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Syrian civil war at tipping point

West fears ‘desperate’ Assad will resort to chemical weapons.

Boy holds bread outside a bakery in Aleppo
Photo by: reuters
The stalemate appears to have finally broken in the 20- month fight between Assad loyalists and rebels forces in Syria, as an influx of weapons and foreign jihadists has invigorated the Free Syrian Army’s bloody campaign to topple President Bashar Assad. The minority Alawite dictator has lost control over much of the countryside and is now hunkering down in a besieged Damascus, with even his Russian backers admitting the endgame is near. Yet fears have grown that an “increasingly desperate” Assad could resort to using his large stockpile of chemical or biological agents in a last-ditch effort to stay in power, or that the deadly arsenal could fall into the hands of radical Islamic militias.

Coming off his successful reelection bid in November, US President Barack Obama immediately gave more urgency to the festering Syrian civil war. Analysts speculated why, but perhaps the grim round figure of 40,000 dead had something to do with it.

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