Two of the major centers of resistance to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appear to have been fully retaken by the regime in military operations over the last few days. Reporting overnight and this morning indicates that the regime has reestablished control in both the western city of Hama and the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor.
AP via AJC on Hama
The streets of Hama were deserted on Wednesday and the city in central Syria that has come to symbolize defiance against the regime appeared to be under full government control after last week's brutal crackdown on protesters.
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AP via The Independent,
Deir ez-Zor
Syrian troops have taken control of the eastern flashpoint city of Deir el-Zour following intense shelling and gunfire, an activist said today.
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Given the nearly complete inaccessibility of Syria to foreign journalists, details regarding events in Syria and the status of the protest movements are sparse and, at times, subject to propagandistic manipulation. If the sources of the AP reports linked above are reliable, then the observation that Armored Personnel Carriers have been loaded onto flat-beds departing Hama may be an indication that the al-Assad regime believes it has effectively suppressed the protest movement there, in a city with tremendous symbolic value. An AFP report via Al-Ahram on the status of Hama offers a slightly different interpretation with the headline Syrian army quits Hama after 10-day raid. Military operations are continuing unabated in Idlib province.
Meanwhile, sources have also been quoted by the AP indicating a strong turn of policy by the United States vis-a-vis the legitimacy of Bashar al-Assad, reflecting the recent increase in international pressure on the regime.
AP via Salon, International pressure on Syria grows
Syrian President Bashar Assad came under a new barrage of international pressure Tuesday with the Turkish foreign minister urging him to stop killing protesters and U.S. officials saying the Obama administration is preparing to explicitly demand his departure.
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AP via HuffPo,
U.S. preparing to demand departure of President Bashar Assad, say sources
The Obama administration is preparing to explicitly demand the departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad and hit his regime with tough new sanctions, U.S. officials said Tuesday as the State Department signaled for the first time that American efforts to engage the government are finally over.
The White House is expected to lay out the tougher line by the end of this week, possibly on Thursday, according to officials who said the move will be a direct response to Assad's decision to step up the ruthlessness of the crackdown against pro-reform demonstrators by sending tanks into opposition hotbeds. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations.
President Barack Obama and other top U.S. officials previously had said Assad has "lost legitimacy" as a leader and that he either had to spearhead a transition to democracy or get out of the way. They had not specifically demanded that he step down. The new formulation will make it clear that Assad can no longer be a credible reformist and should leave power, the officials said.
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I apologize for the lack of analysis, but the headlines themselves are (should be) important to this community. Comments, discussion and informed predictions are welcome...
7:32 AM PT: An editorial of interest from Josh Landis at Foreign Policy, Syrians must win the revolution on their own
7:55 AM PT: Reuters (via al-Masry al-Youm) reports on the statements of Turkish PM Erdogan re Syria, Turkey's Erdogan expects Syrian reforms within 15 days
8:30 AM PT: Kossack InAntalya has a new diary up on recent developments between Turkey and Syria
8:46 AM PT: Per VoA, UNSC to meet later today to discuss Syria.
9:37 AM PT: MSNBC reporting additional targets for economic sanctions by US.
9:47 AM PT: FINAL UPDATE: for continuing attention on Syria see the Witnessing Revolution Liveblog. This diary looks to be pretty much tapped-out and ready to scroll of the Recent List...