A tense violent backdrop to some very difficult to interpret elections in Syria over the past few days and now everything is once again on the verge of unraveling. Free Syrian Army chief Riad al-Asaad, a leader of the opposition has told a London-based newspaper that “our people are demanding that we defend them.” It’s another sign that the tentitive peace process initiated by UN special envoy Kofi Annan may be crumbling. Laura Lynch is a correspondent for PRI’s The World, produced by our partner WGBH.