This has got to make matters worse. A problem with a high-tension line plunged Damascus and the southern provinces of Daraa and Sweida into darkness on Saturday. Meanwhile, in northwestern Syria, an activist group reported that pro-government gunmen have kidnapped more than 300 people. The action is reportedly in retaliation for the snatching of 42 Shia Muslims on Thursday. The eye-for-an-eye kidnappings, which happened in a predominantly Sunni area, could trigger more sectarian violence. The kidnapped Shia, mostly women and children, were taken from a bus while traveling between villages.
