Syrian activists: regime rattled by huge protests
Syrian demonstrators knew well the powerful symbolism at their feet: The streets where hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered to denounce President Bashar Assad were the same where an earlier generation was cut down by his father during a failed uprising 29 years ago.
Activists on Saturday now hope the huge outpouring a day earlier in the city of Hama — an estimated 300,000 people chanting against Assad’s regime — could re-energize the protest movement at a pivotal time.
Assad’s forces appear unable to sustain the blanket crackdowns of recent months and offer possible openings for opposition strongholds to expand in places such as Hama. In swift political payback, Assad on Saturday dismissed the Hama governor, Ahmed Abdul-Aziz, in a move that also could signal another offensive into the city and risk further international outrage.