Assad Militia Given Free Hand

NICOSIA [MENL] -- An Awalite militia sponsored by the regime of President
Bashar Assad has been given a free hand in efforts to quell the Sunni revolt
in Syria.
Opposition sources and Western diplomats asserted that the Assad regime
has removed all restrictions on the Shabiha militia in central and eastern
Syria. They said Shabiha was being used to target Sunni civilian communities
in an effort to intimidate Sunni rebel militias.