View Photo Gallery — Tens of thousands of people are taking part in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

By Liz Sly,

BEIRUT — The toppling of the presidents in Tunisia and Egypt precipitated a tumult of revolutionary fervor that promises to transform the Middle East, but the potential collapse of the Syrian regime could wreak havoc of a very different kind.

In Syria, the fall of President Bashar al-Assad would unleash a cataclysm of chaos, sectarian strife and extremism that spreads far beyond its borders, threatening not only the entrenched rulers already battling to hold at bay a clamor for democratic change but also the entire balance of power in the volatile region, analysts and experts say.



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Amateur video shows demonstrators seeking cover from tear gas as they call for change in Damascus during what demonstrators are calling "the Friday of Rage." Human rights groups say at least 42 people have been killed but that number is likely to rise. (April 29)


With Syria’s minority Shiite Alawite government overseeing a majority Sunni population, its strategic location and its web of alliances including the radical Hamas and Hezbollah movements, regime change could look a lot more like it did in Iraq than in Egypt — and the ramifications could prove even more profound.

“If the regime collapses you will have civil war and it will spread throughout the region,â€