The violence comes in the wake of the veto of the UN Security Council’s resolution condemning Syria’s government. Western officials insis that the veto was a “license to kill” for the Assad regime.

The resolution, however, had already ruled out the military invasion some were seeking, and while it still left open calls for a negotiated settlement, the armed opposition appears to have no interest in that. Free Syrian Army commander Col. Assad insisted that “only military options are on the table.”

While the veto gives Western officials a chance to blame Russia and China for the continuing violence in Syria, there was little chance that the UN was going to stop it. Instead, a civil war continues to spread in the absence of any serious efforts to settle things, and even the Arab League’s monitors are long gone.

The new resolution saw a number of significant changes, including an explicit clause rejecting the “use of force or the threat of force” by the international community and calling for a resolution “without foreign military intervention.”

Russia had expressed concern that the original version of the resolution, which included vague references to “consequences,” would leave open the door for NATO to launch another Libya-style war of regime change claiming UN imprimatur.

The exact problems with the new resolution aren’t entirely clear, but reportedly the language affirming that all members of the Security Council “fully support” the Arab League’s plan is one sticking point, with Russia saying it does not want the resolution to “predetermine” the outcome of any internal negotiations on a settlement.

Indeed, Arab League leader Nabil ElAraby is backpedaling so quickly that he’s revising history, insisting now that the Arab League’s “Yemen solution” for Assad to step down in favor of his Vice President never really meant for Assad to step down but instead of delegate certain powers.

A new compromise resolution is reportedly in the works, and it will finally answer long-standing Russian demands for a resolution “without foreign military intervention” and expressly including a clause warning nations not to “resort to the use of force or the threat of force.”

But while the “Yemen solution” appears dead so far as Syria’s government is concerned, and the UN Security Council resolution is not going to force the issue, US and European governments are hard at work looking for a potential exile locale for Assad, should he eventually decide to step down. His choices appear limited – reportedly no European nation will take him, and the Saudis, the default exile hosts for most Arab dictators, do not particularly like Assad either. The United Arab Emirates is reportedly “open” to the idea, but this seems far from a solid deal, presenting one more obstacle to a negotiated solution.

Russia has been fairly clear about this since before the resolution was even proposed, saying it would reject the vague draft over concerns that NATO or the Arab League would use the mention of unspecified “consequences” as an excuse to launch a military invasion.

After a day of long-winded speeches condemning Syria and Russia yesterday, mostly insisting that an invasion wasn’t even being considered, Russia’s ambassador Vitaly Churkin made the position clear again, saying any Syria resolution not explicitly ruling out military intervention would be vetoed. And despite the claims that Russia is merely being paranoid, there appears to be no interest in putting such assurances in writing.

Despite the resolution being dead on arrival, French FM Alain Juppe expressed hope that a deal could be reached with Russia that would allow the resolution to pass next week. He insisted the speeches by NATO members were “grounds for positive thinking.”

The Arab League is pushing a resolution demanding Syrian President Bashar Assad immediately step down. The resolution is eagerly backed by NATO member nations, but is almost certain to be vetoed by Russia.

Russia’s concern centers around fears that NATO or the Arab League would use the resolution as an excuse to invade Syria if Assad doesn’t step down. Most of the speeches from NATO and Arab League members consisted of mocking Russia and insisting this was a “conspiracy theory.”

And while everyone was insisting today that the threat of war was a myth, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have both been pushing for debate on putting Arab League troops on the ground in Syria, and NATO member Turkey is also seen to be considering an invasion to create a “humanitarian corridor” in the nation’s north.

Those pushing the UN resolution point to the growing civil war between the government and the defector forces loyal to the Free Syrian Army (FSA). There is significant doubt, however, that the resolution would settle anything between the two factions, even if it did convince Assad to transfer power to his deputy.

Russia, for its part, has sought to start negotiations between the Assad regime and opposition forces, but the interventionist elements in the international community seem to be averse to it, and the Syrian National Council (SNC) has ruled out any negotiations under any circumstances.

At the same time, Russia is pushing an effort of their own to settle the incipient civil war in Syria, calling for talks in Moscow between Syrian officials and some of the opposition leaders. Syria’s government has reportedly already agreed to this plan.

At least one of the opposition factions, however, is rejecting the call for talks. A top member of the Syrian National Council (SNC) insisted that his group rejects the notion of talks on general principle. So far there is no word if any other factions, like the Free Syrian Army (FSA), might take part.

Russia has expressed concern that any vague wordings in a UN resolution could be used by NATO for another Libya-style regime change. With some Arab League members, notably Saudi Arabia and Qatar, openly advocating a military invasion of Syria, it seems hard to deny the possibility.

In some ways this reflects Russia’s growing willingness to challenge NATO at the UN Security Council, but it is also a product of NATO’s increasing eagerness to use the council to rubber stamp its operations.

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Major violence was reported in Homs and Hama, while the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has captured the Damascus suburb of Saqba, the site of several major anti-Assad rallies in recent days.

The UN resolution the Arab League is pushing would demand Assad immediately accept their call to resign and hand over control of the nation to Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa. The resolution includes an unspecified threat of consequences in retaliation if Assad refuses.

Which is why the resolution is almost certain to fail. The Russian government is planning to veto any resolution which includes vague language of “consequences,” fearing that NATO or other groups could use it as a pretext for an invasion. Since the GCC nations in the Arab League also seem to be pushing a “military option” this is likely a real concern.

The Sahel is a belt which spans Northern Africa just south of the Libyan border. The UN report cautioned that now that the arms were outside Libya they could spread across the continent, and were likely to reach the Boko Haram faction in Nigeria as well as al-Qaeda’s auxiliary in the area, al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

AQIM has said as much several times, terming themselves one of the “main beneficiaries” of the NATO-backed civil war in Libya. The exact extent of the weapons looted from the Gadhafi regime’s arsenals are so vast they will likely never be fully accounted for.

At least 15 combatants were also killed across the nation, including seven members of the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) deserter force and eight members of the Syrian military killed in ongoing clashes between the two. Fighting was reported on the outskirts of Damascus.

In addition, opposition figures claim that some 800 people have been arrested by the regime, including 600 in Homs and 200 around Damascus. They also claimed the suburb of Douma has been blocked off entirely, with no one allowed to enter or leave.

The Arab League has responded to the reports of continued violence, saying that they intend to take their existing “Yemen solution” plan to the United Nations Security Council, with a meeting expected Monday.

The “Yemen solution” plan would have Syrian President Bashar Assad transferring control over the nation to Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa, one of the longest serving members of the Ba’athist regime. It was modeled after the GCC plan for Yemen, which aimed at replacing Ali Abdullah Saleh with US-backed Major General Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Syria’s government has already rejected the Arab League plan, but the Arab League is still trying to find a leader for the delegation to push the plan. Former IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei is said to have rejected the job.

Elsewhere, 11 Iranian pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria by an as yet unidentified opposition faction. Opposition figures have broadcast a forced confession of the pilgrims, claiming they came to Syria to plot against the protesters on the regime’s behalf.