Protests in Syria (Courtesy of Creative Commons)

On the eve of the Syrian revolt's 1-year anniversary-- an uprising that has cost nearly 8,000 lives-- the Syrian army isn't showing signs of backing down.

Reuters reported:

• With the anniversary of the revolt falling on March 15, the Syrian army appears to have multiplied its attacks on opposition strongholds this week, sweeping rebels from the northwestern city of Idlib and sending up to 130 tanks and armored vehicles to the southern city of Deraa.  The city lies adjacent to Jordan and was the site of some of the first protests against Assad a year ago.

The conflict between Syrian President Bashar Assad and the Syrian rebels has heightened over the past months, causing other countries to deem Assad's actions as "humanity crimes."  The United States and 60 other countries also united as part of a "Friends of Syria" conference last month, demanding that Assad stop committing violent acts against his own people and allow the Red Cross to help wounded civilians.

Even Russia- an ally of Syria that had disagreed with the U.N.'s pressure on Assad- has begun voicing its frustration that Assad is being "too slow" at reforming, according to The Associated Press.

• "Regrettably, [Assad] hasn't always followed our advice in his activities," said Sergey Lavrov- Russia's foreign minister. "He has approved useful laws reviving the system and making it more pluralistic. But it has been done after a long delay, and the proposals about launching a dialogue also have been slow to come. Meanwhile, the armed confrontation is expanding and its inertia may sweep and engulf all."
• Lavrov said none of the weapons Russia currently is supplying to Syria could be used against the protesters and that the arms trade is aimed at helping Syria fend off external threats. Russia backs Assad's claim that the uprising is a foreign conspiracy and that weapons and militants have been brought into Syria from abroad.
• "We aren't standing up for the regime or specific personalities, we are defending the international law that demands that internal conflicts are settled without foreign interference," Lavrov told the parliament.

On Saturday, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan met with President Assad to discuss negotiations "aimed at pushing the Syrian leader to order a ceasefire and begin talks with the opposition."

Though Assad said he wanted to find a solution, he also said that “such an effort would first require a look at reality on the ground and not relying on what ‘is promoted by some regional and international countries to distort the facts and give a picture contrary to what Syria is undergoing."