Syrian army colonel defected with hundreds of soldiers, report

A Syrian army colonel said on Saturday that he has defected with “hundreds” of soldiers and warned the regime against launching a crackdown on the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor. (more…)

Syrian infighting suggests Assad’s grip on power is slipping

The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, has become the latest Obama administration official to suggest President Bashar al-Assad has lost the legitimacy to rule Syria. But a more pressing question for the international community as it contemplates the regime’s ever more vicious and shambolic efforts to crush the pro-democracy uprising is whether Assad has lost the plot. (more…)

Egyptian soldiers attack Tahrir Square protesters

Egyptian soldiers armed with clubs and rifles have stormed Cairo’s Tahrir Square in a pre-dawn raid that reportedly killed at least two people, reigniting the simmering tensions in the country. (more…)

Syria’s military: what does Assad have?

Here are details of Syria’s armed forces
which experts say are dominated by senior Alawite officers,
ensuring loyalty to President Bashar al-Assad. (more…)

Analysis: Political risks to watch in Egypt

An 18-day pro-democracy revolt has terminated Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule, propelling Egypt into a new era and forcing authoritarian rulers elsewhere in the Middle East to reassess their strategies for survival. (more…)

Behind Mubarak’s exit: a military coup, analysis

It was the people who forced President Hosni Mubarak from power, but it is the generals who are in charge now.

Obama urges Egyptian army to ensure transition to ‘genuine democracy’

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reflected the will of the Egyptian people and called on the country’s powerful military to ensure a transition to “genuine democracy.”

Obama spoke after Mubarak handed over power to the Egyptian army after (more…)

Democracy in Egypt: More questions than answers

Protesters across Cairo reveled at the victory they had wrought, and Egyptian reporters on cable TV channels were reduced to tears as they sought to convey their happiness. (more…)

Egypt army to suspend parliament, sack cabinet

Egypt’s Supreme military council will sack the cabinet, suspend both houses of parliament and rule with the head of the supreme constitutional court, Al Arabiya television reported on Friday. (more…)

Good coup or bad coup in Egypt?

Egypt has just witnessed a popular revolution — but also a military coup. So as we in Washington watch the crowds celebrate in Cairo, we also have to wonder: will this be a good coup, or a bad coup? (more…)