"Assad regime likely to survive"

(AFP) — "Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is likely to survive his country’s uprising thanks to the army’s loyalty and the world’s muted response to the bloody crackdown on protests, analysts say.

... “World powers are lethargic when it comes to Syria because they do not want to see chaos on the doorsteps of Israel, which enjoys the most secure borders with Syria since the establishment of a demilitarised border zone in 1974... It seems that Bashar Assad is currently wining but I hope that the Syrian people will win in the end. The people and regime have reached a point of no return."... ...

Jordanian analyst Nahed Hattar, an expert in Syrian issues, said the regime has overcome internal power struggles. “Now there are no fears of divisions between the president’s aides, who wanted a political solution, and the security team, led by his brother Maher and intelligence chief Ali Mamluk, who favoured the muscled approach,” he said... He also criticised Arab regimes saying they are “afraid to talk about the events in Syria knowing that they themselves could face similar uprisings.”

Hattar said “things in Syria have taken a sectarian turn...Religious minorities and secular groups who supported the protesters in the beginning now back the regime because of a series of sectarian incidents,” he said. He pointed to anti-Christian slogans heard in the southern flashpoint town of Daraa and said that some Christians were killed after their identity cards were checked...."