Drumbeat For Action Against Syria's Assad Grows Louder

The ongoing civil war in Syria has led to more than 100,000 dead, more than 2 million refugees situated in grim camps in Syria, Turkey, Jordan, and the entire region is in turmoil, especially after the latest reports indicating that chemical weapons of some kind were used against civilian populations in a Damascus suburb.

It's the latest in a string of scattered incidents involving chemical

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The Latest Casualty In Syria's Civil War: Aleppo's Historic Souk

Syria's civil war continues to rage on and the casualties continue rising. As the tally of those refugees displaced by the war grows to a record level in the 21st century, the body count continues rising as the tally from a Syrian military airstrike on a town near Syria's northern border was 21, including eight children. At the same time, among the latest casualties is Aleppo's historic souk,

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Mass Casualties Reported In Syrian Airstrike on Gas Station

Reports are filtering in, but it appears that the Syrian air force carried out an airstrike against a gas station in Northern Syria, and at least 30 and perhaps 100 or more people were killed. That follows reports from the Syrian media a Syrian helicopter apparently clipping an airliner flying into Damascus with 200 people on board. The plane landed safely, but the helicopter crashed.One activist

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Syrian Civil War Update: Even Bread Lines Aren't Safe From Assad's Attacks

Bashar al Assad is feeling the heat on all fronts. His security forces and loyalist goons can't stop the rebel forces from gaining and holding territory despite having a monopoly on air power and artillery. His backers remain at Iran, Russia, and China, and that may not be enough to keep him in power.

Egypt's new President Mohamad Morsi has called for an intervention in Syria and told Iran that

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Foreign Fighters Flocking To Syria As Civil War Continues

Dozens of people were killed near Damascus when the Syrian military opened fire on apartment complexes in the city. The fighting is particularly intense in Daraya, on the southwest edge of Damascus, and in Hajar al-Aswad. Both are rebel strongholds. At least 10 security forces were killed when rebels attacked a government checkpoint on the Daraa-Damascus highway.

Meanwhile, foreign fighters are

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War Crimes Abound As Syrian Civil War Drags On

It should come as no surprise that war crimes are an ongoing feature of the Syrian civil war. Whether it's the Syrian military operating at the behest of Bashar al-Assad bombarding civilian areas or his loyalist militias engaging in massacres, or rebel forces murdering captured government officials by throwing them off rooftops, war crimes are an ongoing concern and worry for Syrians and the

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Is Assad's Regime On Verge of Collapsing?

According to the recently defected former Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, Bashar al-Assad's regime controls no more than 30% of the country and it's on the verge of collapsing. “Based on my experience and my position, the regime is falling apart morally, materially, economically,” the former official, Riyad Farid Hijab, said at a news conference in Amman, Jordan. “Its military is rusting, and it only

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Carnage Continues Across Syria

Amnesty International has released satellite imagery showing artillery impact craters for Aleppo and its surrounding towns. It shows hundreds of craters and just how intense the fighting has been. The international human rights group said both sides fighting in Aleppo, the country's largest city, might be held criminally accountable for their failure to protect civilians.

It said the images,

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More Defections as Casualties Climb Across Syria

The butchers' bill continues rising courtesy of Bashar al-Assad's security forces as they attempt to rebuff rebel forces in Aleppo and other parts of Syria. The security forces aren't exactly distinguishing themselves in anything other than running up a body count.

There have been an increasing number of defections, including another general among those seeking refuge in Turkey today. The rebel

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As Civil War Rages On, Syrian Foreign Minister Defects to Jordan

This is potentially a significant turning point in the ongoing Syrian civil war. The Syrian prime minister Riyad Hijab has defected to Jordan, although Bashar al-Assad's media outlets claim he was fired:President Bashar al-Assad fired his prime minister on Monday, Syria’s official media reported, as activists countered that he had defected with several officials and military commanders in what

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Assad Preparing For Aleppo Assault as Civil War Rages On

Reports indicate that Bashar al-Assad's forces are preparing for a ground offensive against rebel-held areas of Aleppo. That will most certainly increase the casualties significantly over the already high tallies seen across the country in recent weeks. Syria on Friday amassed troops in the northern city of Aleppo in preparation for an onslaught on rebel-held areas and the opposition reported a

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Kofi Annan Resigns As Envoy as Syrian Civil War Intensifies

The outcome was all but assured. Bashar al-Assad paid lip service to United Nations Envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, and his plan to end the ongoing violence wracking Syria for more than a year and a half. So Kofi has quit as envoy.

Assad continues to claim that foreign entities and terrorists are to blame for the violence, but it's Annan's security forces and loyalist goon squads who have introduced

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Aleppo Besieged As Assad and Rebels Claim Victories

The fighting in and around Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub, continues and the number of refugees is soaring. 200,000 have fled the city as a result of the brutal fighting on the streets and in the buildings of multiple neighborhoods around the city.

Both Assad and rebel forces have claimed victories. Assad's forces have claimed that they've overrun rebel held areas and retaken the city after

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Aleppo Bracing For Assad's Forces

Syria is in a state of civil war and has been for some time. Rebel forces have captured territories outside of the major cities and provinces of Hama and Homs as Assad's gaze has focused on retaking those areas. It's left outlying provinces to their own devices. They're running things without Assad's government goons in sight:As the Syrian state recedes, the people in this village and villages

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Aleppo Under Siege As Assad's Forces Attack From Air and Golan Heights DMZ

Israel is contacting the United Nations over an incursion by more than 500 Syrian soldiers into the DMZ between Israel and Syria in the process of attacking rebel targets near the demarcation line. Following the incident, in which 500 soldiers and 50 vehicles crossed into the demilitarized zone, Israel filed a formal complaint to the UN secretary general and to the president of the UN's Security

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Rebels Pushed Back In Damascus As They Gain Ground Elsewhere

Bashar al Assad's Syrian military has managed to push back an offensive by rebel forces in the capital of Damascus. It was not without a heavy toll in civilian casualties, which seems to be the norm in the fighting there.

Artillery attacks and airstrikes from helicopters are causing significant damage across the city, particularly in the area of Midan:On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for

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Rumors Rampant That Assad's On The Run

Everything is on rumor at the moment. No one seems to have seen Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad in the past few days, particularly since the attacks began in Damascus proper and especially after the bombing that took out his defense ministers yesterday.

The silence is fueling rumors of his whereabouts and whether he's still in control of the government. However, considering that there were a

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Striking at the Heart of Assad's Regime

Fighting has intensified in and around Damascus over the past couple of days, but today's news is breathtaking in its consequences. A suicide bomber, who apparently was a bodyguard, blew up at a meeting of high ranking security officials.

Bashar al-Assad's brother in law and defense minister were killed in the blast. At the same time several reports indicate that more generals have defected.

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Concerns Mounting Over Possible Balkanization of Syria

Syria remains in the throes of a civil war, and there are reports indicating that Assad may be trying to carve out an Alawite sector of the country, essentially engaging in ethnic cleansing so that the Alawite minority can retain control over some geographical portion of Syria. They point to an increasing trend of sectarian attacks.

I don't think Assad's thinking about retaining just part of

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Syrian Civil War Bloodletting Continues

It's been apparent that Syria has been waging a civil war for nearly a year now, but a growing number of diplomats and International Red Cross are being forced to realize that the situation isn't a mere insurrection or rebels or terrorists fighting against Bashar al-Assad's regime as Assad would have the world believe.

Rebel groups have been taking and holding territory around the country, but

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