watch this space looks like the arab spring may have sprung in syria.

I hope and hope there isnt another hama though.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hama_ma...lity_estimates

I was hoping they'd be peaceful as I was planning a trip to Damascus next month.

It certainly seems to be bubbling... still in the provincial cities, my colleague in Damascus says it's quiet there and he expects it not to escalate... I have the feeling Syria is just too hardline and will crack down hard, very hard...

Yemen is looking like the next regime change or potential civil war....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...arns-civil-war

agreed think yemen is already half way there.

the problem with crack downs is at some point they just stop working ie egypt. wouldnt put money on it but have a feeling syria may be close to that point but it depends how much blood any protesters can stomach.

true - or more disturbingly how much blood the security elements / military is willing to spill for the sake of Bashar...

"Bashar al-Assad’s threat to use force against protesters would be more plausible than Tunisia’s or Egypt’s were. So, unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, where a professionally trained military tended to play an independent role, the regime and its loyal forces have been able to deter all but the most resolute and fearless oppositional activists. In this respect, the situation in Syria is to a certain degree comparable to Saddam Hussein’s strong Sunni minority rule in Iraq"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad#Repression

At least five people have died after security forces fired on protesters outside a mosque in the Syrian city of Deraa, human rights activists say.

Hundreds of people had earlier gathered in the streets outside the Omari mosque to prevent troops from storming it.

"They cut off electricity and the firing started," one activist said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12827542

And of course after the protests (which were sparked by the arrest of children for painting pro-democracy graffiti!?) the government immediately said the protesters were Israeli agents.

Personally I prefer Gadaffi's excuse that the rebels were Al Qaeda, funded by the west to destabilise Libya!

Why do they always blame foreigners for their problems?

N.

Because they read the Daily Mail?

Anyway, I'm off there in the next month or so, and to Jordan, but with the caveat that if the FCO warns against it, I'm not going.

Just so you know, we have stopped all travel to Syria but Jordan is still open for us. If you go, check out the Hangover bar behind the four seasons.

Our Yemen office was closed a day or so ago and everyone sent to sunny Jordan.

Because of security concerns?

yup.

Having seen Arabic press I think it would be better if they did read the Daily Mail...

N.

Do go - it is a fantastic place. Stay in the Shahbandir (?) Palace hotel - it is a lovely little place at the edge of the suq.

I went out of town to the bus station and took a local bus up into the mountains above Demeshq and it was just miraculous - a good word - a fantastic experience.

Go to the museum and se the oldest words ever written and then go to the outdoor cafe and listen to the visitors gobbing off.

Go - just go - really the place is brilliant.

By the way when you get on the bus you have to fill in a form with your passport number and stuff like that !

Look Barhir is an optician and they are not dangerous. His wife is a good influence in the country and in the region and stunningly beautiful. He, au contraire - une petite chien!

Hated Damascus but then again I went their on a business trip that I really didnt want to go on and that I knew would be a waste of time. Arrived at the airport without a visa but with a fax in Arabic that I was told said I could enter the country (luckily it worked). Had to Fly Syrian Airlines (somehow survived) because my company refused to pay business class on Emirates even though flying Syrian meant we had to stay 2 days more in Damascus which cost more than the tickets with Emirates would have cost.

ended up on the last night in some dodgy huge nightclub in the suburbs of Damascus with my Egyptian colleague and Syrian clients surrounded by East European tarts. Really wasnt in the mood for that.

won't be heading back there in a hurry