Syrian crisis unabating despite international mediation efforts

Syrian government troops and a shattering opposition continue to trade fire unabatingly despite international diplomatic efforts to ease the 19-month-old turmoil. Government forces suffered an unusually high death toll of 78 from rebel attacks on Thursday, after dropping bombs at rebel positions around the country killing hundreds, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The rights group said the mass killing of soldiers occurred after the rebels took over a checkpoint west of Saraqeb town in northern Idlib province which has seen intense fighting between Syrian troops and rebels lately. A video appeared on-line Thursday showing the rebels executing 20 Syrian soldiers in Idlib. The rebels had the soldiers lie on ground and stepped over them before showering them with gunfire. Furthermore, violence has long managed its way into the capital Damascus which was relatively peaceful in the first several months of the crisis. On Wednesday, at least 12 people were killed in three explosions that rattled the Syrian political center. Amid louder-than-ever gunfire, regional and world powers have been diligently trying to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Reasserting that a political settlement is the only viable solution in Syria, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi proposed to UN-Arab League Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi a phase by phase ceasefire and negotiations for a gradual political transition. When meeting with Brahimi, whose call for truce during the Muslim holiday of Eid was largely ignored by both sides, Yang elaborated China's new four-point proposal, urging all parties to cease fire and begin political transition at an early date. Yang urged parties involved to stop fighting and cooperate with Brahimi's mediation efforts, to appoint empowered interlocutors as soon as possible, and to take concrete steps to ease the humanitarian crisis. Yang also called on the international community to cooperate with and support Brahimi's mediation efforts and make real progress in implementing the communique of the Geneva foreign ministers' meeting of the Action Group for Syria, Kofi Annan's six-point plan and UN Security Council resolutions. Meanwhile, the United States has called for a reshuffle of Syria's opposition leadership, exposing a rift between the world power and the largely foreign-based Syrian National Council (SNC). "We've made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of Syrian opposition due next week in Qatar. Besides, watering down its former tone against the leadership of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it is up to the UN Security Council to decide whether to impose a no-fly zone or safe passage for people fleeing the violence. "This subject is something for the UN Security Council to decide...If the UN hasn't made this decision, we have no authority, no right to declare such a zone in northern Syria," Erdogan said on Wednesday. According to UN estimates, more than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have reportedly died in Syria since the country's crisis began in March 2011. A further 2.5 million Syrians urgently need humanitarian aid, and over 340,000 have crossed the border to neighboring countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.