Thousands of Syrians who marched Saturday morning through the streets of the capital in a peaceful demonstration ran into hundreds of angry youth from Damascus University protesting the Israeli massacrse in Palestine.
The university students, who burned Israeli flags and chanted slogans against srael and the US, clashed with the police who prevented them from reaching the American embassy.
The peaceful demonstrators were carrying pictures of the late president Hafiz Al Assad and president Bashar Al Assad.
State officials and political group leaders participated in what appeared to be a government “licensed” demonstration.
The demonstration headed to the American embassy, down the roads to the building which had been reopened to the public. Political leaders, along with governmental companies and institution administrations, gave strict instructions to the participating public to behave in an orderly manner, sources told Albawaba.com.
Security around embassies, particularly the American and British embassies, appeared rather extreme. These measures came about after the violent clashes between demonstrators and national security on Friday. Violence broke out after angry crowds reached the American embassy. National security forces used tear bombs and batons to disperse demonstrators. Many people were injured, and public property destroyed, during these earlier demonstrations.
Observors expect more protests will take place on Saturday despite all the steps taken by the authorities to contain violence --Albawaba.com
Damascus
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