Alex Phillips
BBC News

Now more from Zaina Shahla, who lives in central Damascus and who told me about the fear in the capital.

As we reported earlier, images on social media suggest there were anti-Assad demonstrations in the suburbs of Damascus, while rumors were expressed in the United States that these suburbs could quickly fall into the hands of the rebels.

She says that apart from these videos, she has not seen any protests in central Damascus and that different people living in the capital have different opinions about the rebels.

Fear, she says, comes from a feeling of uncertainty.

“We’re scared because we really don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “No one wants to see fighting in Damascus.”

Zaina added: “Everything is ambiguous and nothing is clear to anyone.”

His family remained in Damascus throughout the Syrian civil war and did not consider fleeing – until now.

Although they have no plans to leave yet, Zaina said that “if things escalate in a dramatic or dangerous way, maybe we’ll think about it.”