Syria Snap Analysis: Deir Ez Zor & Human Rights Watch

http://tgr.ph/GAmbSCThis is a comment on the article I wrote last night, Syria Special: Welcome to Phase Two Insurgency, responding to today's news.

Basically, I argue that the Free Syrian Army has reached a new level of sophistication in their attacks, and have entered a stage that will be characterized by ambush attacks, improvised explosive devices, and other guerrilla tactics. I also respond to Joshua Landis' claim that we are likely to see more terrorism and a move towards a more sectarian opposition. Basically, I argue that the terrorism that is on the rise in Syria doesn't seem to be directly linked to the main-stream opposition (a major difference from Iraq or Afghanistan) and so far the most sectarian violence is evident in Homs and Idlib, but it is fairly isolated.

But there are two developments today that intersect my article.

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Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Just Another Friday?

1838 GMT: Activists have compiled a list of 68 people killed in Syria protests today, including casualties in Moadamia (8), Homs (15), Douma (8), Izraa (15), Zamalka (5), Harasta (3), and Barzeh (2).

1835 GMT: Thanks to James Miller for taking the LiveBlog through the afternoon.

A doctor from Madamia, a Damascus suburb, has said:

There are four people killed and about 50 wounded and we cannot take them to the public or private hospitals. At Daraya hospital security were shooting and arresting people. So I have been treating people inside homes. It is very hard to treat the wounds because many have been shot in the head.

I can tell you now, the situation in Madamia will never be calm. Today is an historical day for the country. There is now a new strategy to kill all the protesters, not even arrest them.

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