Situation Growing Worse in Syria as UN Readies to Deal with Al-Assad - East Idaho News
World

Situation Growing Worse in Syria as UN Readies to Deal with Al-Assad

  Published at

Getty W 042511 SyriaProtest?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1328008333922KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Damascus has become the latest battleground in the 10-month-long war between pro-democracy dissidents and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government forces.

By nightfall Monday, al-Assad’s soldiers had apparently taken back the suburbs of the Syrian capital, which had been captured by rebel fighters joined by army deserters.

With the Arab League refusing to extend its monitoring mission in Syria, it’s feared that the violence responsible for more than 5,500 deaths throughout the country will further spiral out of control.

It is now being left to the United Nations to take some action to end what has turned into a civil war although Russia’s veto power as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council could thwart any attempts to force al-Assad out of office.

Sensing the U.N.’s continuing reluctance to get involved in Syria’s morass, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday it was time for the international community to step up and hold the Syrian government accountable for its actions.

Carney told reporters, “We believe that the Security Council should not permit the Assad regime to assault the Syrian people while it rejects the Arab League’s proposal for a political solution.”

There is a resolution in the works that endorses the Arab League proposal for al-Assad to transfer power to a vice president so that a transitional government can set up free elections.  Yet, if Russia refuses to abstain during voting time, the resolution would go nowhere.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION