The video begins with the announcement, “A statement by the chief of staff of the Syrian Arab army.” A serious-looking man in camouflage reads a grandiloquent communique celebrating the Syrian state's victory over “terrorists and takfiris” in eastern Aleppo.

“We call on the sons of the beloved Syrian people to return to the bosom of the nation and the sovereignty of the Syrian state,” he says, before issuing a warning. “We will crush under the feet of the Syrian Arab army’s heroes anyone who tries to undermine the security and stability [of the state].”

The camera zooms out intermittently to reveal that the chief of staff is wearing a vest, shorts and flip-flops. Flimsy printouts of Hezbollah, Iranian and Russian flags sit on the table in front of him, and a photograph of a White Helmets rescue hangs in the background, a reminder of the human cost of “victory.” The speech ends with a small flurry of blown bubbles.

This is a skit from the first episode of "Southern Sketch," a satirical YouTube series launched Jan. 9 by artists, photographers and media activists affiliated with Revolutionary Spring (Rabea' Thawreh), a collective of youth activists living in the last three rebel-held areas of besieged south Damascus — Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem. The “Southern Sketch” team has been busy while the 42,000 or so civilians in the area anxiously await news of a possible truce that could involve evacuations like those conducted in Daraya, Moadamiyet al-Sham and Wadi Barada.