Civil War In Syria -- News Updates January 31, 2012

U.S. Spy Chief Says Syria's Assad Cannot Hold Power -- MSNBC/Reuters

WASHINGTON — Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad cannot sustain his hold on power and it is a matter of time before his leadership falls, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Tuesday.

Syrian government forces reasserted control of Damascus suburbs on Tuesday after beating back rebels, and diplomatic pressure mounted on Assad as Western and Arab diplomats pushed for a U.N. Security Council resolution which would call for the Syrian leader to step down.

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More News On the Civil War In Syria

Syria: UN to hear Arab League proposals - live updates -- The Guardian
Fall of Syrian regime inevitable: US spy chief -- Khallej Times/AFP
Turkey: Assad is Doomed -- Arutz Sheva
Syria government forces retake Damascus suburbs as insurgency reaches new phase -- National Post/Reuters
Syria forces retake Damascus suburbs; showdown at U.N. -- Reuters
Syrian Army Advances on Opposition-Held Damascus Suburbs -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Syria army takes control of rebellious suburbs -- L.A. Times
Free Syria Army Claims Gains Against Government Forces -- Voice of America
Syrian opposition warns Iraq over arms shipment to Assad forces -- Al Bawaba

Syria bloodshed continues as U.N. talks loom -- CBS/AP
Showdown on Syria, Assad's future, likely in U.N. -- L.A. Times
High-level offensive launched on Syria at UN -- AP
Russia Faces Diplomatic Onslaught at UN to Support Ouster of Syria’s Assad -- Bloomberg
Russia: U.N. resolution on Syria is 'path to civil war' -- USA Today/AP
Russia says West's Syria push "path to civil war" -- Reuters
Russia Says UN Resolution Would Put Syria on Path to Civil War -- Voice of America

Syria's Alawites, a secretive and persecuted sect -- Reuters
Syria uprising: Religion overshadowing the democratic push -- Nicholas Blanford, Christian Science Monitor
A UN resolution on Syria, even watered down, would hurt Assad -- Fares Chamseddine, The Guardian
Syria slides towards civil war -- Michael Peel, Abigail Fiedling-Smith and Roula Khalaf, Financial Times
Where is Syria crisis heading? -- Nick Thompson, CNN