and they had a lot less to lose, say, than the bigger cities like damascus and aleppo. >> narrator: atirst, in rural towns like deraa, homs, latakia, and hama, workers and farmers were timid in their demands. >> initially, when the protests went out, people were asking for dignity, they were asking for housing, subsidized heating fuel. "we want jobs. we want cheap bread." >> and it is only when the authorities turned brutal on them, deadly, that they began to chant that they want a change of regime. ( chanting in arabic ) ( applause ) >> narrator: a month after the uprising began, president assad came before parliament. syria's business and political elites applauded him. >> he walked in, and it was all very jovial. there was a lot of clapping and cheering every time he spoke. at one point, one of the members of parliament stands up and says, "sire, you are such a brilliant leader that you should not just be the leader of syria, you should be the leader of the world." >> the expectation-- not only the popular expectation but the expectation of those circles of power were that bashar al

there are reports of arrests just last night near the university in aleppo. there are claims by human rights groups that the government is deliberately targeting children. there is evidence children are being singled out in the deadly violence. >> there have been many months of crimes against humanity. the borderlands are a refuge for brutalized children. 7-year-old twins were seen with their parents, when they say soldiers opened fire. >> [speaking a foreign language] >> mohamad was struck in the knee. the violence is relentless. in a hospital, balloons to cheer the boy who has lost his leg. we cannot identify this a-year- old for fear of reprisals against his family. his father told me a tank shell was fired at their home. the family was trapped for 15 days, he said, unable to get to hospital, until they made the dangerous journey to lebanon. across the border, the syrian government blends armed rebels. it denies targeting children, and says syria is the victim of a foreign plot. in every war, children become a casualty. very often, they are the cross fires

the trial ended in a hung jury but the civil lawsuit led to a promise of a change of aleppos. policies. >> i want more proof of this but i don't trust you. i will put somebody else in and if they don't do it i will take control. >> reporter: what's the problem? city leader roulette. there are been five chiefs since then. the most recent resigned in does gift not to mention three mayors. top that with five different city administrators and that is why the judge ruled given the stagnant and decreasing level of compliance they are immediately ordered to get at proval of a federal monitor on any decision involving changes. if they fail the department is in receiver ship. >> it could mean that the chief needs to consult with them on a day today basis on every issue. >> reporter: tony faced it as the former police chief. this retired chief is surprised by the progress, particularly because the judge blasted them over internal affairs investigations, tracking guns, drawn on citizens,on racial profiling. >> if you are doing the right thing, people have to know it. >> reporter: now the

religious minorities, merchant communities in the capital and aleppo, the economic center of syria, sore is still substantial support. the interesting fact remains whether or not the middle class will continue to support him. the rich city merchants or whether they will prefer to see him replaced by someone else do to the syrian economy falling apart. >> as ever, to some much. >> a car bomb in northwestern pakistan has left at least 30 people dead and more than 60 wounded. it's a place in a market in the troubled kuiper region which borders afghanistan. local officials say the bomb hit an anti-taliban militia and set up to combat insurgents. they suspect it was started by islamist extremists. it is one of the deadliest attacks in pakistan in recent months. nigeria is being shaken by more instability with eight people reported killed by suspected islamist militants in an northern state. earlier, five people were killed in an attack on a mosque in at the southern city. there was anti-christian violence in the muslim north. there have been tense protests over rising fuel prices in nigeria

felt the shared a common home the turkish lira was even accepted at markets in the syrian city of aleppo but the honeymoon didn't last long following libya's revolution in two thousand and eleven turkey switched star its support in syria's opposition and aligned with the country's harsh enemy the us enduring thought they have. iran prevent iraq. well because now rockets come out quite strongly in support of syria and of course the lebanese government but hizbollah has also been very very critical of turkey to switch from a zero problem plus you with your neighbors to a problem create an position you need good reason turkey seems to have one america needs another actor otherwise this gap can be fulfilled by you want maybe by russia so there's a kind of let's see. co-habitation being an american talking so turkey is helping do this in exchange for some kind of stuff and through this channel turkey is profile is becoming more and more influential some of those who doubt the benefit will be equal for both sides to the turkish economy suffers a lot from the sanctions it supported against syri

felt they shared a common home the turkish leader was even accepted at markets in the syrian city of aleppo but the honeymoon didn't last long following libya's revolution in two thousand and eleven turkey switched sides support in syria's opposition and aligned with the country's harsh enemy the us enduring thought. iran. iraq. well because now rockets come out quite probably in support of syria and of course the lebanese government by his war has also been very very critical of turkey has been iran has kind of connections transformed the event into a kind of regional problem there's a problem and i should say that compared with another country it is the syrian problem that can bring the arab spring to international conflict you cannot expect this to happen in egypt but syria has a potential because of these three connections to switch from a zero problem policy with your neighbors to a problem create an position you need good reason turkey seems to have one american means another actor otherwise this gap can be fulfilled by you want maybe by russia so there's a kind of let's say. cohabita

and i have heard reports that there were similar demonstrations in other parts of the country like aleppo also and indeed yesterday after the speech of president bashar al assad at the university here is a must because that was also a number pro-government demonstrations in this city so something so some of the pictures being portrayed in the media as being some part of the muskets being rocked by and the regime protests over the past couple of days the opposition has certainly been the case but when you bring up the issue of anti regime protests the syrian president has vowed to crush what he's calling foreign funded terrorism for the people i think as well as their lobbying themselves with that concept. well yes i mean one of the five things that people seem very keen to express here is that outrage in particular. and. news channels of which is of course funded by compiled like they are they are accused of fabricating. news reports of what is happening inside the country and they also express a lot of anger towards the u.s. president barack obama french president sarkozy who's supportin

point of view of the supporters of the opposition is that big cities as you say like damascus and aleppo have seen bigger demonstrations by for for a sad than have been able to be staged against him in the centers of opposition like homs and hama the big centers of muslim brotherhood they may be intimidated by the police and the army. in effect civil civilian oppositions really been silenced both by the side supporters but also by the term tools insurrection violence even some extent terrorism by the more militant opposition and that i think is a big problem for the future of syria because it means that there isn't really there are a compromise there are people who say we would like to see peaceful evolution and people say we will fight to defend ourselves to the end but people say the only way to change the system is by using force more force what about the way he's handling this you're talking about forces and he's promised his supporters that victory against the so-called terrorist threat will come soon meaning of course extreme force more death in the country that actually contradict

there were even deaths and injuries in normally quiet aleppo today, but there's no solution in sight, and the russians have said they will veto the proposed resolution at the u.n. security council tonight. >> suarez: margaret warner takes it from there. >> warner: for more on the spiraling situation in syria, we go to ania in beirut. thank you for joining us. the head of the arab league mission in syria said today that there has been a very high escalation of violence in the last few days. is that what you're hearing from your sources? >> reporter: certainly. you know, the figures that are coming out are quite ghastly. we're hearing 50, 60, 77, as many as perhaps 96 people killed today. un, yesterday was also a figure in the high double digits. this has become the pattern over several months, these daily double-digit death tolls. however, in the past week or so we have seen what appears to be a dramatic escalation. we've also seen the military go back into this-- go back into hama. they haven't staged a major offense 95 that city since i was last there in august, early september. so,

there is also violence in the suburbs in damascus and aleppo, that two cities that have been strong supportersrnment. at the same time, the arab league is now going to the united nations and saying we need a resolution that endorses a political way out, assad steps down and a national unity is formed and that there are elections. we have a political track, we have escalating violence, we have a sense that this cannot go on. and finally, we still have russia, a very strong supporter for president assad, arming his government saying that they would veto any effort to pass a resolution that would have him step down. host: there was a roadside bomb killing soldiers by opponents of the syrian leader. also the associated press report in this moment -- this morning that the syrian military going on the offensive, trying to tamp down the demonstrators and the violence that has been in suing. guest: exactly. the other factor here is that a free syrian army, an army composed of the factors from government forces, has been growing steadily, not in huge numbers, but steadily growing. they are protecting c