2125 GMT: Syria. We're closing today's live coverage, but it has been an eventful day.
Most of the focus has been on Aleppo. Even though we've repeatedly talked about the strength of the Free Syrian Army, even we are surprised at how well they are fighting in Syria's largest city. The regime has no choice but to launch a full-out attack on the insurgents if they ever wish to free the city. As the BBC says it will soon air footage of jets bombing the city, that has already begun. Despite this, insurgents are closing in on the city, the Syrian military appears to be evacuating parts of Idlib in order to gain more forces for the fight for Aleppo, and the battle will likely rage for days.
In the end, the FSA was never capable of holding Damascus. It just may be capable of holding Aleppo. But this does not matter. The regime has ruined the economy of its two largest cities during this fighting, and the regime is bleeding territory to the FSA elsewhere.
We've lost track of the narrative in two other important areas. The violence in Daraa and Hama provinces is staggering. Despite the heaviest fighting in this civil war being elsewhere, the amount of civilians being killed by regime forces in Hama and Daraa is very high. These areas are constantly under attack, efforts to ensure that the FSA never gains a foothold in these areas. But the opposition still thrives in both cities, and in their suburbs, and in the countrysides. The strategy is not working, and one has to wonder what will happen the minute the thumb is let off of the necks of the two provinces that started this uprising nearly 17 months ago.
EA's intern, Josh Moss, and I have been compiling an interactive map of today's events. Most of the locations of the map link back to the individual updates, and vice versa. Click on the link below the map to see it in its own window:
Click to read more ...
Friday, July 27, 2012 at 8:21
Defected Syrian General Manaf Tlass & Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu, 26 July 2012The Arab uprisings have complicated Turkey’s approach to the Middle East. Both long before and after the dynamic events of the last 18 months began, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s AKP was looked at as a model to emulate by many in the Middle East and the non-Arab world. Buoyed by strong poll numbers, a growing economy, and a record of democratic reform, there was a consensus that Erdogan himself would be the face of a new democratic Middle East. For now, the prime minister seems to enjoy playing the role of regional demagogue promising great things and standing up to Israel. But can it last? Or will fundamental antagonisms lead to tension between Turkey and the region in the future?
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