of oil and salt during the reign of the second Syrian republic near the city helped to develop and expand urbanization and the increase the number of public and private companies that working in it, as well as increasing migration from the countryside towards it. Protests (2011–2012) Deir Ezzor was one of the first cities that saw large demonstrations. The demonstrations began in the city on 15 March 2011, which was the first day in the movement of protests demanding the overthrow of the Syrian government. On 15 April 2011, a large demonstration was launched from the city's stadium despite the using of live bullets by the security forces and the militias supporting it. In the demonstrations on Friday, 22 April 2011 (the sixth Friday in the history of the Syrian revolution), the statue of Basil al-Assad was shot down, until then, the Syrian government had been cautious about the protests in Deir Ezzor, because of their clan nature and the size of their area and the presence of quantities of weapons in it stored from the days of the Iraq war. When the demonstrators headed towards the statue of Basil al-Assad, the riot police fired only in the air. It is said that the demonstrators were not shot and prevented from dropping the statue because the security commanders did not know or appreciate the reaction that the people of the city could issue if one of the demonstrators were killed. Syrian security forces took complete control of the city in August 2011, but the Free Syrian Army (associated with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces) returned to take control in June 2012. Partial ISIS takeover By the beginning of 2014, ISIS announced the annexation of the city and a detachment of Syrian Armed Forces remained besieged in a small section of Deir Ez-Zor. The Deir Ez Zor district remained one of the few Syrian Government strongholds in eastern Syria for more than two years. ISIS militants launched an offensive in May 2015, capturing Palmyra and cutting off the remaining supply line to Deir ez-Zor. The city was then effectively under siege by ISIS, leaving supplies to be solely delivered by transport helicopters. ISIS attempted to stop the supplies by daily attacking the Deir Ez-Zor Airbase. However, their attempts failed due to the presence of the elite Republican Guards of the 104th Airborne Brigade led by Brigadier