Inside Story

Would the West interfere in Syria?

With major crackdowns on anti-government protests continuing, we ask whether the international community will step in.

Anti-government protests continue across Syria; as they have almost every Friday for four months. The biggest gatherings took place in the central city of Homs, which has seen a week of escalating violence amid anti-government protests.
 
Activists say Syrian military and security forces have deployed heavily in Damascus ahead of planned protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, while a major crackdown continues in the central city of Homs.

What is the endgame, and is the West ever likely to take the Libyan route and intervene? 

Inside Story, discusses with guests George Jabbour, president of the Syrian UN Association and former advisor to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad; Marwa Daoudy, a lecturer at the department of Politics and International Relations in the Middle East Centre, Oxford University; and Radwan Ziadeh, director of the Damascus Centre for Human Rights.

This episode of Inside Story aired from Friday, July 22, 2011.