Report: Protest erupts in Syria's Druze heartland
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About 300 people marched and chanted "freedom, freedom" in the city of Sweida in Syria's Druze heartland on Thursday, a witness said. Security police and irregular loyalists of President Bashar al-Assad used sticks to disperse the protesters, the witness told Reuters.
The protest was the first reported in the Druze region of Syria since unprecedented demonstrations against Assad's authoritarian rule started in the city of Deraa almost one month ago and spread elsewhere. The demonstrators also chanted "We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you martyrs," a reference to dozens of people killed by security forces in Deraa and other Syrian cities. (Reuters)
