Beirut --

Taking inspiration from the rapid unraveling of the regime in Libya, thousands of Syrians poured into the streets Monday and taunted President Bashar Assad with shouts that his family's 40-year dynasty will be the next dictatorship to crumble.

Assad, who has tried in vain to crush the 5-month-old revolt, appears increasingly out of touch as he refuses to acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of people demanding his ouster, analysts say. Instead, he blames the unrest on Islamic extremists and thugs.

But many observers say Assad should heed the lessons of Libya.

"Khadafy is gone; now it's your turn, Bashar!" protesters shouted in several cities across the country hours after Assad dismissed calls to step down during an interview on state TV. Security forces opened fire in the central city of Homs, killing at least one person.

Human rights groups say more than 2,000 people - most of them unarmed protesters - have been killed in the government's crackdown on the uprising.

Britain's Defense Secretary Liam Fox told BBC radio that Assad would "be thinking again in light of what has happened in Tripoli overnight."

"There is an unavoidable change in the area - and I think the message to those in that region is that if you do not allow change to be a process it can become an event," he said.

With neither side in the conflict showing any signs of backing down, many fear a drawn-out and bloody stalemate.