Syria: Bashar al Assad and Family 'Will Be Killed Like Gaddafi'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Syrian President Bashar al Assad, his British wife Asma and their family will meet a bloody end 'like Gaddafi' as his regime falls from power, a leading member of the opposition movement has warned

Haitham Maleh, a member of the executive committee of the Syrian National Council, told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Assad had forfeited any chance of a peaceful exit from Syria as a result of his regime's brutal crackdown on protesters.

The former judge, who has spent decades in Syrian prisons for his human rights activism, predicted that Mr Assad, his wife and three children would be killed in revenge for his failure to respond positively to peaceful demands for change.

"Assad and his family will be killed in Syria, their next steps will be very bloody," he said. "Two months ago we offered him the option to leave us alone and go but instead he went for the blood of his people. The end for him will be that he is killed like Gaddafi."

Persistent reports have emerged around the Middle East that Mrs Assad has sought to return to England - or at least flee the fighting in Damascus - with her three children, Hafez, Zein and Lareem. Al-Masry-Al-Youm reported yesterday that she was among a group of family members including the president's mother and cousins that was driving to the airport to leave but forced to turn back by an opposition ambush. » | Damien McElroy | Monday, January 30, 2012

AL-MASRY AL-YOUM: Syria's first lady falling from grace: Not so long ago, she was the darling of the international press, described as a "rose in the desert" and "a ray of light in a country full of shadow zones." ¶ But today, Syria's first lady is being likened to a modern-day Marie-Antoinette, drawing criticism for staying mum on a crisis that has left more than 5,000 people dead in her country. » | Saturday, January 14, 2012