"We, in the town of Salamiyah, rose up against the regime because it is a dictatorship, not because of a particular sect. The situation today is quite reassuring for us because we are generally living in peace and have not experienced any interference. We hope this will continue," says a resident of Salamiyah, the second largest town in the countryside of Hama governorate, north of the capital, where the majority of the population are followers of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam. Syria's military withdrew Saturday from positions in the Damascus countryside roughly 10 kilometres (six miles) from the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said, as rebel forces press their offensive on government-held territories. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES