Where is syria heading

But if the deadlock continues, some members of the fractured opposition may feel there is no alternative to negotiation, despite the chasm of mistrust between the two sides. But any military intervention could destabilise a region in which Assad enjoys strong support from Iran and backs militant groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. International intervention could also lead some Syrians to choose Assad over perceived foreign interference.

Analysts and some opposition activists have warned that the continuous killing may encourage people to take up arms in big numbers, pushing the country towards civil war.

Assad belongs to the minority Alawite sect which makes up around ten percent of the Syrian population. Most of the demonstrations are taking place in Sunni Muslim areas. There have been sectarian killings in some cities including Homs, but activists say so far it has been a minor part of the unrest. While some Arab League monitors will leave the country, others will stay in Damascus, but none will be conducting missions at this time, according to Ali Erfan, senior advisor to Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby.

On Tuesday, the U. Security Council failed to reach an agreement on a resolution that would call for al-Assad to step down. Arab and Western diplomats voiced their support for the draft resolution, but representatives from Russia and China slammed it as meddlesome. Russia -- which, like China, is one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council -- has said it is concerned about a Syrian civil war and does not want al-Assad pushed out of power.

It has proposed its own draft resolution that assigns equal blame for the violence on both al-Assad and the opposition. The draft that will now be considered also lacks sanctions but is tougher than the earlier version, which said nothing about transfer of power. The Syrian regime has been under international pressure to stop the crackdown -- and the U.

What did the Arab League monitors achieve in Syria? The Arab League monitoring mission in Syria has been criticized for failing to stop the al-Assad regime's deadly crackdown on anti-government protests across the country.

Read profile of President Bashar al-Assad. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi, said the mission was designed not to bring an immediate end to violence but to investigate and observe the situation. The choice of Al-Dabi to lead the mission was controversial in itself: he was part of the Sudanese security establishment that put down the rebellion in the breakaway region of Darfur a decade ago.

Still, one expert says the Arab League mission, which began on December 26, kept the world's attention focused on Syria at a time when attention had been slipping away.

While critics say al-Assad has used the Arab League mission as a cover to continue suppression of protests in Syria, Phillips says it was important that the League be seen to be acting on the Syrian crisis before taking the issue up with bigger organizations. Along with Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, which host the most refugees per capita and are thus at the top of the list of overburdened countries, are grappling with the issue of refugee self-sufficiency and sustainability.

The refugees in these countries were disproportionately affected by pandemic-related problems, on top of their already extremely precarious situation. Delivering basic needs, providing decent living conditions, and ensuring access to basic rights are still among the priorities of the organizations working in the field. Resettlement, return, and integration are the three options in the conventional approach to displacement.

Both resettlement and return, as traditional long-term solutions, do not appear likely in the near future. Integration into host communities is critical for refugees to have a decent standard of living. Hence, new approaches and burden-sharing mechanisms are crucial to addressing the displacement problem.

Living trapped in war zones, internally displaced persons IDPs in northern Syria are another face of the humanitarian crisis. Four million people, more than half of whom are children, have been living in precarious situations, and their tragedy is deepening by the day.

In July , the council agreed to extend cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria for another year after lengthy negotiations. The potential absence of cross-border aid mechanisms to northern Syria could leave over four million civilians without assistance, putting them at risk of starvation. Besides the challenges in gaining access to northern Syria, safety and security are major concerns for humanitarians.

They have been targeted by the parties to the conflict deliberately. Killing humanitarian aid and health workers, targeting hospitals and critical infrastructure are some of the violations that have amplified humanitarian crises, as they pose significant challenges to aid operations. As the Aid Worker Security Database indicates, Syria is the most dangerous place to deliver humanitarian aid. Humanitarian operations are also hampered by a lack of international political support aimed at alleviating human suffering.

Another aspect of the international response to the conflict is effective burden-sharing mechanisms.