The protesters are carrying weapons grade signs. The manufactured sticks are long enough to be used as weapons against police.
the article also gets bogged down in unnecessary and erroneous detail.
The reason for the actions described is money, business and national interests. Those are the reasons for war with Syria.
Syria must fall to weaken the Iranians whose objective is to control all the wealth in the region. It is in our commercial interest to have Iran fall.
The "protestors" are A.N.S.W.E.R....a bunch of "Workers World Party" Communists.