Syrian activists set up human shield camp on Mount Qassioun overlooking the capital city Damascus on Monday following US threats to take military action against their country.

Mount Qassioun, site of a presidential palace, dominates Damascus and is traditionally a popular spot for family outings, to take in the view or enjoy the cool air and escape from the stifling summer heat of the city.
   
Young supporters of Syrian President have now pitched 25 tents on the steep road which climbs to Mount Qassioun, skirting a once-popular panoramic restaurant forced to shut by the war.  

“We will go on with our sit-in until the government announces that Syria has escaped from any threat of aggression," protest organiser Ogarit Dandash, a Lebanese journalist said.

"This is not a political decision, but a patriotic one," said Khani Ahmad Hammud, 22.

“Our presence here as human shields will not prevent America from striking, but should their missiles kill us, our ideas will not die with us," he said.

Syrian flags flutter over tents and along the road leading to the protest camp, dotted with posters condemning any attack on the government, which denies accusations of being responsible for last month's gas attacks.

“Don't touch Syria," reads one message, while another says, "Syria's enemies are the enemies of civilisation."

"May peace takes root in Syria," one poster reads.

Nadia Khaddour, 26, travelled from the city of Hama in central Syria to join the group. "The Syrian people are stubborn people," she said.

A 30-year-old woman said she volunteered to become a "human shield" because "I want to send a message saying we are here to defend our country as long as threats persist."

Washington has threatened a military strike on Syria following an August 21 chemical weapons attack but the US administration has withdrawn immediate attack on Syria after Moscow and Washington came to terms over a proposal to bring Syrian chemical weapons under international control.

MRKD/SHI