The UN announced that they've upped the body count from President Assad's crackdown in Syria. The bloody toll now stands at 2900.

VOA:

The U.N. human rights office said Thursday that more than 2,900 people have died in the unrest, now in its seventh month. The U.N. put the death figures last month at 2,700.

Meanwhile, Syrian activists say fighting between government soldiers and military defectors took place Thursday in the Jabal al-Zawiya area of Idlib province. The clashes near the Turkish border killed four soldiers and at least three others.

President Bashar al-Assad's government has used military force to crush opposition protests, including operations against military defectors.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.N. Security Council has failed in its responsibility by not passing a resolution condemning Syria for its brutal crackdown.

Moscow and Beijing blocked a resolution Tuesday written by France, Britain, Germany and Portugal, sparking U.S. and European outrage.

Russia and China are Syria's main enablers but there are others, including Iraq, Iran, and until recently, Turkey.

Prime Minister Erdogan has finally taken note that the Arab street is outraged at Assad's brutal tactics and has announced that he will impose his own sanctions on Syria. But sanctions from the EU and others will have little effect as long as Assad can get anything he wants from Russia or China.

No sign yet of the Syrian army cracking over the strain of murdering their own citizens, but there has been a trickle of defectors and they have gotten into some fierce fire fights with the Syrian army lately. Not enough to challenge Assad but if it is a sign of things to come, it could mean a full blown civil war.