“It wasn’t me” has been the consistent reaction of Syrian authorities to the escalating killings of protesters during the past month, as they blame foreigners and mysterious armed gangs for the violence.

As the death toll has mounted – Human Rights Watch has documented about 130 deaths of protesters in and around the southern city of Deraa alone – so has the regime’s resort to conspiracy theories.

Perhaps the propaganda effort will convince some Syrians, fed on decades of state paranoia, that a sinister outside plot has been hatched against them. For many others, the persistence of the protests, beamed on Arab television stations and the internet, is more likely to underline the distress of a political and security establishment facing an unprecedented popular challenge.