Chaos in Syria: soldiers turning against regime

According to Israel: Daily Alert, Sunni soldiers of the Syrian army turned against the regime earlier today.

On the Lebanese side of the border with Syria, hundreds of people, most of them Syrians who had fled the fighting at home, watched the battle raging just a few hundred yards away between Syrian troops and unspecified assailants who, the Syrians said, represented “the people,” who were attacking a Syrian army post.

Many of the Syrians watching the fight said Sunni Syrian soldiers had defected that morning and turned against the minority Alawite regime.

This is a fascinating – and very important – development. Assad can only hold on to power if he’s supported by at least a significant minority of the country’s Sunni population. If he loses them, he’s done for.

Keep an eye, then, on what’s happening in Syria. It could very well be the uptiest Arab country where a decades old regime collapses.