The civil war's threat to Damascus
'If Paradise be on Earth, it is, without a doubt, Damascus." The city today is worlds away from this 12th-century description by Ibn Jubayr; it is gripped by fear. Once more in its turbulent history it faces the threat of destruction, as the fight to control Syria's capital approaches the endgame. Will the battle that began with an ever tightening stranglehold on the suburbs conclude by choking the lifeblood from the centre? The human suffering that such a drawn-out struggle would entail is incomprehensible. What has already happened in Homs, Hama and Aleppo, not to mention other cities and towns across the country, gives us a sickening foretaste.… Seguir leyendo »