The New York Times is reporting that Syria's Ambassador to France, Lamia Shakkour, has resigned her post - live on French television - in protest against the violence erupting back at home.
Yesterday, Syrian authorities reported the massacre of 40 security officials by armed gangs in the remote town of Jisr al-Shoughour. Later state TV reports mysteriously increased the number to 120. Tony Karon of Time Magazine says it "sounds ominously like p.r. preparation" for an all-out attack on the town.
Residents of the town have denied the official account of events. Reached by telephone, some residents told the New York Times that the violence "erupted over the weekend following a wave of defections from military forces sent to besiege the town."
Meanwhile, fears have spread throughout the world that, whether or not the Syrian government's account is true, the beleaguered regime of President Bashar al-Assad is clearly setting the stage for payback on a massive scale. Al-Jazeera reports that the town is "quiet," as it awaits the expected arrival of the Syrian armed forces.
Tony Karon at Time wonders why - with the Syrian death count now passing 1,000, and a government essentially promising a massacre of some of its own people - the United States and its allies are yet to directly ask Assad to step down, much less convene the Security Council to discuss an intervention. While the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia would love to see an erstwhile Iranian puppet and Hezbollah sponsor removed from the scene, there are - as always, it seems - other considerations.
Fear that if the regime did collapse in a violent showdown, its most likely successor would be the Muslim Brotherhood gives pause to the U.S., Israel and the Saudis. They may not like Assad, but he's the proverbial devil they know, a man of predictable habit and therefore, by default, a bulwark of a certain kind of stability.
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See Also:
- Politics In 60 Seconds: What You Need To Know Right Now
- Politics In 60 Seconds: What You Need To Know Right Now
- Syria Claims 'Armed Gangs' Killed 120 Security Forces In Response To Assad's Crackdown
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