|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21558276
In Syria, the Tide Begins to Turn
(Economist-UK) On all fronts President Bashar Assad is losing ground. Rebels have de facto control over swathes of territory, including parts of the border with Turkey. Fighters stroll across, ferrying in arms and medicine, and greeting refugees and defectors passing the other way. A UN expert reckons that 40% of Syria's populated area is no longer fully under government control. Many security men now move around in inconspicuous shabby cars, thanks to a rash of assassinations, many of them in the capital. As one insurgent pocket is squashed, another pops up. Inflation is running at 30% a year. Fuel is getting scarce. A Western boycott of Syria's oil is draining state coffers. Tourism is dead. Mr. Assad looks ever more isolated and vulnerable.