Each side is ratcheting up and neither side is likely to back down at the moment. The protesters can see what is happening in neighboring countries and Assad has surely learned a few lessons from what occurred in Libya. Al Jazeera:
Human rights activists say at least 15 people have been killed in the Syrian town of Daraa, the focal
point of almost a week of anti-government protests.
Activists and residents said security forces opened fire on protesters outside the Omari mosque early on Wednesday, after hundreds of people had gathered overnight to prevent police from storming it, and that shooting had continued sporadically over the course of the day.
A rights activist also told AFP news agency that security forces had opened fire on mourners attending the funeral of those killed in Daraa.
Al Jazeera's Rula Amin, reporting from Damascus, said that fighting broke out when residents from other towns clashed with security forces as they tried to enter Daraa to help residents there.
