After the death of Muammar Gaddafi, Syrian opposition activists have been reinvigorated in their bid to drive Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.
The death of the former Libyan leader sparked mass demonstrations in the city of Homs, where protestors celebrated the end of Gaddafi’s regime and warned that Assad may end up suffering the same fate. They came with banners and chanted, "Gaddafi is gone. Your turn is coming, Bashar!" and “Bashar al-Assad, how do you feel today?”
There were also reports of crowds of jubilant Libyans in Tripoli’s renamed Martyr’s Square chanting “Syria! Syria!”, cheering on the Syrian opposition.
The Local Coordination Committees in Syria, a coordinating group for the pro-democracy protests, issued a congratulatory statement to the NTC saying,
"This third great victory for the Arab Revolutions sends a critical message to the region, the people suffering under other tyrants and the world at large. There is no turning back from the demands for freedom."
There are also sings that the international focus may be shifting to Syria, after French Foreign minister Alain Juppe said,
"Turning to Syria, given the crimes against humanity committed by the Gaddafi regime, France is asking the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities and sanction the bloody repression.
I hope we will soon reach an agreement on multilateral action that can step up pressure on the Syrian regime."
Yemeni opposition have been galvanised by the events in Libya, with social media networks flooded with comments warning President Ali Abdullah Saleh of the fate of other leaders during the Arab Spring. One comment read:
“Ben Ali escaped, Mubarak is in jail, Gaddafi was killed. Which fate do you prefer, Ali Abdullah Saleh? You can consult with Bashar.”
