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The Arab League’s call for peacekeepers to enter Syria have been flatly rejected by the Syrian government. The embattled government in Damascus said the call constituted “flagrant interference” in its affairs even as it resumed shelling cities for a 10th straight day. At least 23 people were killed on Sunday in Homs, two days after dual explosions rocked the city of Aleppo on Friday killing 28 people and wounding another 238. The attacks marked the spread of violence to the country’s largest city and come at a time of intensifying efforts by the Bashar Al Assad regime to quell the popular uprising and increasingly armed resistance against its rule. International efforts to end the killing in Syria, have been met with opposition from Russia, who has vowed to veto any UN resolution aimed at forcing the Assad family out of power. During a February 7th visit to Syria, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Russian support for the Syrian President and its commitment to a peaceful resolution to the crisis without Western intervention. The visit coincided with a week of shelling by government artillery on the cities of Homs and Hama that have killed or injured hundreds. Reports indicate a rapidly deteriorating situation for the cities’ civilian population as food and power supplies dwindle and sniper fire and bombings increase. The violence in Homs has recently taken on a sectarian slant with reports of Sunni families being executed by pro-government Alawites, members of the the same sect of Islam as the country’s minority ruling class. The Assad regime’s increasingly brutal tactics against opposition and a worsening security situation on the ground have led some in the United States government, which closed its Embassy to Syria on the 6th, to argue for a more aggressive approach in aiding anti-government groups. On Thursday, Arizona Senator John McCain advocated providing “military equipment” to opposition forces outside the auspices of the United Nations despite concerns of increased the violence and instability that an infusion of weaponry might entail.

GUEST: Reese Erlich, veteran freelance foreign correspondent, recently traveled across Middle East on assignment for The Guardian (London), Christian Science Monitor and ABC (Australia) Radio. He is also the author of “The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis” and his latest book is called “Conversations with Terrorists: Middle East Leaders on Politics, Violence, and Empire.”

Find more about Reese at www.reeseerlich.com