The Syrian government seems determined to push ahead with its
crackdown
against pockets of armed opposition in Homs and many other centres. It's also stepped up operations near all the country's borders to stop the flow of arms being smuggled to rebel fighters. As the carnage continues, the outside world is struggling to find a way forward after the Russian and Chinese veto of an otherwise
unanimous
UN Security Council resolution. The trend is towards beefing up support for the Syrian opposition at the risk of hastening the slide towards a sectarian civil war.
Libya is expelling Syria's top diplomat and his staff in protest against the Syrian government's efforts to suppress the opposition. The Libyan National Transitional Council has given the Syrians 72 hours to leave Libya. Jonathan Head has this report.
After the success of their own revolution, many people in Libya
feel strong sympathy for
the uprising in Syria. The transitional government that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi last year was the first to give official recognition to the opposition Syrian National Council. A small number of Libyan volunteer fighters have gone to support the Free Syrian Army. Now the government has ordered the Syrian mission here to shut down and told the charge d'affaires and all his staff to leave Libya within 72 hours. A government spokesman said this was to show Libya's anger over the assault by Syrian military forces on opposition strongholds like the city of Homs.