New Syrian Massacre:more than 200 people killed in the Sunni village of Tremseh

 Reports of New Syrian Massacre

Syrian opposition activists reported more than 200 people killed in the Sunni village of Tremseh (NYT)by government forces using tanks and helicopters. The incident, if confirmed, would be the worst of a series of reported abuses against civilians in the crackdown by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Initial reports of the attack came as the UN Security Council was drafting a resolution to press Assad and the opposition to honor a cease-fire, allow monitors to resume their work, and carry out special envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan.

"A loose alliance of struggling capitalist democracies now finds itself face to face with two authoritarian despotisms—Russia and China—something new in the annals of political science: kleptocracies that mix the market economy and the police state. These regimes will support tyrannies like Syria wherever it is in their interest to do so," writes Michael Ignatieff in the New York Review of Books.

"The fact that Syrian revolutionaries are not receiving the help they need to win the battle against the Syrian regime will certainly prolong the conflict. While many Syrians are disappointed by this indifference, I believe it is better for the future of Syria and its independence," says human rights activist Maher Arar in al-Jazeera.