BEIRUT: Hundreds of anti-government protesters braved gunfire from Syrian soldiers and a snowstorm to march through a middle-class neighbourhood in Damascus in the biggest such demonstration seen close to the heart of the capital since the uprising started 11 months ago.The suburb of Mezze skirts the hill on which the presidential palace sits, and on Saturday, as row upon row of demonstrators marched through the streets, many wished that the President, Bashar al-Assad, could hear them.
''I hope President Assad opens the window of his office and sees how Damascenes are shouting against him and his regime,'' said Usama, 22, a university student who gave only his first name for fear of retribution.
