Region's Alliances Likely to Unravel if Assad's Regime Falls (REGIME)

The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is apparently fighting back with full force, determined to defeat an unprecedented movement of public protests that has posed the gravest challenge not only to his 11-year rule, but also to his family's four-decade dynasty. Undeterred by international condemnation of his regime for its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, Assad has deployed the army to crush the seven-week uprising which quickly engulfed several Syrian cities, reaching the capital, Damascus. Rights groups say at least 580 Syrians have been killed since the revolt began in the blockaded southern city of Deraa on March 15, spreading quickly across the nation of some 23 million people. Syrian authorities have also arrested more than 1,000 people in the latest sweep aimed at crushing the dissent against the Assad regime, according to human rights groups. However, the escalation of the crackdown has emboldened the protesters who began their movement with demands for political reforms and are now publicly calling for Assad's ouster, in a stark reminder of the popular uprisings that led to the overthrow of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.