Israel Believes That Syrian President Assad Will Be Gone In A Few Weeks

Israeli Officials Say Assad Is Doomed -- Washington Post

JERUSALEM — In a shift, Israeli officials are welcoming the prospect that Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, will be overthrown, an event Defense Minister Ehud Barak says could be weeks away.

As Assad has come under mounting pressure from a revolt at home and moves to isolate him abroad, initial wariness of speaking out publicly about the fate of his regime has given way to open speculation by officials and analysts about how long he can hold on to power, who might replace him and the possible risks of a chaotic disintegration of his rule.

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My Comment: The U.S. now also believe that Assad will be gone soon.

1,000 Dead In 10 Days: Syria Is At the Brink Of Civil War

A Syrian rebel fires a rocket propelled grenade at an armoured vehicle in Homs. Photograph: YouTube

Syria Crisis: UN Divisions Deepen As Death Toll Rises By Another 1,000 In Just 10 days -- The Telegraph

The death toll in Syria has risen by another 1,000 people in just 10 days, according to a report that served to deepen divisions within the United Nations over how to respond to the crisis.

On a day that activists and the Syrian government reported scores more deaths from fighting between troops and rebels, Navi Pillay, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, said that more than 5,000 people had been killed since the start of the uprising against the rule of President Bashir al-Assad in March.

This was up significantly from the beginning of the month, when the total stood at 4,000, and does not include any deaths from among Assad's security forces.

Ms Pillay said that 300 of those killed had been children and that 14,000 were in prison, many tortured, and 12,400 had fled the country.

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My Comment: To put everything into perspective ..... if the past ten days are any indication .... more people have been killed from violence in Syria than those who have been killed in Afghanistan and Mexico's drug cartel war combined.

Unrest In Syria -- News Updates December 13, 2011

Inside Syrian Regime, Hard-Liners Gain Upper Hand -- Christian Science Monitor

As both the Syrian regime and the opposition harden their positions, a nationwide strike aimed at bringing down President Assad through peaceful means looks unlikely to succeed.

Heavy clashes across Syria in recent days provide further evidence that the nine-month struggle to topple Syria's Assad regime is evolving into an armed conflict.

The intensified fighting coincides with yesterday's launch of a nationwide general strike intended to apply further pressure on the Syrian authorities. But its effectiveness in hastening President Bashar al-Assad’s downfall and averting a further descent into bloodshed looks doubtful.

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More News On The Unrest In Syria

Syria: UN raises death toll to 5,000 - Tuesday 13 December 2011 -- The Guardian
Syria's bloody uprising: reported deaths over 2011 -- The Guardian
Syria death toll hits 5,000 as insurgency spreads -- Reuters
Syria crackdown has killed 5,000 people, UN says -- CBS/AP
UN Says Syria Crackdown Death Toll Exceeds 5,000 -- Voice of America
Syrian defectors hit back as death toll tops 5,000 -- AFP
Syrian death toll climbs past 5,000 as protests give way to insurgency -- National Post
Diplomats Distressed About Syrian Unrest -- Voice of America

Violence in Syrian border province leaves 28 dead -- AP
Syrian Defectors Kill 7 Security Force Members in Revenge Attack -- Voice of America
Rebels kill Syria forces in retaliation for civilians -- Herald Sun
Activists: Syrian army defectors kill 7 government forces -- CNN
Terrorist attacks in Syria escalate along with international pressure -- Xinhuanet
Syrian opposition: Dying for foreign intervention? -- RT

Russia slams West for 'immoral' Syrian stance -- Al Jazeera
Russia rejects 'immoral' criticism over Syria -- Reuters
Russia accuses West of 'immoral' stance on Syria -- BBC

Syria need not fear the international criminal court – for now -- Ian Black, The Guardian
Syria uprising: timeline -- The Telegraph
Timeline: Crackdown on protests in Syria -- Reuters

Syria's Death Toll Now Over 5,000

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. UN News Centre

Syria Death Toll 'Exceeds 5,000', Says UN's Navi Pillay -- BBC

More than 5,000 people are now believed to have been killed in the uprising in Syria, the UN's top human rights official has said.

Navi Pillay told a closed session of the Security Council that 14,000 people are believed to have been arrested and 12,400 fled to neighbouring countries.

Syria's ambassador to the UN rejected the figures, saying Ms Pillay was "not objective and "not fair".

At least 20 people died in clashes on Monday, opposition activists said.

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More News On The Death Toll In Syria From Almost 9 Months Of Unrest

U.N. rights chief Pillay says Syria toll over 5,000 -- Reuters
UN rights chief Navi Pillay says more than 5,000 killed in Syrian conflict -- Washington Post/AP
UN: More Than 5,000 Killed In Syria -- Radio Free Europe
Diplomats Call Syrian Toll Increase ‘Distressing’ -- Voice of America
Over 5,000 civilians killed in Syria violence, says UN official -- Xinhuanet
Syria Crackdown Death Toll Approaches 5,000: UN -- Voice of America
UN’s Pillay ‘Acknowledges’ Assad Claim of 1,000 Soldiers Killed -- Bloomberg Businessweek
As Syrian death toll tops 5,000, UN human rights chief warns about key city -- UN News Centre

Syrians Go On Strike As Local Elections And Fierce Clashes Occur Across The Country

Syria Protesters Stage Nationwide Strike -- Christian Science Monitor

Syria protesters have organized a 'desperate' last act of civil disobedience to try to stop the Assad regime's nine-month crackdown.

Antigovernment activists in Syria are staging a nationwide workers' strike in an effort to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, even as fighting continues across the country and the key Syrian opposition city of Homs faces a looming invasion.

Al Jazeera English reports that opposition leaders claimed to have used a a massive workers' strike to shut down large portions of the capital and other towns in an effort to continue topple the government crackdown through nonviolent means.

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More News On The Unrest In Syria

Syrian troops and activists fight one of biggest battles since uprising began -- The Telegraph
Syrians vote as fierce clashes overshadow protests -- Reuters
Syrians close shops, schools in strike aimed at raising economic pressure on Assad regime -- Voice of America
Syria’s Death Toll Mounts as Economic Squeeze Tightens -- Bloomberg Businessweek
23 reported killed in clashes between troops, army defectors in Syria -- Washington Post
Defectors Fight Syrian Troops As Opposition Begins General Strike -- Voice of America
Syrians close shops, schools in general strike -- CBS/AP
General strike launched in Syria amid fierce clashes -- L.A. Times
Syrian disobedience campaign launched parallel to local elections -- National Post/AFP
Syrian troops battle opposition fighters in south of country -- The Guardian
Syrian opposition: 'Massacre' could follow deadline -- CNN
Syrians Vote as Fighting Spreads, Strikes Continue -- Voice of America
(Some) Syrians head to the polls as violence spreads -- MSNBC
Syrians to Vote in Local Elections -- Voice of America

Syria's Rebellion Is Starting To Break Families Apart

Major Haitham Emhammed hides his face to protect his family Photo: RUTH SHERLOCK

Defecting Syrian Soldier Tells Of His Marriage Torn Apart By Brutal Conflict In Homs -- The Telegraph

Syria's brutal conflict is not only tearing communities apart - families and even marriages are also falling victim. A defecting soldier from the besieged town of Homs tells his story.

As Major Haitham Emhammed prepared to return to Syria from his hiding place in Lebanon and fight for the overthrow of President Bashar al Assad's regime, his wife called him repeatedly on his mobile phone.

Mrs Emhammed, who is still inside Syria, wasn't calling to urge him to fight for freedom, or even to beg him to be careful. His wife, a member of the Alawite ethnic group that make up Mr Assad's hard-core of support, was calling her Sunni Muslim husband to lambast the rebel movement he has joined, and bemoan the fact that he had left his family.

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My Comment: What is happening in Syria is exactly what happened in Iraq 5 years ago .... Sunni and Shiite differences exploded into armed conflict and civil war. Expect more divisions to arise in Syria as cities like Homs becomes a target, Syrian military defectors increase the fight against military supporters of the Syrian regime, and country-wide armed clashes increase the body count.

72-Hour Ultimatum For Protestors In The Syrian City Of Homs

Syria Crisis: Assad Regime Forces Issue 72-Hour Deadline For End To Protests In Homs -- The Telegraph

Syrian forces encircling the city of Homs have issued a 72-hour ultimatum for all protests against President Bashar al-Assad to stop, or a new offensive will begin.

The warning came as the regime's troops massed outside the city, apparently preparing for a major operation. Homs has been a centre of unrest since the onset of demonstrations against Mr Assad in March. The biggest protests have traditionally taken place on Fridays, the day of prayer in the Muslim world, when the mosques fill with worshippers.

On Friday, the security forces tried to curb the unrest by issuing an explicit threat. "We have been given 72 hours to stop protesting, or they are going to hit us hard," said an opposition activist in Homs going by the name Abu Rami.

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My Comment: You know that is going to be very bloody. Syrian President Assad has lost control of this city, and everyday that it remains free from his rule, the threat rises that other cities will soon follow. I expect the slaughter and fighting to start on Monday.

The Bloodshed Continues In Syria -- News Updates December 9, 2011

'Massacre' Feared Brewing In Syrian City -- CNN

(CNN) -- Syria's leading opposition movement warned Friday of an impending government "massacre" designed to crush activists in the city of Homs, a metropolis that has emerged as a center of anti-regime unrest.

The Syrian National Council said military troops and vehicles have surrounded the western city and thousands of troops are manning more than 60 checkpoints just inside the city.

"These are all signs of a security crackdown operation that may reach the level of a total invasion of the city," the council said in a news release. It warned that a "massive number of casualties" could occur.

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More News On the Unrest In Syria

Syria: Homs massacre warning - Friday 9 December 2011 -- The Guardian
'32 Dead' In Latest Syria Violence -- Radio Free Europe
Syrian protests trigger new deadly clashes -- BBC
30 killed in Syria; 'massacre' predicted -- UPI
Syrian Forces Kill At Least 24 as Protests Spread -- Voice of America
Children among the dead as Syrian security forces fire on protests -- Washington Post/AP
Syria forces poised for bloody Homs assault: SNC -- AFP
US 'extremely concerned' over Syrian assault fears -- AFP
Oil Pipeline Explodes in Syria, As Violence Escalates -- Voice of America
Syria: enmities deepen in encircled Homs -- The Guardian
Syria opposition wants rebels to halt attacks -- Reuters
Syria: More violence, strike looms, elections going ahead -- The National
Turkey warns Syria not to provoke regional crisis -- Reuters
Arab states won't allow Syrian "massacre"-Saudi prince -- Reuters
Red Cross halts some monitoring inside Syria -- Washington Post
Syrian Uprising Divides Syrians in Golan Heights -- Voice of America
Factional Splits Hinder Drive to Topple Syria Leader -- New York Times
In Syria, Expelling the Peacemakers -- Stephanie Saldana, New York Times

Syria’s Descent Into Civil War Becoming More Evident Everyday

Grisly Reminders Signal Syria’s Descent Into Civil War -- The Telegraph

With the body count rising and the UN powerless to act, the people are on their own.

If further proof were needed that Syria is on the point of collapsing into all-out civil war, it was provided by the grisly discovery this week of 60 bodies dumped on the streets of the rebel city of Homs.

Most of those killed would seem to have been kidnapped by death squads operated by the Shabiha militia, a shadowy organisation that owes its loyalty to Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The group’s modus operandi is to target suspected ringleaders of the anti-government protests. Its victims are abducted from their homes in the dead of night and then driven to a secret location on the outskirts of the city, where they are killed. The bodies – which invariably display signs of torture – are then dumped the following morning as a grim reminder of the fate that awaits those who seek the overthrow of the Assad regime.

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My Comment: The International Red Cross is still maintaining the position that Syria is not in a state of civil war yet. But with death squads now running with impunity, sabotage of key economic infrastructures occurring regularly, and massive desertions from the military .... civil war is now literally just weeks away.

Major Syrian Oil Pipeline Attacked By Rebels

Blackout! Rebel City Covered By Thick Smoke After Oil Pipeline Is Blown Up 'By Terrorists' As Syrian Anti-Government Protests Escalate -- Daily Mail

* Public strike threat as campaign of civil disobedience is mooted
* Russia calls on Nato to stay out of Syrian affairs or risk inflaming situation

A Syrian oil pipeline was blown up today in what has been described by the government as an act of sabotage by an armed terrorist group.

The pipeline, carrying oil from the east of the country to a vital refinery in Homs, spilled flames and clouds of thick black smoke into the air over the city, which has been the epicentre of the protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

'This is the main pipeline that feeds the Homs refinery,' said Rami Abdulrahman of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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More News On A Major Syrian Pipeline Blown Up By Rebels

Oil pipeline struck in Syria -- CNN
Syria says pipeline blown up by rebel saboteurs -- Reuters
Syrian pipeline attack raises supply threat -- Financial Times
Syria unrest: Oil pipeline attacked near Homs -- BBC
Explosion Hits Major Oil Pipeline In Syria -- NPR/AP
Syrian oil pipeline hit by explosion -- The Guardian
Heavy smoke over Homs after Syrian oil pipeline blown up -- The Telegraph
Syria Oil Pipeline Attacked, State Blames ‘Terrorist’ Group -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Syrian President Assad Denies Civilian Deaths

Defiant Assad Denies Ordering Bloody Syrian Crackdown -- ABC News

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defiantly denied any suggestion that he has ordered a bloody crackdown against protesters who are demanding that he resign, and claims instead that most of the people who died in the unrest were his supporters and troops.

Assad, whose regime has been condemned by the West, the Arab League and former allies, dismissed suggestions that he step down and scoffed at sanctions being imposed on Syria.

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More News On Syrian President Assad's Denials On Syrian Protest Deaths

Syria's Assad: Only a 'crazy' leader kills citizens -- MSNBC
Assad denies ordering crackdown -- Financial Times/Reuters
Al-Assad Says He Didn’t Order Crackdown on Syria Protesters -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Syria's Assad: No systematic crackdown on protesters -- Christian Science Monitor
Assad Denies Responsibility for Syrian Protest Deaths -- Voice of America
Syria's President Denies Ordering Deadly Crackdown on Protests -- Wall Street Journal
Syria's Assad denies blame for crackdown -- AFP
Feisty Barbara Walters presses Assad on deaths: 'Is this news to you?' -- Globe and Mail
Syria's al-Assad 'feels no guilt' over crackdown -- BBC
President Assad: I don't feel guilty -- The Telegraph
White House: Assad not credible about not ordering killings -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters

Syrian Leader Assad Has No Regrets Or Guilt Over Crackdown

Photo: President Assad has ruled Syria since the death of his father in 2000

Syria's Bashar al-Assad 'Feels No Guilt' Over Crackdown -- BBC

Syria's president has said that he feels no guilt about his crackdown on a 10-month uprising, despite reports of brutality by security forces.

In an interview with the US network ABC, Bashar al-Assad said he had given no orders for violence to be used against protesters but admitted "mistakes" were made.

He said he did not own the security forces or the country.

At least 4,000 people have been killed since the uprising began, the UN says.

However, Mr Assad said the UN was not credible.

Syria blames the violence on "armed criminal gangs".

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My Comment: Spoken like a true dictator .... in the meantime the armed opposition against his rule and government

Iraq Fears Unrest In Syria Will Lead To Religious And Sectarian Conflicts In The Middle East

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

Syria: Fall Of Bashar al-Assad Will Bring War To Middle East, Warns Iraq -- The Telegraph

Iraq has raised renewed fears that the Middle East will be engulfed by sectarian bloodshed if Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is deposed as the country falls into civil war.

Nouri al-Maliki gave his most unequivocal support yet to the Assad regime, and even hinted that its downfall could force Iraq into an Iranian-led alliance against the Arab world's Sunni states.

"The killing or removal of President Bashar in any way will explode into an internal struggle between two groups and this will have an impact on the region," said Mr Maliki, refering to predictions of region wide conflict between Sunni Muslims and the Shia sect. "It will end with civil war and this civil war will lead to alliances in the region. Because we are a country that suffered from the civil war of a sectarian background, we fear for the future of Syria and the whole region."

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My Comment: His concerns are justified. What saved Nouri al-Maliki and his Iraq was the surge of 150,000 US soldiers. Will the same surge happen in Syria .... of course not .... but the groundwork is being laid for a bloodshed that may be even worse than Iraq's during the height of its civil war.

Unrest And Violnece Continues In Syria As The Government Ignores Arab League Demands For Observers

Syria Again Ignores Arab League Deadline To Allow Observers -- L.A. Times

The group had warned of more severe sanctions unless a deal was signed Sunday. Syria says it is concerned about the number of monitors and how they would operate.

Reporting from Beirut—
Syria on Sunday ignored another Arab League deadline to accept observers, saying it was still negotiating details of the mission to monitor a plan aimed at ending months of bloodshed.

Arab foreign ministers had warned that they would soon tighten sanctions against President Bashar Assad's increasingly isolated regime unless a protocol for the observer mission was signed Sunday. Syrian officials maintain that they are committed to the league-negotiated plan signed last month, but have expressed concerns about the number of monitors that would be deployed and how they would operate.

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More News On The Unrest In Syria

Syria faces new sanctions as Arab League deadline passes -- CNN
Arab League gives Syria new deadline, threatens more sanctions-- Christian Science Monitor
Syria says it’s still open to Arab League observer plan, as sanctions tighten -- Washington Post/AP
Arab League Bans Travel for 19 Syria Officials Amid Violence -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Syrian secret police defect, Arab deadline passes -- Reuters
Activists say 25 killed in Syria, most in battle between army defectors and regime forces -- Washington Post
At least 23 dead in intensifying Syria violence -- Reuters
Violence in Syria swells as Biden urges Assad to go -- BBC
U.S. says Syria's Assad deepens sectarian strife -- Reuters
In Syria, fear and violence recall dark days of 1980s -- L.A. Times

Syria Is Descending Into Civil War

Syrian Security Forces Clash With Military Defectors -- The Guardian

More Syrians have been killed a day after the UN human rights chief called on the international community to protect civilians.

At least 25 people have been killed in Syria in further clashes between security forces and military defectors, according to an opposition group.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the pre-dawn skirmish in the north-western city of Idlib killed seven soldiers and police officers, as well as five anti-government army defectors and three civilians.

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More News On Syria

25 die in Syria, as defectors battle regime forces -- AP
At least 23 dead in intensifying Syria violence -- Reuters
Activists: Overnight clash in north Syria kills 15 -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters
Syria civilian death toll at least 4,000: UN -- Yahoo News/AFP
Syria: November Deadliest Month In Uprising -- Huffington Post
Post-Assad Syria would drop special Iran ties -- Reuters
Syria Would Cut Iran Military Tie, Opposition Head Says -- Wall Street Journal
Syrians Say They Are Feeling the Grip of Sanctions -- New York Times
E.U. sanctions force Shell to leave Syria -- Washington Post
Bloody, Bloodier Paths for Syria -- Noor malas, Wall Street Journal
Syria's Assad 'poses threat of sectarian conflict' -- Yahoo News/AFP
How the Arab League embraced revolution -- Bill Law, BBC

UN: Syria Is In A State Of Civil War

United Nations Says Unrest In Syria Amounts To Civil War -- New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The United Nations declared Thursday that Syria was in a state of civil war, as the death toll from nearly nine months of bloodshed rose to more than 4,000 people and more soldiers were reported to have defected from the army to join an armed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

The comments by the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, came as the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group, said security forces killed at least 24 people across the country on Thursday.

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More News On The UN Labeling The Unrest In Syria As A Civil War

Syria in civil war, UN says, deaths far above 4000 -- Sydney Morning Herald
U.N. rights chief warns of 'civil war' in Syria -- CNN
UN: Syria Battling Civil War -- Voice of America
Syria unrest: UN rights chief calls for 'urgent' action -- BBC
U.N. official calls for “urgent” actions in Syria as death toll far exceeds 4,000 -- Foreign Policy
UN: Syria on verge of civil war -- Xinhuanet
UN warns that Syria is on the cusp of civil war -- Euronews

My Comment: I am not there yet .... but if this violence escalates with more troop defections .... and a liberated area of Syria becomes established .... I would have to say yes .... Syria is now in a state of civil war.

Is A Military Coup In Syria Possible?

Moving Towards A Military Coup In Syria? -- Brian M Downing, Asia Times

The uprising in Syria turned much more violent in the past week and the Bashar al-Assad government is tottering. Civilians have obtained weapons and begun an armed resistance. Syrian soldiers are deserting and forming a Free Syrian Army. While the Arab League on Sunday voted to impose punitive economic and political sanctions on Damascus, fighting is breaking out nationwide between the Sunni majority and Shi'ite minority.

A faltering regime and rising violence often leads to a military coup. They were commonplaces in much of the developing world back in the 1950s and 1960s and a convoluted and incomplete one began in Egypt last fall. Syria is ripe for one now. The Arab League's overwhelming approval of sanctions - the first in its 66-year history - increases pressure on Assad.

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My Comment: The Alawite Shiites still control the country and it's intelligence/military apparatus. But as the violence escalates .... and it is escalating .... coups have happened in the Middle East for much less than what is happening in Syria today.

UN Accuses Syria Of "Crimes Against Humanity"

Syria Troops Have Killed More Than 250 Children, UN Report Finds -- The Guardian

Report to UN human rights council accuses Damascus of crimes against humanity and operating shoot-to-kill policy.

Syrian security forces have committed "crimes against humanity" since widespread anti-government protests began in March, according to a damning UN report (pdf) that will add to the mounting pressure on the president, Bashar al-Assad.

It said that least 256 children had been killed by government forces.

The investigation by the UN's independent international commission found patterns of summary execution, arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance and torture, including sexual violence and abuse, some of it directed against children.

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More News On The UN Accusing Syria Of "Crimes Against Humanity"

UN: Syrian Forces Killed 256 Children -- Time/AP
U.N. Report Says 250 Children Among Syria Dead -- Wall Street Journal
U.N. panel accuses Syria of gross human rights violations -- L.A. Times
U.N. report documents Syria’s crimes against protesters -- Washington Post
UN Commission: Syrian Forces Committed 'Crimes Against Humanity' -- Voice of America
Syria forces 'tortured, murdered and raped' -- Irish Times
Syria unrest: Forces commit 'crimes against humanity' -- BBC
UN report: Syrian forces commit 'gross violations' of human rights -- CNN
Assad’s security forces in Syria committing rape, torture and murder: UN inquiry -- National Post
Syria backed military crimes, says UN report -- Financial Times

Unrest In Syria -- News Updates November 28, 2011

Syria Calls Arab League Sanctions ‘Economic War’ -- New York Times

DAMASCUS, Syria — Outraged at the Arab League’s unprecedented battery of sanctions on Syria, the country’s foreign minister denounced the steps Monday as “economic war” by brethren states, and he hinted at retaliation. The reaction threatened to escalate the tensions over Syria’s violent repression of a political uprising that is now nearly nine months old.

“Sanctions are a two-way street,” the foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, told reporters at a televised news conference in Damascus. “I am not warning here, but we will defend the interests of our people,” he said in the remarks, disseminated by Arab and Western news agencies.

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More News On the Unrest In Syria

Syrian FM: Arab Sanctions 'Economic War' -- Times/AP
Syrian FM says Arab sanctions amount to ‘economic war’ against Damascus -- Washington Post/AP
Syria calls Arab sanctions 'economic war' -- Al Jazeera
Syrian foreign minister decries sanctions -- CNN
Syrians protest Arab sanctions "interference" -- Reuters
Syria hits out at Arabs over sanctions -- AFP
Syria snubs its nose at Arab League sanctions -- Sydney Morning Herald

Factbox: Sanctions imposed on Syria -- Reuters
Arab League approves sanctions against Syria -- Washington Post
Syria unrest: Arab League adopts sanctions in Cairo -- BBC
Syria sanctions: Arab League tightens grip -- BBC
Arab League approves sanctions against Syria -- L.A Times
Isolating Syria, Arab League Imposes Broad Sanctions -- New York Times

Syria troops have killed more than 250 children, UN report finds -- The Guardian
Syria security forces 'commit crimes against humanity' -- BBC
UN Report: Syria Committed Crimes Against Humanity -- Radio Free Europe
UN report: Syrian forces commit 'gross violations' of human rights -- CNN
Syria committed crimes against humanity: U.N. report -- Reuters
Syrian forces 'committed crimes against humanity' -- AFP
Syrian forces have committed crimes against humanity – UN rights panel -- UN News Centre

Syria: France says 'days are numbered' for Bashar al-Assad's regime -- The Telegraph
France says days of Syrian government are numbered -- BBC
Syrian Regime's Days Are Numbered -French Foreign Min -- Wall Street Journal

Dark clouds of war shrouding Syria -- Li Hongmei, Xinhuanet
Syria hit with new sanctions: Will this weaken Assad? -- Yasmine Saleh, Christian Science Monitor/Reuters

Homs, Centre Of Resistance To Bashar al-Assad's Rule In Syria

Syria Dispatch: Inside The Battle For Homs, Centre Of Resistance To Bashar al-Assad -- The Telegraph

The battle for Syria: angry deserters, desperate night-time battles and children shot down while playing in the street.

A heavy-machine gun was still clattering away in the pitch black as the five soldiers described how they had just deserted from the Syrian Army to join the revolution. A sixth had not made it.

"We heard him screaming," said Mahmoud Ali, one of the defecting soldiers, "but we couldn't go back. There were too many troops pouring in."

They had fought their way out of their base, running under fire to reach the Bab Amr quarter of Homs. We watched tracer fire arcing back and forth over the buildings for more than an hour. Now, people were coming out into the street to embrace them, the newest members of the Free Syrian Army.

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More News On the Unrest In Syria

Homs, Syria: Inside the City of Fear -- The Daily Beast/Newsweek
11 civilians killed in Syria: rights group -- AFP
Deserters kill 8 soldiers in Syria: activists -- AFP
New Reports of Fierce Fighting in Syria, Sanctions Loom -- Voice of America
Syrian military vows to 'cut every evil hand' of attackers -- The Guardian
Feature: Military personnel pay last honor to fallen comrades in Syria's Homs -- Xinhuanet
Syria slowly inches towards civil war -- Paul Wood, BBC
Assad Must Go -- Max Boot, Weekly Standard