A young man with his face covered for fear of reprisals stands outside a damaged mosque in the eastern Damascus suburb of Sakba. The mosque was damaged during an assault by government forces in their attempt to retake the area from the Free Syria Army. Protests against the ruling Baathist regime of Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011. Although they were initially peaceful, they were violently repressed by the Syrian army and police. In response to being ordered to shoot unarmed civilians, large numbers of men deserted the army and formed the Free Syrian Army. The protest movement has now turned into an armed uprising with clashes between the regular army and the Free Syrian Army taking place in early 2012....