SWEIDA,— Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Saturday in the southern city of Sweida and nearby towns, demanding self-determination for Syria’s Druze minority in what activists described as the largest protests since last month’s deadly clashes. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that demonstrators rejected the authority of the interim government in Damascus. The monitoring group said participants called for accountability for killings and urged international — including Israeli — backing for Druze rights. “This marks a new stage for the Druze community in Syria,” Maarouf told The Associated Press. The interim authorities in Damascus last month formed a committee to investigate the killings in southern Syria.