Hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets as protests broke out in several cities in the United States, accompanied by violence and clashes between protesters and police officers. A wave of anger ignited the protests after a video shared on social media showed the death of an African-American man named George Floyd who was crying out "I can't breathe", as a police officer kneeled on his neck and back as he pinned him to the ground, ignoring the calls of people asking him to stop, according the BBC and Euronews.

Since the Sochi agreement in 17 September 2018, the countrysides of Idlib and Aleppo, which are part of the demilitarized zone or the de-escalation zone, have been subjected to several military campaigns that have been escalating since October 2018. However, the most violent campaign was launched in December 2019 by the regime, with the support of Russia. The region witnessed bombing, forced displacement and systematic destruction, which resulted in the regime taking control of 101 areas in the governorate of Idlib, and 61 areas in the southern and western countryside of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory.
The last military campaign killed 166 people including 55 children, according to the Response Coordination Group in Syria, while the Syrian Civil Defense groups documented 208 victims including 60 children, during the same period.
The number of displaced people from the governorates of Aleppo and Idlib since mid-January 2020 reached 520 thousand civilians, bringing the total number since the beginning of December 2019 to 950 thousand displaced people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since the evening of Thursday 17 October 2019, Lebanon has witnessed an unprecedented wave of popular movement across the country to protest the economic situation, demand reforms and object taxes imposed by the government until the resignation of the latter and the downfall of the regime, according to slogans raised by demonstrators.
Activists on social media launched hashtags expressing the people's anger towards the government's latest decision, especially those regarding new taxesm such as "It's time for accountability", "Lebanon revolts" and "Everyone means everyone", referring to all parties and ruling forces in the country, according to the New Arab and other Lebanese and Arabic outlets.

Abdul Baset Mamduh al-Sarout (1992-2019) was a goal-keeper in al-Karama Club, in Homs, and in the Syrian national football youth team.
He joined the revolution since its beginning and was known for the songs he sung during Homs' daily and nightly demonstrations alongside Fadwa Suleiman. His songs became known all over Syrian and his voice became a symbol of anger, protests and sit-ins inside and outside of Syria.
As the revolution entered the armament phase, al-Sarout established the "Bayyada Martyrs Batallion" and he fought against regime forces in Homs. In 2014, he left Homs under an evacuation agreement with the regime, after a horrendous siege was imposed on the opposition's factions in the old city of Homs, which lasted two years.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, al-Sarout lost his father and four of his brothers during the bombing and the battles in the city of Homs.
After he left the city, he was appointed as field leader in al-Azza Army, positioned in the Syrian north. There, he participated in several battles, the last of which was in Hama's northern countryside during the military escalation that was launched by the regime and its ally Russia since the end of April 2019.
On Saturday 8 June 2019, Abdul Baset was martyred as he succumbed to wounds he had sustained during these final battles, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, other opposing factions, and several local and international news outlets.

Banksy is an anonymous street artist, political activist, film director and painter, based in England. His distinguished artworks tackle political, cultural and ethical issues. Banksy expressed his solidarity with Syria through his famous painting of a little girl in black and white holding a red balloon, during the worldwide solidarity campaign "With Syria", which was launched on the third anniversary of the Syrian revolution.