Shots were fired at protesters in anti-government protests in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, activists and journalists said, in the first report of violence in weeks of protests.

The demonstrations are taking place with a request to leave the power of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, in the midst of worsening living conditions, after the increase in the price of gasoline.

Protesters today accused members of the ruling Baath Party of opening fire.

Reuters could not independently confirm this information.

In a video, posted online by activist collective Sweida24, men can be seen running away from the entrance of a building as gunshots ring out.

The video states that the building houses the local headquarters of the Baath Party. In previous demonstrations, protesters had sealed the door of the party’s offices in the city.

Sweida24 said three people were injured and are being treated.

Civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 with anti-Assad protests in the south of the country that quickly turned into an all-out war with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.

Although the situation on the frontlines remains relatively calm, the deep economic crisis has caused the Syrian currency to collapse, leading to a sharp rise in food and commodity prices, which the Assad government attributes to Western sanctions.

Growing discontent in areas that previously supported the Syrian president appears to be Assad’s biggest challenge after he won the civil war with the help of Iran and Russia.