• Yesterday, large protests like this one took place in Hama province in Syria. Today, Bashar al-Assad’s reaction appears to involve sacking the region’s governor in an effort to retain a handle on the situation. No details were given on Ahmad Khaled Abdulaziz’s sacking, though you can probably guess that this large protest, at the same site where Assad’s father led a bloody crackdown 30 years ago, probably had something to do with it. (And it isn’t even the first sacking of its kind, either; two other governors have already lost their gigs.) This is just one sign of the grinding gears of change in Syria — things could get interesting this month. Assad plans meetings with opposition leaders on the 10th; and the opposition plans a large conference of their own on the 16th. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink