- So, would you trust this guy? That’s the question facing members of the Syrian opposition. Syria has been a hellish place for those protesting the Bashar al-Assad government of late, as live rounds have been fired into protests, many have been captured (and, given the human rights record there, almost certainly tortured), and even army soldiers who’ve refused to unload on civilians have been shot dead by the state police. Now, however, the opposition says that Assad has vowed there won’t be such attacks made on a planned protest on Friday. Forgive us if we’re skeptical, but Assad’s brutality is a cat that was let out of the bag a long time ago. source