Stronghold Readied For Bashar al-Assad's Last Stand -- The Australian
As power continues to drain from his regime, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is drawing up contingency plans to retreat from Damascus and make a last stand in a stronghold on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Assad, a member of the Alawi sect in a country where Sunni Muslims form a large majority, is preparing for a "worst case" in which he may be forced to abandon the capital and "fight to his last bullet" in a breakaway Alawite homeland, according to a Russian source.
The Alawites, whose religion has links to Shia Islam, are regarded as heretics by the majority Sunni population. Although just 12 per cent of the population, they hold most of the key jobs in the regime.
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Update #1: Report: Assad contemplating retreat from Damascus -- Jerusalem Post
Update #2: Assad prepares to ‘fight to his last bullet’ in Alawite hometown: report -- Al Arabiya
My Comment: It looks like the Syrian government is accepting the possibility that they may lose this civil war.