Anti-government Protest, Syria | featured news

An "extraordinary number" of security forces flooded Daraa on Monday, patrolling streets and guarding government buildings in an apparent attempt to stave off further protests, a political activist in the city told CNN.

Protesters and Syrian government forces clashed Saturday in the coastal city of Latakia, where demonstrators set fire to the offices of President Bashar Assad's ruling Baath party, an activist said.

Violence erupted as tens of thousands of Syrians took to the streets across the country, in the most widespread unrest in years.