Al Assad has only few weeks left in control — Israel

Occupied Jerusalem:  The family of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has only "a few weeks" left in control of the strife-torn country, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak told MPs yesterday.

"The Al Assad family has no more than a few weeks to remain in control in Syria," Barak told the parliament's prestigious foreign affairs and defence committee in remarks quoted by the committee spokesman.

"There is no possibility in the current situation of evaluating what will happen the day after Bashar's fall," he said.

Syria has been pressing a bloody and brutal crackdown against pro-democracy activists which the United Nations estimates has killed more than 5,000 people in 2011.

Barak also warned that the fall of the Al Assad family could have implications for the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

"In the north, there may be possible implications from Syria on the Golan Heights and a broader area as the result of the loss of control," he said yesterday in a separate statement.