be neutral [from militarisation].”

SOT, Protester (Arabic): “I am standing in protest against the transfer of colleges to Deir Ez-Zor, and I say it out loud: We have withstood 10 years of war and are resilient now and tomorrow.”

SOT, Protester (Arabic): “I hope that they will not transfer the university branch to Deir Ez-Zor, as you know the road is difficult and there are other problems. Students from Deir Ez-Zor are studying with us in al-Hasakah, so why should we go to Deir Ez-Zor, we prefer that the decision be reversed and they find another solution.”

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