Syrians protest alcohol sale limits, personal freedom curbs

A bartender prepares a drink at a pub in Old Damascus' Bab Sharqi neighbourhood on March 28, 2025. [AFP]

Hundreds of Syrians protested in central Damascus on Sunday against new restrictions on alcohol sales, reflecting wider fears that the Islamist authorities may tighten curbs on personal freedoms.

The Syrian capital last week banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and bars, only allowing stores in three Christian neighbourhoods to sell bottles.

In one of them, Bab Tuma, demonstrators gathered in a silent protest following calls by civil society groups to condemn what they say deepens sectarian divisions, with banners that read "personal freedom is a red line".

Security forces monitored the gathering, according to an AFP team on the ground.

"This type of decision will not stand," 37-year-old television writer Rami Koussa told AFP at the protest.

For university professor Hanan Assi, Syrians have "thousands of forgotten issues, from poverty to the displaced, the homeless, and refugees" that should be prioritised instead.

The restriction follows a series of decisions, like the nationwide imposition of "modest" swimwear on public beaches and the banning of makeup for public sector workers in Latakia.

These moves have fuelled fears of creeping social conservatism since the Islamist authorities took over after the 2024 fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

The new government has also pledged to protect minorities, including Christians, but the country has been shaken by several instances of sectarian violence.