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"The 'amn' (security) fired the tear gas from a flyover overlooking Midan.
They were over 2,000 protesters and now hundreds have re-grouped," the witness told Reuters by phone as the chant "the people want the overthrow of the regime" was audible in the background.
Midan, a district just outside the wall boundaries of Old Damascus, was heavily bombed by French colonial forces during the 1925-1926 Great Syrian Revolt against French rule.