Thousands march in Damascus suburb, defy crackdown

Thousands marched in a Damascus suburb on Monday and demanded "regime overthrow", in the biggest protest in the Syrian capital's outskirts since a security crackdown three weeks ago, a witness said.

The demonstrators marched at night in the suburb of Saqba at the funeral of Ahmad Ataya, a 26-year-old protester who died of wounds sustained when security forces fired at pro-democracy protesters in Damascus last month. The witness said the demonstration was held at night to avoid tough security measures taken during the day. (Reuters)