As protests continue in Syria, there have been reports that the government security officials are firing teargas on demonstrators, with 12 people killed over the weekend. A Syrian spokesperson told The Takeaway that armed thugs were responsible for these deaths. Joshua Landis, Director of the Centre for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma responds to her claims and helps put the upheaval in context. He says that there is a lot of fear in the country by both protesters and the government. “In order for them to change this government, it’s going to mean war,” he says, However, Syrians don’t want that.