Violence echoing across Damascus underscores a turning point of sorts . Some experts say the battle for the nation 's two largest cities has begun . Damascus and the country 's economic capital , Aleppo , have seen armed clashes . Harling pointed out that even during the height of the bloody Syrian government crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982 , Hafez al Assad , the father of the current Syrian president , succeeded in preventing Damascus merchants from staging strikes . They ' ve also seen peaceful protests including those by shopkeepers .
Violence echoing across Damascus underscores a turning point of sorts . Some experts say the battle for the nation 's two largest cities has begun . Damascus and the country 's economic capital , Aleppo , have seen armed clashes . They ' ve also seen peaceful protests including those by shopkeepers .