Syria unrest spirals out of control

(CBS News) 

A roadside bomb attack on a police truck carrying prisoners killed at least 14 people in northwestern Syria Saturday, and a battle between troops and defectors near the Turkish border killed another 10.

The U.S. said Friday night the ongoing violence may force it to close its embassy in Damascus. CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer is in the capital.

On most days Damascus is still the calm at the center of Syria's political storm.

But just six miles from the city center, it's a no-man's land sealed off by the Syrian army.

Syria's opposition: "We will carry on"
Ambush on Syrian police truck kills 14

Speaking from a moving vehicle, Palmer said: "We were held at a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Douma, a suburb of Damascus for over an hour. While we waited, we could hear the sound of gunfire. Finally the soldiers waved us inside. It's eerily quiet except for military at almost every corner."

Just an hour earlier, video posted on the Internet showed the streets of Douma filled with anti-government protesters. By the time Palmer and her crew were allowed in, residents told them they ran away when the shooting started.

Over the years, anyone who challenged the ruling family was either exiled or jailed, like Dr Abdul Aziz Khayer, an opposition leader now out of prison and deeply worried by the past 10 months of vicious fighting.

"It must be a warning to all those, and they must act very quickly and very effectively to avoid the progress of civil war."

But calls for political dialogue are lost in the growing chorus of religious hatred and the volleys of gunfire.

It's a tragedy both for Syria and for the embryonic opposition .

"If the battle is lost," said Khayer, "most of us will be either jailed or executed. We know that. So we must not lose our fight. "

Outside the capital, spiraling mistrust and murder suggest it may already be too late.

[johnsnow6]

read an interesting article about this over at http://kholasa.net but it was in arabic. probably should give it a read.

[slatep]

Find Assad.!

Drop a neutron bomb on him.

End of butchery of his own people.!!

[-LiftingSkirts-]

drop? you don't drop N-bombs. What a dumb thing to say. N-bombs have to be detonated high up!

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

China and Russia prevent any real action being taken to stop the violence just as we prevent any real action being taken to stop Israel's violence.

Same crap, just opposite sides of the fence.

[antoniof123]

Sick isn't it.

[summarex]

This is what happens when regimes are afraid to take tough action at the onset of hostilities. The Syrians should have realized that executing 100 a year ago could have saved the lives of thousands.

[indigenarojo]

This article omits the most important aspect of this conflict. It is not so much a civil war as it is a proxy war between the Shiite government of Assad backed by the Iran and the Sunni opposition backed by Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US. The US is already heavily involved in trying to overthrow another Arab government, albeit covertly at this point.

[indigenarojo]

This article omits the most important aspect of this conflict. It is not so much a civil war as it is a proxy war between the Shiite government of Assad backed by the Iran and the Sunni opposition backed by Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US. The US is already heavily involved in trying to overthrow another Arab government, albeit covertly at this point.

[indigenarojo]

The quality of this article is simply pitiful. This is not a civil war so much as it is a proxy war between Shiites (the Assad government) backed by Iran and Sunnis backed by Saudi Arabia (plus Israel and the US). The Shiite-Sunni division is the most important feature of almost every struggle in the Muslim world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, but rarely gets mentioned. The insurgency would collapse tomorrow without outside support. The US is already covertly involved on a large scale.

[indigenarojo]

The quality of this article is simply pitiful. This is not a civil war so much as it is a proxy war between Shiites (the Assad government) backed by Iran and Sunnis backed by Saudi Arabia (plus Israel and the US). The Shiite-Sunni division is the most important feature of almost every struggle in the Muslim world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, but rarely gets mentioned. The insurgency would collapse tomorrow without outside support. The US is already covertly involved on a large scale.

[usunus]

The rebels had banked heavily on NATO intervention like in Libya.But as luck would have it that moment has passed.They now probably depend mostly on foreign mercenaries and supplies of foreign arms and ammunition.

[antoniof123]

I have been saying this is civil war now for a long time.

Of course look at how it started the people wanted small reforms but the leader started shooting and then they wanted him out.

What a fool he had the chance to become a great leader and loved by all instead he choose not history but infamy.