The Inimitable Tiff

The assault on the suburbs seemed to be a sign of the growing presence of dissident soldiers closer to Damascus, and of the government’s rising concern about the situation. Although the tightly controlled capital has been relatively quiet since the uprising began, its outskirts have been the scenes of intense protests, and army defectors have become more visible and active in the past few months.

The military has responded with a withering assault in the Damascus suburbs to stamp out the resistance, leading to a spike in violence has killed nearly 100 people since Thursday.