The Syrian province of al-Raqqa saw rare anti-government protests on Friday that took by surprise both the government and the opposition.<br /><br />The northern province was once a government stronghold and anti-government protests since the uprising began last year had been modest.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />His visit was seen as a way of saying thank you for the support of Raqqa's people since the uprising began.<br /><br />But it appears Assad may no longer have that support.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports.
