THE ceasefire in Syria brokered by Kofi Annan, an envoy and former secretary-general of the UN, is unravelling. After several weeks of holding back somewhat while being pummelled by government forces, bands of armed rebels gathered under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army are now on the attack and gaining ground. A number of towns have come under their control, admittedly in some cases after covert negotiations with tired units of the government. “We have no need for the regime because we run ourselves,” says a man from Wadi Barada, a string of villages in a valley close to Damascus, reeling off an impressive list of social services, including imprisoning criminals, that are provided by the armed resistance.
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