Syrian authorities have intensified a campaign to detain the same opposition activists with whom they recently vowed to begin a "dialogue," as the nation braced for another potentially bloody weekend of violence against those opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
Security forces loyal to Assad and his minority Allawite Muslim regime continued to besiege the restive city of Hama on Thursday. A witness said that water and electricity had been cut in large parts of the city and that armored vehicles had surrounded entry points, letting only women and children flee what appears to be a coming military assault.
