Syrian-Americans protest U.S. intervention

Group says it's the rebels who are creating chaos in their home country

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A few dozen people gathered in Hemming Plaza on Thursday to demonstration their opposition to America getting involved in the crisis in Syria.

Syrian-Americans turned out to let people know they do not want American intervention in their home country.

"Twelve people died in our town in Syria because of the rebels," said Mary Zeidan. "They're killing and bombing everywhere and destroying the country."

Zeidan and the others held a peaceful protest downtown to show they don't want Americans to launch a strike on their country.

The country has been in turmoil for decades, and fighting a civil war for the past two.

"The people who live there are going through this in their daily life," said Tony Yakoub. "They see who is the government and who are the rebels. The rebels are the ones causing chaos, something that a lot of us we don't know."

The local protesters say they want peace and they know that if the United States gets involved, like the Pentagon says it's ready to do, things could be bad.

"We don't need more killing; we don't need more war," said Bernadette Albert. "If you need to help, please don't support the people who are killing people over there. That's what I need to tell President Obama."

While it was a small turnout Thursday, the group said there are about 1,000 Syrian-Americans in the Jacksonville area and they say they are going to continue to make their voices heard, continue to hold peaceful protests until their message gets through.