Syrian activists seek protection from military crackdown

SYRIAN protesters have called for international protection from a military crackdown on nearly six months of nationwide demonstrations demanding an end to President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Activists said large crowds marched in the city of Homs, where the army and militia loyal to Assad raided several districts this week, and in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, which was stormed by tanks last month.

Protests also broke out in suburbs of the capital Damascus, the Kurdish northeast, the northwestern province of Idlib near Turkey and in southern Syria near Jordan.