Fearful Nights in Damascus as Unrest Gets Closer
When darkness falls, streets in Damascus empty as people brace for explosions and crackles of gunfire - once distant threats which now bring fear and sleepless nights to the heart of the Syrian capital.
For months the unrest that erupted across Syria last year, when opponents of President Bashar al-Assad demonstrated for greater rights, was held at bay from the government stronghold of Damascus, even as street protests turned to armed struggle.
Now Damascenes feel the unrest is encroaching on their homes and the sense of unease is tangible.
Frequent explosions shake the city, ranging from a bombing which killed at least nine people in the Midan district 10 days ago to nightly blasts, many of which remain unexplained.
Activists blame some of the detonations on Assad’s security forces, saying they are deliberately heightening the sense of insecurity as part of efforts to portray a popular uprising as a violent campaign by foreign-backed militants.