Syria blocks Internet amidst growing protests

Analysts say matters have reached tipping point in the country

As protests continue to rise in Syria against President Bashar Assad's regime, a substantial part of the Internet has been reportedly blocked in the country.

Internet intelligence company Renesys reported on its blog that the Syrian government blocked Internet services on Friday to suppress the growing revolt in the country.

The report said on 3 June, "Starting at 3:35 UTC today, approximately two thirds of all Syrian networks became unreachable from the global Internet."

Renesys added that about 40 of 59 networks were blocked in half an hour, leaving only a few ISPs fed by the state-owned SyriaTel.

It warned that going by the trends in Egypt and Libya, the protests in Syria could have reached a tipping point.

"If Egypt and Libya's Internet outages are any guide, one might conclude that events on the street in Syria are reaching a tipping point," said Renesys on its blog.

Mass protests broke out in Syria after Friday prayers.

According to reports, the protests and government's violent response have caused the deaths of over 60 people and 20 injured.

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