The disaster befalling Syria

Whilst the Assad regime has barred journalists from entering Syria, enough news is filtering out via various channels to conclude that things are bad in the country. From "The balance of power is shifting" in The Economist:

"Across the country, a growing number of religious leaders are weighing in behind the protesters. More of Syria’s minorities, such as Christians, who have looked to Mr Assad for protection, may also be joining in. The several hundred thousand Palestinians who reside in Syria may also be turning against him. On June 6th there were clashes in Yarmouk, the biggest refugee camp, on the edge of Damascus. “We’re getting to a tipping point, where groups waiting for a balance of power to change will move,” says a veteran analyst in Damascus. The influential Qatar-based television channel, Al Jazeera, reported that a member of the Tlass family, a Sunni clan that has been close to the president, had defected. He contradicted the government’s line that the army is fighting against armed rebels.

At first Western governments, including America’s, were loath to call for Mr Assad to go, hoping he could still set about reforms and open Syria up. But his exceptionally brutal use of force has alienated those who had hoped to embrace him. The French government has declared his rule “illegitimate”. The language of a draft resolution being circulated by Britain and France at the UN is hardening. The Russians and Chinese are still reluctant to let a resolution pass—but may consider abstaining, as they did over Libya, if Mr Assad plainly starts to lose his grip. On every front, he is looking weaker."

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