Written by
The Associated Press
BEIRUT - Activists say at least 30 more civilians have been killed in Syria today as the country heads toward what could be an even more dangerous phase.
Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution yesterday aimed at ending the bloodshed stemming from President Bashar Assad's crackdown against an 11-month-old uprising.
Rebel soldiers say force is now the only way to oust Assad, while the regime is vowing to press on with the crackdown.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is warning that the situation could deteriorate into "a brutal civil war" as Syrians move to defend themselves against attacks from their government. Speaking to reporters in Bulgaria, Clinton called for "friends of democratic Syria" to unite and "support the Syrian people's right to have a better future."
The call points to the formation of a group of nations to aid Syria's opposition, similar to the Contact Group on Libya, which oversaw international help for opponents of the late deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
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