The demonstrators waved Syrian flags with the inscription "Free Syria" in front of the Vienna State Opera. According to the police report, 3,000 people had registered for the protest action. This number was likely reached around 1:30 pm.

Syrians in Vienna Celebrate the Fall of the Assad Regime

The mass demonstration was announced by the "free Syrian community in Austria in solidarity with the Syrian revolution" to "support our displaced people in the camps and their right to return to their newly liberated villages". The organisers expected several thousand participants according to their own statements. They planned to move from the opera over the ring to the parliament.

Reports from people on the ground indicated a steady influx to the demonstration around 1:30 pm. The demonstration train reportedly stretched from the State Opera to the Burgring. The protest was very loud, but remained peaceful except for the lighting of firecrackers and fireworks.

In view of the change of power in Syria, the Foreign Ministry called for an "orderly and peaceful transition process" based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254 "towards a stable and inclusive political order. No excesses of violence or displacements, respect for human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities are the highest premise", the Foreign Office stated on Sunday in a statement.

(APA/Red)

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