Syria 1st-Hand: Spectre of War Reaches "Coastal Retreat" of Latakia (Chulov)

"We are afraid, very, very afraid," said Loubna, a final-year university student and resident of the city. "For so long the regime has been saying we will be safe here. That nothing will happen to us. Nothing can happen to us. But people are leaving, people are dying. Death is so near."

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) Liveblog: The Crackdown has Stopped?

See also Syria: Crisis may hurt economies of the Region (Saif)

World Leaders Condemn Syria Violence, Assad Regime

Syria Special: Diane Rehm - Escalating Violence in Syria

Syria Video Special: This is What Assad Calls "Withdrawing"

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2015 GMT: A demonstration in Deir Ez Zor in northeast Syria tonight:

And in Douma outside Damascus:

And in Jarjanaz in the northwest:

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Syria Special: Diane Rehm - Escalating Violence in Syria

In this Friday, July 22, 2011, a citizen journalism image made on a mobile phone and provided by Shaam News Network, Syrian anti-regime protesters gather during a rally in al-Assy square in the western city of Hama, Syria. The Arabic on banner reads:"we will never forget our martyrs and prisoners." A citizen journalism image/AP

Diane Rehm and a panel of experts do an excellent job of summing up the most current news, but the panel also addressed some of the most important questions about the conflict: Why haven't there been larger protests in Aleppo, what are Assad's tactics, what is the role of sectarianism or ethnicity in the conflict, and how might international sanctions effect the regime.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW - ESCALATING VIOLENCE IN SYRIA

Read the Complete Transcript here...

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Syria Video Special: This is What Assad Calls "Withdrawing"

Even as the Syrian government, and the Syrian State Television channel SANA, were claiming that the soldiers and tanks were pulling out of Lattakia and Deir Ez Zor, we started to receive video of tanks repositioning to other locations, most notably Homs. Now, there are reports that most of the troops and tanks have not left Deir Ez Zor or Lattakia.

Is this what Assad calls "withdrawal?"

See Also, Syria, Libya (and Beyond) Liveblog: Pulling Out of Deir Ez Zor?

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Once again, every night since the start of Ramadan, protests are reported in almost every area of Syria:

Jobar, Damascus:

Al Korah, Deir Ez Zor:

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Syria Snap Analysis: Will 22 July Be Marked by History as A Turning Point?

Hama, 22 July (Reuters)The security forces have withdrawn from Hama and Deir Ez Zor. They are trying to quell the protests in Homs and around Damascus and Aleppo, but they are not succeeding. It is hard to imagine that the regime has any strongholds of significance left. Through crackdowns, and threats of sectarian violence, the protests have only grown in both scale, scope, and reach. To repeat the rhetorical question I asked on Friday; Where AREN'T they protesting in Syria?

And now the follow-up rhetorical question: how can the Assad regime possibly expect to survive this level of democratic upheaval?

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