Turks Urge Assad To Fire Brother

Ynetnews.com reports:

An emissary on behalf of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to arrive in Syria in the next 24 hours with a "warning message" to President Bashar Assad, al-Arabiya reported Saturday.

According to the report, Ankara is demanding that Assad fire his brother Maher, considered the strongman behind the brutal suppression of the Syrian uprising that claimed an estimated 1,300 lives so far. Ankara is reportedly willing to take Maher in, or help in finding a shelter for him elsewhere in Europe.

Following the brutal violence against protestors in Syria, media outlets worldwide published feature stories about Maher Assad, characterizing him as the "bad cop" of Syria's regime. Observers estimate that President Assad will be increasingly relying on his brother and his forces should the upheaval in the country escalate.