warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Deaths Mount In Syrian Conflict As Officials Seek Temporary Truce

Elizabeth Johnson |
October 22, 2012 | 3:51 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 Freedom House via Creative Commons)
Freedom House via Creative Commons)
A Jordanian soldier was killed Monday when armed militants attempted to illegally cross the border to join rebel soldiers in Syria. Jordan’s information minister said that the soldier was the first member of the Jordanian military to be killed in the 19 months of Syrian civil war-related violence.

SEE ALSO: Foreign Policy In Five Minutes: Read This Before You Watch The Debate

Meanwhile, the UN is making plans for a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire that is proposed to begin in time for Friday’s three-day Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. The sharply divided Security Council must all agree on any peacekeeping measures.

SEE ALSO: Third Debate: Strategies Obama And Romney Should Employ

But other groups are downplaying the possibility of a ceasefire.

The BBC reported,

Our correspondent says neither the rebels nor the army have shown any sign they are prepared to stop fighting, while members of the armed opposition have said they doubt an informal ceasefire could be implemented.

SEE ALSO: Lebanese Protestors Marched On Beirut Government

Syrian rebels also doubt the possibility of a temporary truce, Reuters reported. "This truce is just a media bubble. Who is going to implement it and who is going to supervise it?” said Colonel Qassem Saadeddine who heads a rebel military council in Homs province. Though Saadeddine voiced his doubts, he also added, “We are still committed to any UN decision.”

SEE ALSO: Bomb In Beirut Kills 8 As Tension Over Syria Rises

More than 200 people were killed Sunday, and clashes and army shelling continued in various towns across the nation Monday.

For more of Neon Tommy’s coverage of the Syrian conflict, click here.

Reach Executive Producer Elizabeth Johnson here. Follow her on Twitter here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness