With more than 800 people thought to have died in Syria, the situation is getting more
and more serious. President Bashar al-Assad has clearly decided he cannot allow any challenge to his regime and has rejected even the advice of friends like Turkey and Qatar to step back from the
brink.
The military — principally the loyalist 4th and 5th divisions — has now perfected their anti-protest tactics. People in Hama and Homs are fearing that what was visited upon Deera — where the regime cut off water, electricity and telephones before assaulting the city — will happen to them.
Yet, for all this, it would be wrong to think that Syria is on the edge of an all-out uprising against the regime, for a number of reasons. President Assad remains, if not popular, then at least respected by many Syrians.
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