UN Considers Action Against Syria

Amid violence and unrest in Syria has the UN Security Council proposing a resolution that would call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down from office and transfer power to a new government.

Reports from the Syrian State Media Monday say that the ‘terrorists’ have blown up a gas pipeline near the border with Lebanon.

According to a Breaking News Report from The Associated Press at 4:30am ET:

Syrian activists report hearing gunfire and explosions in suburbs of Damascus as the country’s conflict moves ever closer to the capital.

Monday’s reports by the Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group, could not be independently confirmed.

On Sunday, Syrian troops in dozens of tanks and armored vehicles stormed rebellious areas near the capital, shelling neighborhoods that have fallen under the control of army dissidents and clashing with fighters.

Activists and residents said at least 62 people were killed in violence nationwide.

The widescale Sunday offensive suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, the seat of President Bashar Assad’s power.

The reports of the effects of Syrian violence differ, depending on whose statistics are cited.  According to CNN:

 The United Nations last month estimated that more than 5,000 people have died since March, when the government launched a crackdown against demonstrators. Opposition groups estimate a higher death toll, with counts near or exceeding 7,000 people.

The opposition has blamed the deaths on government actions. The Syrian government says terrorists are responsible for the casualties.