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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrians sense war in Damascus; Assad tries to score points |
| 2012-02-21 |
| The protests that took place over the past two days in Damascus' Al Maza neighborhood have turned the Syrian capital - especially its heated neighborhoods - into a besieged and closed-in zone. According to reports by activists of the Syrian opposition, numerous security forces have been streaming into the capital, dozens of barriers have been erected in some of the main streets, and "there's a sense of war in the city." There were severe shortages of electricity in Homs and Damascus after large generators that were supplying the cities with electricity were damaged either by bombardments of the Syrian army or by sabotage. In Damascus there is talk of insane price rises of 50%-80% on basic goods, hawkers -- who were once removed from the streets by police -- have opened improvised stalls to replace licensed stores, skyrocketing gas prices have caused increased taxi fares, and even the Iranian tourists who once visited holy sites for Shi'as in Damascus have stopped coming in light of the recommendations of the Iranian immigration authorities, who blamed the ban on Syria's dilapidated security situation. Syrians sense war in Damascus while Assad tries to score points Syrians report electricity shortages in Homs and Damascus, as Syrian President Bashar Assad tries minimizing pressure by a referendum on changes to the constitution that do not satisfy the opposition. The protests that took place over the past two days in Damascus' Al Maza neighborhood have turned the Syrian capital - especially its heated neighborhoods - into a besieged and closed-in zone. According to reports by activists of the Syrian opposition, numerous security forces have been streaming into the capital, dozens of barriers have been erected in some of the main streets, and "there's a sense of war in the city." Nonetheless, there is not yet talk of crowds bursting into the streets of Damascus. There are concerns that the Syrian army intends to "conquer" the city of Homs after explosions in the neighborhood of Baba Amar failed to suppress protesters, and in light of the shots that could be heard this morning, while clashes took place in the cities of Daraa, Hama and Idlib. There were severe shortages of electricity in Homs and Damascus after large generators that were supplying the cities with electricity were damaged either by bombardments of the Syrian army or by sabotage. In Damascus there is talk of insane price rises of 50%-80% on basic goods, hawkers -- who were once removed from the streets by police -- have opened improvised stalls to replace licensed stores, skyrocketing gas prices have caused increased taxi fares, and even the Iranian tourists who once visited holy sites for Shi'as in Damascus have stopped coming in light of the recommendations of the Iranian immigration authorities, who blamed the ban on Syria's dilapidated security situation. In the meantime, Arab diplomatic pressure is building up on Syria. Despite all that, the Syrian regime still does not appear to be retreating, nor willing to cease the attacks on its citizens. Official Syrian media are reporting that the government is offering relief for loaners by retracting fines on late repayments, offering extended hours of free electricity, offering new housing projects as well as tax breaks for university students. This Sunday, Assad is expected to hold a referendum over changes to the constitution, which include, among other things, cancelation of the monopoly of the Baath party and limits to the tenure of the president to two terms of seven years. Assad will request to use the referendum and new constitution to prove how serious his intentions are to apply reforms, and in doing so, also try to convince at least some of the Arab states to remove the sanctions imposed on Syria, while giving Russia and China "ammunition" to continue supporting him. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #1 See also TOPIX > ASSAD: SYRIA FACING [dedicated foreign/external] ATTEMPTS TO DIVIDE IT. and * SAME > IRAN RAID SEEN AS HUGE TASK FOR ISRAELI JETS. * SAME > SOUTH CAUCASUS NATIONS FEAR IRAN-ISRAEL [US-Iran] WAR. Azerbaijan = fears Iran invasion, Georgia = caught in the middle be it US-vs-Iran or US-vs-Russia, + Armenia = desires to preserve Iran diploamtic ties. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-02-21 00:31 |