nearly two dozen killed in the past two days alone and buildings heavily shelled correspondent sara firth was there. when we got that we were met by the free syrian army now have control of the area and they showed us around they took us into the stands and there was this absolutely massive anti-government demonstration going on there's a funeral procession going on at the same time as well so.

crackdown on the opposition in the flashpoint city of homs is escalating and it's from there now that sara firth reports for r.t. .

have seen nearly two thousand killed in the past two days and buildings heavily shelled aren't you sara firth has exclusive footage from the besieged town.

sara firth reports there's a desperate need for professional mediators in the region conflict. crucially was also expected to happen is that they are going to be bolstering this mission by increasing the numbers and also by providing training by the un to these officials now we've actually been following them for the past five days and was become extremely clear is that certainly what is needed now it is more facilitation of dialogue between all these different groups that you see now in the country between the opposition between the government one of the major questions being raised at the end of this particular mandate was just how successful the mission had been in sort of advancing the situation here in the country does need that's where the u.n. training is going to come and play a very pivotal role because what's desperately needed in the country right now are people who are very experienced conflict resolution to stop promoting genuine dialogue now between all the many different sides nuclear really was the need to bridge these widening gaps than in the town of zabadani

and rebel fighters are raging on the outskirts of the capital damascus and that's exactly where sara firth is joining us now live here on our feet sara so with this uncompromising threat from the opposition it looks like the syrian conflict is beginning to resemble what happened in libya. well there's certainly an end to the need phase of the crisis here in the country you're seeing an increasingly civil conflict evidence ready by the violence has broken out for the past couple of days between the two sides now that's not being housed by the statement by one of the members of the main opposition body the syrian national council high somalia head said that assad and his family would be killed like gadhafi now that's a very very far cry from the calls we had originally from the opposition for democracy and freedom within the country and certainly does against a few of the stairs on both sides really there's going to be retaliation and revenge attacks coming in the feature and certainly that is a genuine fear amongst the people here you're seeing a very polarized country right now and the div

people reportedly killed the area is now under control of the free syrian army and our correspondent sara firth was there when violence flared up she now joins us live sara good to see you're ok tell us what did you see there. well this was in the damascus suburb of the as he said. and we went there with other various members of the press and if they would actually started the day with the arab league observers and it was thought that they were going to travel to one of these areas i have thought what they ended up doing was just sort of circling around the city here in damascus and going back to the hotel where that they say that point other members of the press it decided to push on and visit this particular suburb and essentially when we got there we were met by the free syrian army now have control of the area and they showed us around they took us into the stand there was absolutely massive anti-government demonstration going on there's a funeral procession going on at the same time as well so we were able to speak to the people who were living in this area to speak to some of the free syr

oh well amid intensifying of fighting between of the syrian army and opposition groups artie's sara firth has been to an area near the capital which was recently taken over by rebel fighters as she reports although the opposition is united against the regime they are poles apart on their methods. again message from the protesters in a suburb of damascus as a funeral takes place. we don't want killing don't we don't want to. grab see children killing we don't read them we don't know what we will do you have to live. here i mean this this is going to all come to us for now they fail safety is being provided by the free syrian army the guerrilla body made up of many army defectors like to say its presence here has enabled protests like these to go ahead . the military cannot come in anymore because the free syrian army is protecting us we support the free syrian army and we support. the former army colonel heads the f.s.a. from the broad he's been steadfast from the start and his calls the foreign military intervention. say far void of partnerships with any other opposition elements he sees

monetary fund to make savings cuts to qualify for desperately needed bailout money our correspondent sara firth witness to the worsening crisis in greece in two thousand and eleven and reports from athens on what's been a turbulent year with an uncertain want to. well it's just been such a challenging year for the people here in the country because it's been all about that this year and the bells that that very bit of stacks of it now i will tell so the people hit us that just because of that we get a little bit like it's really affected so many people here in the country every household felt the brunt of this the scene and you love the famous springing up here in the country even here this evening the results that are very clear you can see lots of people out on the fifth fleet a rope on the streets tonight so many different people signed up to their discontent and so many young people it's all that you were speaking to a full team fifteen is a very nascent day to very well educated people that are happening to grapple with extremely big issues and they're you know doing their part see turning

see nearly two dozen killed in the past two days and buildings heavily shelled our correspondent sara firth was there. when we got there we were met by the free syrian army now have control of the area and they showed us around they took us into the center there was absolutely massive anti-government demonstration going on there's a funeral procession going on at the same time as well so we were able to speak to the people who were living in this area to speak to some of the free syrian army members as well because of course a very little is known about who exactly these people are really have made it very very clear to us just how divided the country is now becoming whilst we were that there was sort of a moment of confusion we did hear gunshots in the background some of the crowd got nervous and started running which for we we were all sort of told it was it was safer to leave and we then left that area a very tense situation certainly a very dangerous situation for the civilians in this area as well you gave these suburbs you can see bullet holes in the walls it's not really claire and s

and our correspondent sara firth is in syria she's been posting updates on the situation in her blog on dot com for you to keep track of the latest and still to come here on keeping track of the business world's top tier they're all meeting in davos switzerland the world's economic elite all getting their choppers and private jets on issues to tackle the eurozone recession forced to make some profit along the way while those worst hit by financial troubles find themselves locked out of the for. thousands of egyptians are in cairo's now iconic to rear square to mark a year since the uprising that toppled president mubarak but there is another reason it's a landmark day as almost thirty years of emergency rule is partially lifted although some key police powers will remain on he said he said oh your study by a cairo for us a nice ohio we're seeing thousands of people in tahrir square an impressive backdrop there behind you we're hearing that the the whole assembly there it's more out of frustration than celebration is that how you interpret it. that's right and that's exactly what acti

saying the mission had found to hold the syrian government to its pledge to end violence but artie's sara firth reports weakening the fact finding team leave syrians on the ground preparing for the worst. saying they get by and heading home it's said it's from the gulf states leave the airport then mission incomplete leaving behind a country in a deepening crisis is never going to be easy so you want the arab league monitors to stay i don't want to write from the word gay the missions prefer problematic the opposition accused the monitors it being too closely aligned with the government the government's now accused of being part of a foreign conspiracy and there were logistical complaints to the observers seemed illiquid on the ground and there were concerns that they were simply too few numbers to undertake such a major task but if things were bad at the beginning now they seem even worse following in saudi arabia's footsteps all the gulf states withdrew their observers after damascus rejected their recent proposal that included president assad cede power to a deputy and form a unity governmen

been killed in a roadside bomb attack on of carrying prisoners in the northwest of the country sara firth joined the observers as they visited a town near the syrian capital damascus that is now controlled by opposition forces . well the arab league observers delegation is in car at the moment presenting their findings that despite the arab league observers mission mandate having finished you can see they continue to travel around the country to look at what's going on been seen as further evidence by some people that this mission is to continue possibly for another month one of the observers that i spoke to earlier of camera when i asked them whether they would be staying here longer whether the mission would be extended he said it looked like it would be this is the area that you see in the so-called free syrian army take control of and in the last few days a temporary cease fire because between the government forces and free syrian army sweeping into the city to see what's been happening certainly it's an area extremely divided on one side you've got the government in control on the ot

sara firth is following the situation from damascus. the arab league ministers are going to be meeting to present their findings on what's been happening here in syria and to discuss what their next move will be now the arab league mission in the country to oversee the implementation of the arab peace plan by syrian government now among other things that included the release of political prisoners and the withdraw over government troops and tanks from some of the towns and cities how successful the sad league mission has been to place it will actually follow the arab league mission in the final few days here in the country now there are questions raised as to the child and the credibility of the mission certainly seeing the way that they operated it couldn't question really just how independently they were able to operate in the country all of the sites were possibly we're speaking to he said he didn't really seem to be taking in i can a very thing this being said obviously couldn't have had from every single person he wanted to see in

applies to army deserted tens of thousands of people have been detained over the past year there sara firth reports it's unclear whether all be enough to stop the continuing conflict. streams of people leave the syrian prison into the arms of. family and friends. who have been. prisoners i'm relieved to. hear this prison on the outskirts of damascus these are the prisoners they've been selected for at least. you can see the signing on this is being seen by some of the arab league observers here. this is part of the amnesty president assad but of course for everyone he's not being released from detention questions being asked about the why they were detained in the first place. i've been in prison for four months i was accused of weakening national security i didn't protest they brought me here by mistake to use a good stamp i just hope it includes everyone. i had some weapons i had inherited from my grandfather and was accused of bearing illegal weapons i've been here three months when people heard about the amnesty they were ecstatic they never thought this could happen. here on the stand

two dozen killed now in the past two days alone and buildings heavily shelled our correspondent sara firth was there. when we got there we were met by the free syrian army now have control of that area and they showed us around they took us into the center there was is absolutely massive antigovernment that is.

sara firth reports from syria those caught in the middle of the conflict live a life of fear. it's been less than a month since we were last in homes in that time the situation's become even more dangerous and the pressure on the people living here show is either shut down were people numbers that hadn't been yet heavy the tragic death of a foreign journalist killed just here in homs recently served as yet another reminder of the harrowing the precarious situation the people in the city are and the other way to go but. that's you know what. they are going to do now i am waiting for that are you moved why do kids from this school in the hot area where i was living. area. of you well this is not your normal life it's our land it's our home syria ok we cannot we we don't want to leave our homes we don't want to leave a lot of schools we just want to leave peacefully people have been telling us that the sky is to leave their homes across the city water shortages food shortages power cuts are extremely common winces here and it's hard for some people to even heat their homes surviv

killed in clashes between syrian security forces and opposition groups in the past few days marty sara firth has been to an area near damascus which was recently taken over by rebel fighters and now she reports although the opposition is united against the regime there poles apart and there may be a clear message from the protest is this said that damascus as a funeral takes place. we don't want to linger don't don't we don't want to. see him go so it's shouldn't killing we don't yes freedom we don't know what we will do you have to live. here i mean this i mean this is going to want to come to us up to now they feel safety is being provided by the free syrian army a think of a the body made up of many defects is they could say its presence here as unable protests like these to go ahead. the military cannot come in anymore because the free syrian army is protecting us we support the free syrian army and we support. the former army colonel heads the f.s.a. from the brute he's been steadfast from the start and his calls the foreign military intervention of his safe are void of partnerships wit

has imposed yet more sanctions to further pressure the regime but as sara firth reports it's the syrian people who are bearing the brunt. trying to shine a light on what's happening in the country the observer mission looks set to continue now for another month but every day here is proving more and more of a challenge for the people. due to the european sanctions in syria to argue syria we don't have any tourist we don't have any for most of the e.u. has no one pays its eleventh consecutive round of sanctions this time putting a travel ban on people and businesses linked with the assad regime but as we've been finding out the cascade of sanctions has swamp syria's struggling economy actually they are going to shiva syrian people in a way or another i mean if they have governmental sanctions to be imposed by big business with the syrian government not with the people but the power is completely outside of this door and the central damascus at the moment and this is one of the main criticisms aimed at the economic sanctions is that this simply affecting the way so every day syrian people

damascus slammed the plan as interference in its internal affairs and an attack on its sovereignty sara firth is in the syrian capital. likud president bashar al assad to step down and to hand power of his deputy they also called for the formation of a national unity government and that would be a previous early parliamentary and presidential elections now those calls have been vehemently rejected by the syrian government here so you could play go into interference with the internal affairs really the sense here from damascus is that the government here are working on their own reforms they want the arab league mission to focus on their job of course the problem is you've got countries in the arab league like saudi arabia like qatar now seeing the sense that they're preaching democracy to syria when of course they themselves don't have democracy in russia is the stance is once again that this should be seeking resolution with alice for an intervention now i've actually spoken to the national coordinator council which is the opposition within the country they welcomed the maven again reiterate

more news more perspective from syria you can visit the blog about his international correspondent sara firth it's on our website r t v dot com the stories there to the twenty first century titanic that's what the big story of the week was and you get the latest information on the rescue operation that's still taking place off the italian coast with that cruise ship capsized with over four thousand people on board also lashing out over a thousand demonstrators cause mayhem in bucharest as we've been reporting over the past couple of days they're angry at the government the latest wave of a stereotype cuts there watched the video along with many others on our you tube channel. as a run of the west stepped up their war of words over the islamic states nuclear program the u.k. is refusing to rule out taking military action foreign secretary william hague also spoke of his confidence that an e.u. would bargo on a rainy an oil will be in place by the end of the month parties are the bennett reports from london. iran's oil exports only make up one percent of britain's oil imports the most in europe

opposition has been accepted by the assad government but given a cool reaction by their opponents sara firth has the latest from damascus. well we've seen the situation escalating dramatically a for the past couple of days now over the weekend the suburbs were embroiled in the heavy clashes between the seaside back in damascus people were waking up yesterday to the sounds of gunfire and shelling in those areas very very alarming indeed some of the reports that were coming from those areas and certainly the response from the government to the free syrian army taking control of some of those suburbs has been a strong well we've had reports of tanks going into those areas and the death toll on both sides extremely high as well and of course this comes on the back of the arab league monitoring mission saying that they had to hold said that mission for the time being is that the remaining observers that are here in the country they hadn't really seems to recover from that decision last week of the gulf states to withdraw its will it's hard to say really exactly what the future of the mission now

sara firth in damascus reports the syrian conflict is beginning to resemble libya marketing. is seeing an increasingly civil conflict evidence treaty by the violence has broken out for the past couple of days between the seaside was not being housed by the statement by one of the members of the main opposition body the syrian national council. head said that aside and his family would be killed like gadhafi now certainly does going to feel the says on both sides really there's going to be retaliation and revenge attacks coming in the speech and certainly that is a genuine fear amongst the people here you're seeing a very polarized country right now and the dividing lines are really being true and you know here that made it as ready as. the full o. you are again and people are really that moderate middle ground now is being squeezed all the time and very concerning because the calls for dialogue just seem to have been completely ava's shattered by this very very strong aggressive rhetoric with the u.n. a meeting members of the arab league to discuss a draft resolution on syria

more news and perspective from syria you convinced of the blog of our international correspondent sara firthwho's in damascus at r t v dot com here's what else you can find on our website right now a twenty first century titanic gets the latest information on the rescue operation that's taking place off the italian coast where a cruise ship capsized with over four thousand people on board also online. lashing out over a thousand demonstrators cause mayhem in bucharest angry up the government for the latest wave of austerity caught you can watch the latest videos along with many other on our you tube channel. four news today. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. showing corporations rule today. well as iran in the west step up their war of words over the islam extend its nuclear program the u.k. is refusing to rule out taking military action foreign secretary william hague also spoke of his confidence that anyone bargo on iranian oil will be in place by the end of the month bennett reports from london. response to iran's refusal to halt its nuclear progra

crackdown on the opposition in the flashpoint city of homs is escalating and it's from there now that sara firth reports for r.t. . it's been less than a month since we were last in homs in that time the situation's become even more dangerous and the pressure on the people living here shays i suspect were people numbers. having the tragic death of a foreign journalist killed just here in homs recently served as yet another remind the harrowing the precarious situation that people in the city are in the odd way to go but you know i think that you know if. they are going to get over that way before i move to my do kids from school in the heart area where i was living the law is what area because i would be going to you well this is not you know my life it's our land it's our home syria ok we cannot we will go. homes we don't want to leave a lot of schools just want to leave peacefully people have been telling us that they're scared to leave their homes across the city water shortages food shortages power cuts are extremely common winces here and it's hard for some people to even heat their homes s

fails to condemn president assad's crackdown on protesters strongly enough meanwhile as artie's sara firth reports syrians caught up in the ongoing conflict live in constant fear for their lives. it's been less than a month since we were last in homs in that time the situation's become even more dangerous and the pressure on the people living here. were people numbers. having the tragic death of foreign journalists killed just here in homs recently served in yet another reminder the harrowing the precarious situation the people in the city are in the other way to get.