Ambassador Ford: “Syria Crackdown Risks Sectarian Strife”

Ambassador Robert Ford told Reuters that even though time is against President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian opposition need to come to an agreement on the details of a transition and type of government that would replace Assad.”The government violence is actually creating retaliation and creating even more violence in our analysis, and it is also increasing the risk of sectarian conflict,” he said.

Although Ford did not mention any groups in particular, the tensions have risen between the Sunni majority and Assad’s Alawite sect. He also noted that the Assad government is not close to collapse, as the Alawite-controlled military is still very strong, but economic issues continue to plague Syria, pushing some groups to dissent against Assad. Regarding the military Ford noted that ”its cohesion is not at risk today, but there are more reports since mid-September of desertions than we heard in April and May or June. And this is why I am saying time is not on the side of the government.”

Protests continued on Friday in the province of Homs where Syrian security forces fired live ammunition to disperse the non-violent gathering, killing at least two people. There are also reports of Syrian students becoming increasingly active in pro-democracy protests. On Thursday, Syrian students marching outside the capital after class chanting for revolution were beaten and detained by security forces.