Syria: Violence 'Seems the Only Way Out'

August 03, 2012 from Democracy Now!

The UN-Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, announced his resignation earlier this week. Both sides of the Syrian conflict have faced new accusations of committing atrocities amid escalating clashes. Democracy Now! discusses the situation in Syria and the likely impact of Annan's resignation with Charles Glass, former ABC News Chief Middle East Correspondent and author of the soon to be reissued book on Syria, "Tribes with Flags."

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Bashar al-Assad

Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Syrian-led branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has served as President since 2000, when he succeeded his father, Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 30 years prior to his death. Al-Assa... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Charles Glass

Charles Glass is an actor and screenwriter. Explore this topic

Kofi Annan

Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his founding of the Global AIDS and Health F... Explore this topic

Battle of Aleppo

Violent clashes began on 19 July in several Aleppo districts, leading to the Free Syrian Army taking control of some areas. On 24 July, for the first time since the beginning of the uprising in Syria, fighter jets bombed the city. This was part of a larger counter offensive by... Explore this topic

Free Syrian Army

The Free Syrian Army is an armed opposition structure operating in Syria during the Syrian civil war. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel and volunteers, its formation was announced on 29 July 2011 in a video released on the internet by a uniformed group of dese... Explore this topic

Battle of Damascus

The Battle of Damascus, also known as Operation Damascus Volcano, started on 15 July 2012 during the Syrian uprising. Explore this topic

Syrian conflict peace proposals

Syrian conflict peace proposals are initiatives and plans to resolve the Syrian civil war. Among the most significant attempts to resolve the conflict are the Arab League peace plan and the resulting Arab League observer mission, launched in December 2011. In addition, a Russi... Explore this topic

United Nations

The United Nations is the world's largest, foremost, and most prominent international organization. The stated aims of the United Nations include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human r... Explore this topic

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Bashar al-Assad

Syria

Syrian Civil War

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