which which it's important that the syrian army as i told you before it's a professional one it's and this is why when and when it when russia and turkey use its leverage to and carry the army this syrian army is made by the people every syrian has to say of the army in two years i see of the army and our our my brothers and others seven there are only two years and this is why the syrian army made by the board just to mention one piece to many of them it international there are actually this all does he actually as you know from data is born and raised in daraa and this you know in our this you know army leadership sent him actually to serve in harris there and they give and instructions to open the fire on the protesters and the people in harris there started. chanting going to syria to a t. of daraa his hometown this is why he was in china in china and himself how can i open fire on the people actually they are calling consider that if you mind my hometown don and this is why the dilemma i won't call the soldiers and i was the officers in this syrian army it's that the

which which it's important that the syrian army as i told you before it's a professional one it's and this is why when when when when russia and turkey use its leverage to encourage the army the syrian army is made by their people every seat and has to see of the army in two years i see of the army and our. my brothers and others serve in the army two years and this is why they see it an army made by their be bored just to mention wanted to many of them most international there are actually this all does he actually has you know from daraa is born and raised in daraa and the syrian are the we need or should send him actually to serve in house there and they give him in a suction stop in the fire on the protesters and that we will inherit started. chanting on the seder there are three of daraa his hometown this is why he was in china and in china and himself how can i open fire on the people actually they are calling considered dirty my my hometown doc and this is why the dilemma i won't call the soldiers and among the officers in the syrian army it's akira that they see i

with with it it's important that the syrian army as i told you before it's a graph issue no one it's and this is why when we were in russia and turkey it use its leverage to encourage the army this syrian army is made by the people every syrian has to see of the army in two years i see of the army and our our my brothers and others seven there are only two years and this is why this syrian army made by the board just to mention one piece to many of them it international did it actually this all does he actually has you know from there on is born and raised in daraa and this year in our senior army leadership sent him actually to serve in harris there and they give him in a suction stop in the fire on the protesters and the people in harris there started . chanting going to say there are three of daraa his hometown this is why he was in china in china and himself how can i open fire on the people actually they are calling until a very key mine my hometown guy and this is why i did the lima i won't call the sawdust and i won't the officers investigate an army it secur

international herald tribune says syrian army extinguishes an uprising in the north. turkey has allowed thousandses of residents to flee, giving a very public face to an uprising that has otherwise been cloaked behind state censorship and repression. >> by the guardian, butch ery. the world urgently needs to get its response in order, limp in its reaction. it's not realistic but the full rage should come into play. final in the gulf emirates. gulf news, he runs out of friends and time. with no regime and waiting to

the syrian army does appear to be getting ready as these unverified pictures suggest.ith so many people leaving syria, towns and buildings in the north west have been completely abandoned. the syrian authorities insist that the people are fleeing from armed gangs and that armed forces are in the area. >> in the army is now surrounding the area. they have not gone yet. we have been asked by people who do not have relatives across the corner in turkey to move in so that peace and quiet can be resumed again and life can go back to normal. >> the refugees are coming out. the flow is increasing. that reflects the fact that the turkish prime minister has said that the door woman closed to the refugees. many of those coming in say they are extremely relieved to have found century in turkey. the military council as been considering a resolution to oppose the violence. in geneva, the un commission of human rights has called force against its people unacceptable. >> strong pressure must be brought to bear on the syrian authorities to stop the excessive violence and respond to th

these pictures were filmed by the bbc arabic service which was taken into the town by the syrian army. the government said this is a mass grave of some of the 120 security personnel killed over a week ago. some have been beheaded. others shot. there are different versions of how the city was retaken. the syrian state said it had to fight its way in but then found grateful residents delighted that order had been restored. many of the thousands of refugees who fled the area tell a different story. they say the army is killing civilians indiscriminately, burning crops, and killing livestock. the refugees are of finding shelter in camps in turkey. as well as worrying about the future, they face one of the biggest problems experienced by refugees the world over. boredom. they could be away from home for quite some time. the turkish government hopes these camps to not become a semi-permanent. everyone knows that is a possibility. >> we have -- the have burned our houses and crops. all our possessions, too. >> this border village is filling with more refugees and they bring consistent accoun

these pictures were filmed by the bbc arabic service which was taken into the town by the syrian army. the government says this is a mass grave of some of the 120 security personnel killed over a week ago. some had been beheaded, others shocked. there are different versions of how the city was retaken. the syrian state says it had to fight its way in, but then found grateful residents delighted that order had been restored. but many of the thousands of ribbies who fled jisr al- shughour tell a different story. they say the army is killing civilians indiscriminately, burning crops, and killing livestock. the refugees are finding shelter in camps in turkey, as well as worrying about the future as they face one of the biggest problems experienced by reviews the world over, boredom. they could be away from home for quite some time. the turkish government hopes these camps did not become semi- permanent, but everyone knows that is a possibility. >> that have burned our houses, crops, and everything we have. our homes have been destroyed, and all our possessions, too. >> this village in tur

but the syrian army is moving closer and closer to the border. >> we hope the syrian army joins the people. many ordinary soldiers and officers have already done that. with god's help, we will win in the end. >> the turkish government has promised not to close the border to people seeking help. more people are set to come, as long as there is no end to the killing in syria. >> this is not the first time the family has cracked down on dissidents. go back to 1982. his father was in power. he sent troops into a considered a nest of anti-regime protesters appeared as many as 30,000 people were killed. with a family structure capable of pulling off a massacre like that, are still very much intact today. >> bashar al assad, the sole source of authority in syria. that was the image given by state tv on sunday. yes almost unlimited powers as president. if he wants something, then is supposed to happen. like this promise of a moderate approach to his opponents. >> we want a political solution, and we hope the army returns to the barracks as fast as possible. ." >> there is no sign of the regime and

the syrian army does appear to be getting ready. as these unverified pictures suggest with so many people leaving syria, towns and villages in the northwest have been almost completely abandoned. the syrian authorities insist people are fleeing from what they call armed gangs, and that the security forces are only in the area because the locals have asked them to comment. >> what i do know is the army is now surrounding the area. they haven't gone in yet. i think possibly they will go in. we have been asked by people who do have relatives across the corner in turkey to move in so peace can resume and life can be go back to normal. >> the refugees are still coming out. in fact, if anything, flow is increasing and that reflects the fact that the turkish prime minister has said that the door will not be closed to the refugees and many of those coming in se they are extremely relieved to have found sanctuary in turkey. the u.n. security council has been considering a resolution drafted by great britain and france and others to condemn t

they're living in makeshift tents right by the border, waiting to see what the syrian army does, and they say if it gets bad, they'll leave. those who have already made the move say they fear a major military assault. >> do you think there will be an attack on jisr al-shughour? >> yes, yes, they said, we think the army may come with tanks and air power to attack us. the syrian army does appear to be getting ready, as these unverified pictures suggest with so many people living syria, towns and villages in the northwest have been almost complete lay -- completely abandoned. the syrian authorities insist people are fleeing from what they call armed gangs and that the security forces are only in the area because the locals have asked them to come in. >> what i do know is that the army is now surrounding the area. they haven't gone in yet. i think possibly they will go in. we have been asked by people in jisr al-shughour who don't have relatives across the border in turkey to move in with to assure that peace and quiet will go back to normal. >> if anything though the flow is increasing.

that the syrian army, it should be hard.they've gone in with tanks and machine guns and a couple of helicopters and so on and they a have attacked the houses. they even killed and slaughtered. they've burned the crops, the seas. they are pushing the people up to the border. and they're said to be 10,000 or so just on the other side of the border. we are seeing pictures of them which have been kind of smuggled through even people who bravely took a camera across and as people say here, i can see that they have been sleeping under the stars effectively, under trees. it was rang last night. lots of injured people and people with sicknesses who have opinion on the road for up to ten days, some of them. so, yes, it's a very bad situation. >> there are some reports that nearly 10% of those killed, those casualties are children, and now we understand there are reports -- we've been reporting on two teenagers whose bodies have been returned and they've been mutilated. now there's a report of a third teenager. do you know anything mo

>> mitchell: tonight, a brutal assault on a border town by the syrian army. wyatt andrews has the harrowing stories of protesters' attacked by their own government. the president and the speaker in a golf summit. bill plante tells uss what their camly-friendly game may mean for the budget talks. bear peterson reports on the homecome of gabrielle giffords. and the kiss seen around the world. elaine quijano has the story behind this couple's embrace in the middle of vancouver's hockey riot. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with russ mitchell. >> mitchell: and good evening. we begin tonight with news of another violent day in syria, a day when syrian troops, backed by tanks and machine guns, once again stormed into a border village to attack their citizens. it comes just hours before syrian president assad is set to address the nation. >> reporter: it's a glimpse of exactly how bashar al-assad imposes his special terror on the syrian people-- army troops using tanks and a fleet of military buses rolled into the town of bdama today, maki

and there's more evidence of splits in the syrian army. deserting soldiers arriving in turkey after witnessing atrocities. mohammed said he and his friends escaped after she watched an officer unprovoked shoot a civilian in the head. these accounts are impossible to verify, but if they are true, they could the first real sign of syrian civility. >> as many as 6,000 opponents of moammar qaddafi marched through rebelv: held benghazi today. there was increased fighting in other cities. we have the latest. >> heavy shelling by forces loyal to moammar qaddafi halted an attempt by rebels to push forward out of besieged city. the rebels suffered their worst casualties to date. the first fighting since march broke out on the key town on the road to tunisia. the road is qaddafi's supply line and that could cut the libyan capital off to the outside world. the port is useless thanks to the nato blockade which is causing shortages of vital supplies including refined fuel. lines at gas stations stretch for miles. whatever the situation on the battle fr

. >> people now fear a crackdown by the syrian army. many have fled towards turkey. these women accused government troops of committing atrocities and they have denounced the president, bashar al-assad. >> there is uncertainty over whether the syrian ambassador to france has resigned. there was statement that was reportedly from the syrian envoy to paris that said that she was quitting. the syrian state television has broadcast in the aisles of this. we will bring you more on the story as it develops. muammar gaddafi has vowed that he will never surrender and that he will fight to the end for his country. he made the comments in an audio broadcast after nato carried out a rare daytime attack on tripoli. several bombs appeared to have hit gaddafi's compound. 29 people were killed in the air strike. the attack hit buildings. the intelligence services and the state broadcaster. the injuries that president saleh received are more serious than previously thought. this raises questions about his return to power. he was flown to saudi arabia for treatment on sunday. in the c

that attack took place in an area where the syrian army has carried out protests and have called forhe end of the rural. they say the attack is in retaliation for the ongoing violence again the demonstrators. the government is now call for a decisive response, setting the stage for an even stronger crackdown on the government. activists say more than 1,000 people have died in the three-month uprising. >>> turning to politics back here in the state, new york congressman anthony weiner says he will cooperate fully with an ethics investigation into whether he broke house rules or used government resources when he sent appropriate photos of himself over the internet. house speaker nancy pelosi called for an investigation yesterday. during the tearful media gathering, the congressman says he does not plan to resign. >> last friday night i tweeted a photograph of myself that i intended to send as a direct message as part of a joke to a woman in seattle. once i realized i posted it to twitter, i panicked, i took it down and said i was hacked. in addition over the past few years i engaged in

. >> syrian army forces are continuing their massive operation in the northern part of the country. the government ss 120 troops were killed by armed rebels while the activists say a brutal repression is under way. syria is on to a large sunni majority that is increasingly calling for more representation. the reserve and is growing towards the ruling elite. we look at how political and economic power in the country is divided and some of the flashpoints of the protest. >> these people have abandoned their homes leaving in fear for their lives. thousands of serious have fled to turkeyey, running scared from the crackdown by the assad regime. the uprising began in mid march in the south of the country. tensions escalated after security forces arrested and tortured several youths force plane anti-government graffiti. images were only seen on video posted online. foreign journalists are needed -- are banned. the protests of gained momentum and spread across the country. demonstrations erupted in homes and in some suburbs of the capital. the center of damascus and aleppo remained relativ

. >> what many people tell us that the syrian army and police are getting closer to this edge. we believe they're two or three miles in that direction. on the other side of the country, we also know that army units are getting closer to centers of rebellion along the iraqi border. the tactic seems clear, the army, the regime is trying to assert its dominance across the country to quash the rebellion. >> and this many here told us is how the army's doing it. we can't show this mobile phone footage. it's of a dead man with a long bloody wound along the top of his skull. what does this make them think of their president -- >> assad she's a trader, he told us. he should give us our free do such open decent was once unheard of in syria. it is perhaps a sign that this brutality is actually fanning its flames. >> king mohammed of morocco has proposed reform that will increase the authority of the prime minister and parliament. the king set forward the plans in a speech to the nation three months after announcing a review of the constitution following anti-government protest. >> the pre

. >> people have told us that the syrian army and secret police are getting to this point every day. we believe they are just two or 3 miles in that direction. on the other side of the country, we know that army units are getting closer to centers of rebellion along the iraqi border. the tactic seems clear, the army is trying to assert its influence across the country to quash the rebellion. and this is how the army is doing it. we cannot show this mobile phone footage because this is a dead man with a long bloody wound. what does this make him think of their president? >> bashar al-assad is a traitor. he should give us all freedom. >> such open dissent was almost unheard of in syria. this is perhaps a sign that the brutality, far from crushing the rebellion, is actually fanning the flames. >> we want to pick up from where matthew was saying. he said that far from crushing the rebellion, this is actually standing it. is that true? >> we have seen hundreds of not thousands of people across syria. they're not scared. their relatives have been taken and tortured. they have been relentles

the syrian army has also been raiding villages along the turkish border as part of its crackdown. thousands of refugees have crossed into turkey to escape the bloodshed. >> protesters flee as security forces fire tear gas and live ammunition. syrians across the country turned out in large numbers after friday prayers. unverified video shows violence in several locations. activists say at least 15 people were killed. syrian television is presenting another picture, free from the crackdown on anti-government protests. it's called upon residents to return to their homes saying the army restored stability from armed terrorist gangs. the town has been a flashpoint of pro democracy demonstrations. >> the hospital has resumed service and all citizens are welcome to seek treatment. we have people from the surrounding villages coming for medical attention. >> sirans are not expected to return home anytime soofpble more than 11,000 found refuge here with more arriving every day. they don't want to go back until president assad has been forced out of power. >> our reporter has been visiting

they're waving olive branches, calling on the syrian army to stay outside the town. se people fear imminent attack ar the reported killing of up to 120 security forces in the area on monday. the syrian government has been broadcasting pictures of the alleged massacre, most too graphic for us to show but they do reveal dozens of bodies in uniform lying along this blood-stained road. the victims are being called martyrs by the regime. but opposition groups claim they were shot by their own side as deserters. whatever the truth, it seems clear military reinforcements have been flooding into the area. >> the town is almost empty. the residents have fled. the town is like a ghost town. reinforcement barracks tanks are just about seven kilometers outside town and people are expecting the worst to happen. >> amidst the -- and it's the scale of the killing of civilians which has prompted international anger. with more reports of victims being shot by security forces. reports are that bashir and his regime have decided to stop at almost nothing to hold on to power and that wit

they're waving olive branches, calling on the syrian army to stay outside the town. e people fear imminent attack after the reported killing of up to 120 security forces on monday in the area. the syrian government has been broadcasting pictures of the legend massacre. most are too graphic for us to show. but they do reveal dozens of bodies in uniform line along this bloodstained road. the victims have been called mars by the regime, but opposition groups claim they were shot by their own side as deserters. whatever the truth, it seems clear military reinforcements have been flooding into the area. >> the town is almost empty. the residents have fled. the town is like a ghost town. and literally, reinforcement barracks, tanks are just about 7 kilometers outside town and people are expecting the worst. >> and it is the scale of the killing of civilians that has prompted growing international anger. with mourners at funerals often been shot by security forces and children are often the victims of torture. >> the regime has decided to stop almost nothing to hang onto pow

the syrian army, on the move. an iron fist to crush an uprising. tanks and troops with a mission to destroy any opposition in their path. tonight, state tv boasted they have retaken the region's largest town, extracted revenge on the rebels. but now fields burned, and by many accounts, much of the town of jisr al shughur has been destroyed. and abandoned by most of its townspeople, who have fled, some into turkey, but others are marooned on the syrian side of the border unwilling or unable to leave. these people are exhausted, terrorized by their own government, abandoned by the world. john ray, nbc news, syria. >>> when "nbc nightly news" continues on this sunday evening, confronting a new menace in american cities. a new kind of mob violence. >>> later, stealing the show. the uncommon charm of royal kate. a >>> there is increasing concern in this country about a violent new trend. so-called flash mobs of teenagers who come together via social media and then go on violent rampages. chicago is among the cities dealing with the problem. and from the

what many people here have told us is that the syrian army and secret police are getting closer to this point every day. we now believe that they are two or three miles in that direction. and on the other side. country we also know that army units are getting closer to centers of rebellion along the iraqi border. the tactic seems clear. the army, the regime is trying to assert its dominance across the country. to quash the rebellion. and this many here told us is how the army's doing it. we can't show this mobile phone footage. it's of a dead man with a long bloody wound along the top of his skull. what does this make them think of their president? he's a traitor, this man told us. he should give us our freedom. sanch hofment was once unheard -- dissent was once unheard of in syria, and brutality, far from crushing this rebellion s. actually fanning its claims. math yu price, bbc news, northern syria. >> we are speaking to a representative of the syrian revolution coordinators union and joins us online from damascus. you were at a protest in diplomatic cuss. just describe what you saw t

the syrian army has used brutal force against innocent people protesting peacefully in city after city. i think we have to conclude he never was a reformer. he always was very much like i his father, a regime in power now 40 years, a regime the syrian people obviously want to push out as soon as they can. >> mitchell: when you look at the assad government do you see any contraction or is his inner circle all on board? >> he has a very tight inner circle of advisers who were around when his father was. they tend to be very authoritarian. they're the ones counseling the use of force we've seen some defections from the syrian military just over the last week so there are some cracks beginning to appear in the syrian armor, if you will. and this iron-fist regime, i think, is in some way on the ropes because the people of syria are standing up all over the country, argue, shouting, for change. >> mitchell: nick burns, thank you, we appreciate it. with more troops coming home from afghanistan, one cash- strapped mayor hopes that means more money for his town. for his town or thoughts of suic

i'm also told, scott, that the syrian army has massed around several key towns in its northern frontiert has not yet moved in. >> pelley: wyatt, the man in your story said the refugees would soon be returning home. i wonder what you're seeing there now? >> reporter: scott, we traveled about 30 or 40 miles' worth of the turkey-syria border today and saw the turks making preparations for at least 2,000 more incoming syrian refugees. we also saw on the syrian side of the border, whole hillsides that are full of refugees, and so i saw no evidence anyone is going home any time soon. >> pelley: thanks, wyatt. there were riots in athens today over the greek government's new austerity plan. thousands took to the streets, some threw molotov cocktails, others fought police with 2x4s. greece is broke and the government needs to approve new spending cuts to avoid default. the impact of the crisis was felt on wall street, where the dow fell more than 178 points today. a woman and her three children lived in the house until the tornado came. we'll see how they're doing next. oes. well, if it doesn't

the syrian army has retaken control of the northern city and it is a cigar which was the scene of a major rebellion last week government sources say tubes have captured what they describe as two armed terrorist groups which were operating in the region last week uprising claimed the minds of these two hundred twenty members security forces. at least fifty people have been killed in massive floods ravaging central and southern china disaster has also displaced tens of thousands of people sweeping away homes and taking out power and phone lines across the region among the stranded were children trapped in a school surrounded by water. that would be. a rush a close up series is next as the team explores mysterious places in north. christian churches agricultural prosperity and a magnificent ancient acropolis known as the city of good debt they will look into one of the most mysterious sites in southern russia the village of dagoes but it's not the area of dark legacy that's driving locals away as our tos men do not question our reporters. we continue our acts for the north as a republic and

anti-government protesters has already forced over nine thousand to seek refuge in turkey the syrian army's actions against its own people have been denounced by turkey's leader human rights groups say more than fourteen hundred have been killed since march. greece has appointed a new finance minister in a major government reshuffle to try and stave off a catastrophic collapse of the economy leaders are trying to force through deeply unpopular cuts which sparked violent street protests this week greece needs to secure billions of euros in a second and i.m.f. . france and germany are desperately trying to secure private funds to help out as the major economies struggle to keep the euro afloat. north korea is accusing seoul of forcing its citizens to stay in the south and warning that it could worsen relations between the two countries but seoul says it won't extradite the group which defected by boat last week saying they have asked to resettle in the south in february the north responded angrily when its neighbor refused to send back for fishermen who had asked for asylum. but israel has be

that occurred in three of syria's largest cities according to a june twelfth statement from the syrian army observatory for human rights a total of one thousand two hundred eighty nine civilians and three hundred thirty two security force members have been killed since the protests began. as the military has been used to crack down specific pockets of dissent some smaller cities have even been turned into virtual ghost towns as dissidents and frightened citizens fled to turkey in the face of tanks in proof that the rest of the world's governments don't really care about human welfare when it comes to regime change if there was ever one more call for this the strongest reproach that we've seen to this situation has come from united a united nations secretary general ban ki-moon quote i have discussed and talked to president assad several times i have strongly urged him to listen to the wishes and aspirations of the people i again strongly urge president assad and his authorities stop killing that people and to engage in inclusive dialogue and to take decisive and bold measures before it's to

anti-government protesters has already forced over nine thousand to seek refuge in turkey the syrian army's actions against its own people have been denounced by to its leader human rights groups say more than fourteen hundred have been killed since march. a top saudi official says the yemeni president. will not return when i was unclear where he will stay there was no detail as to whether the decision was taken by sunday himself and said government demonstrations have been taking place in yemen for over three months to force him to quit he flew to saudi arabia for treatment after being wounded in a rocket attack. greece has appointed a new finance minister in a major government reshuffle to try and stave off a catastrophic collapse of the economy leaders are trying to force me on top of the cuts which sparked by. street protests this week recently used to secure billions of euros in a second. they are france and germany are desperately trying to secure private funds to help out as the major economies struggle to keep afloat. but israel has been holding back millions of dollars of palestini

anti-government protesters has already forced over nine thousand to seek refuge in turkey the syrian army's actions against its own people have been denounced by turkey's leader human rights groups say more than fourteen hundred have been killed since march. a top saudi official says the yemeni president. will not return home although it's unclear where he will stay there was no detail as to whether the decision was taken by himself and the government demonstrations have been taking place in yemen for over three months now to force him to quit he flew to saudi arabia for treatment after being wounded in a rocket attack. greece has appointed a new finance minister in a major government reshuffle to try and stave off a catastrophic collapse of its leaders are trying to force through deeply unpopular cuts which sparked violent street protests this week greece and needs to secure billions of euros in a second you. and i.m.f. bailout meanwhile germany and france say a quick deal is vital to stop greece's debt problem spilling into other countries. north korea is accusing seoul of forcing its cit

the syrian army moved into al shugur over the weekend and took full control on monday.ent says the goal was to stamp out armed terrorists group. >> european finance ministers trying to sort out greece's latest crisis. they're holding an emergency meeting later today in brussels to talk about whether greece needs a second bailout in just over a year. ratings agencies standard & poor's says greece is likely to default on its debt at least once by 2013. >>> american voters got a look at seven potential candidates in a televised debate monday. all seven took aim at the same target. >> any one of the people on this stage would be a better president than president obama. he has -- >> [ applause ]. he failed in job one, which was to get this economy going again. he failed in job 2, the to restain the growth of government and in job three. we have had presidents in the past with bad foreign policies. this is the first time we have had a president without a foreign policy. getting osama bin laden, congratulations. but a lot of misses, like throwing our friends under the bus. >>>

on april 29th, anti-government protesters tried to break the syrian army siege on the city.yewitnesses at the time described how security forces indiscriminate natalie opened fire on them. dozens were killed and wounded. countless others detained. among them, say his family, was 13-year-old hanza, separated from his father in the chaos. a month later, the family received their son's body. his face bloated, purple. this video posted to youtube catalogs each of his wounds, much of it too graphic to broadcast. the narrator points out mult um gun shots before moving to his head. and even more shocking, his genitals were mutilated. cnn cannot independently verify what happened to hanza or the authenticity of this video. after it was initially broadcast, his family was threatened. now they are too petrified to talk, even to close friends. a prominent activist says she has no doubt it's real. and that the regime had a message in releasing the boy's body. >> they want the people to see this. they want the people to get scared. they want the people to know that there is no red lines.

. >> reporter: on april 29th, anti-government protesters tried to break the syrian army siege on thethe time described is how security forces indiscriminately opened fire on them. dozens were killed and wounded. countless others detained. among them says his family was 13-year-old hamza, separated from his father in the chaos. a month later, the family received their son's body. hamza's face bloated, purple. this video posted to youtube catalogs each of his wounds. much of it too graphic to broadcast. the narrator points out multiple gunshots before moving to his head. and even more shocking, his genitals were mutilated. cnn cannot independently verify what happened to hamza or the authenticity of this video. after it was initially broadcast, hamza's family was threatened. now they are too petrified to talk, even to close friends. a prominent syrian activist reached via skype says she has no doubt it's real and that the regime had a message in releasing the boy's body. >> they want the people to see this, to get scared. they want the people to know that there is no -- everything, no

desperate syrians are fighting to cross that border and get to safety, even as the syrian army advances on the rebellious border area. cnn's ivan watson is there and joins us now. ivan, what are you seeing today? are the streams of refugees continuing across the border? >> reporter: they are absolutely, eliot. more than 3,800 refugees now. there were barely 400 48 hours ago. the turks are planning to open up a third camp. we've been to one of the hospitals in this area. they say they have at least 30 bullet wound victims there. we talked to one of them. he actually came across weeks ago after being shot at what he said was an unarmed protest against the government. and you know, the turkish authorities are expecting more to be coming in the days ahead, particularly after the syrian government finally launched this much feared military offensive into a border town where the syrians claim 120 security forces were killed. what we've been hearing from across the border are tanks riding through villages, firing indiscriminately, setting fire to farm fields, and then a vicious attack using ma

but the appeal came as syrian army units made ready to sweep into another border town to put down protests. in geneva, the top u.n. human rights official called for a full investigation. >> the mounting casualty rate among civilians is alarming. it underscores the civilian government's lack of restraint in its efforts to crush dissent. i remind the syrian authorities the violations of international law are serious crimes for which perpetrators can be held accountable. >> reporter: meanwhile, in damascus today, large crowds of supporters of president bashar al-assad turned out in the streets. they unfurled a massive syrian flag and carried pictures of the president. assad's family has ruled syria for 40 years. americans are living longer in general, but not in some parts of the country. the journal "population health metrics" reported today that babies born in 2009 will live an average of 78 years and two months. but in hundreds of counties, many of them in the south, life expectancy for men actually fell. for example, a man in fairfax county, virginia, is expected to live 15 years longer t