Malik Balian thinks he has as good an idea as anyone about the number of Syrians in Antakya these days.
On Tuesday, the governor of Hatay and mayor of Antakya gave a joint news conference that put the same message across.
Like most Antakya residents, Balian is Alawite, hailing from the same religious sect as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Antakya has become a nerve center for the uprising against Assad.
Rumors of big anti-Syrian protests, meanwhile, have become a constant in Antakya of late.
