Syria

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**FILE** Smoke rises over the skyline July 19, 2012, in the Qaboun neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, during shelling by Syrian government forces. (Associated Press)

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In this photo taken during a government-organized tour, Syrian soldiers stand July 20, 2012, next to burned cars after they regained control of the district of Midan, in the southern part of Damascus, Syria. (Associated Press)

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Soldiers from the Free Syrian Army prepare to make a video stating publicly that they have formed a battalion after defecting from the Assad regime’s military. Control over Syria’s rural Idlib province is patchy and continues to shift. (Bradley Secker/special to The Washington Times)

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Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari (far left) and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin (far right) listen to speakers July 19, 2012, during a Security Council vote at the United Nations. Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution to impose non-military sanctions on Syria. (Associated Press)

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Fahd Jassem al-Freij (left), Syria's new defense minister, is sworn in before Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)

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Mark Lyall Grant (left), British ambassador to the United Nations, and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States confer at the United Nations on Thursday, July 19, 2012, during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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In this citizen journalist image, smoke billows over Damascus, Syria, on July 18, 2012, after a bomb ripped through a high-level security meeting. Three top regime officials, including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, were killed in the blast. (Associated Press)

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In this citizen journalist image, smoke billows July 18, 2012, over Damascus, Syria, after a bomb ripped through a high-level security meeting and killed three top regime officials, including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law. (Associated Press)

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In this image made from amateur video released by the Shaam News Network and accessed July 18, 2012, Syrians celebrate after hearing about the suicide attack that hit the National Security building in Idlib, Syria. The bomb ripped through a high-level security meeting, killing the defense minister as well as President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law. (Associated Press/Shaam News Network via AP video)