Druze demanding self-determination

Hundreds have rallied in areas of Syria in the largest protests since recent deadly clashes.

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IZZ ALDIEN ALQASEM Anadolu via Getty Images CIVIL defense workers hold signs at a protest on Thursday in Damascus, Syria.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Syria's southern city of Sweida and elsewhere Saturday to demand the right to self-determination for the Druze minority, in the largest protests to take place since deadly clashes in the area last month.

Some of the protesters waved Israeli flags to thank Israel for intervening on their side during heavy clashes in mid-July between Druze militias and armed Bedouin tribal groups alongside allied government forces.

Saturday's demonstration comes as Syria grapples with deep ethnic and religious divisions after the collapse of the Assad family rule in December.