‘Unprecedented’: ‘Most serious challenge’ to survival of Assad regime since 2011 civil war began

If Syrian rebel forces capture Homs in their brazen lightning offensive, it would cut off the capital Damascus from the coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad’s minority Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval and air base. As Islamist insurgents advance on this key central city and Kurdish fighters seize the eastern desert, triggering local revolts against Assad’s rule in the south, FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee welcomes former US Ambassador to Syria Robert S Ford offering in-depth analysis.