reuters:

“There is a tear at the fabric of Syria.”  - humans rights researcher 

Syria’s savagery is preventing peace: brutality has been used as a tool since revolt began two years ago, when videos emerged of government soldiers torturing pro-democracy protesters.

In response to the crackdown, the opposition took up arms and now fighters from both sides are filming themselves committing atrocities. 

Details of the worst atrocities are coming to light even now. 

The United States and Russia have proposed a peace conference to try to end the war, but savagery from both sides means that the unlikely event of a peace agreement might not stop atrocities and fighting between increasingly disparate militias.

At least 94,000 people have been killed during Syria’s two-year conflict, but the death toll may be as high as 120,000, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday. 

Continue reading about Syria’s war. 

Photo: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

msnbc:

From Andrea Mitchell Reports:

As the rebellion in Syria against dictator Bashar al Assad continues to explode, the regime is still outgunning the opposition, most recently raining Scud missiles on civilian areas in Aleppo. With the death toll mounting, senior administration officials tell NBC NEWS that the U.S. will announce a policy shift.

File Photo: Picture dated 1997 shows Bashar al-Assad, son of President Hafez al-Assad. (Photo by Ramzi Haidar/AFP/Getty Images File)

Syria defiant after PM Riad Hijab defection

(via BBC News - Syria defiant after PM Riad Hijab defection)

Obama authorizes secret support for Syrian rebels

By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON | Wed Aug 1, 2012 9:04pm EDT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, sources familiar with the matter said.

(via Obama authorizes secret support for Syrian rebels | Reuters)

aljazeera:

A Syrian woman in the town of Houla says she hid behind a door as gunmen shot dead children in the house.

The government has blamed “terrorists” for the killings, which the opposition said were carried out by government forces and pro-Assad thugs.

(via huffingtonpost)

U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Louis Charbonneau AMMAN/UNITED NATIONS | Sun May 27, 2012 7:51pm EDT (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Sunday unanimously condemned the killing of at least 108 people, including many children, in the Syrian town of Houla, a sign of mounting outrage at the massacre that the government and rebels blamed on each other. (via U.N. Security Council condemns Syria over massacre | Reuters)

reuters:

The United States announced on Monday it was closing its embassy in Syria due to the worsening security situation, further isolating Damascus over its bloody crackdown on anti-government protests.

The State Department, which warned late last month that it would close the embassy unless security concerns were addressed, said it had suspended embassy operations and withdrawn all embassy personnel including Ambassador Robert Ford.

“We, along with several other diplomatic missions, conveyed our security concerns to the Syrian government but the regime failed to respond adequately,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

Read more: U.S. closes embassy in Syria due to violence