Arab League chief: Syria on its way to 'civil war'

Syria is hurtling toward civil war, Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said Tuesday, raising pressure on the international community — and the United States — to take more forceful action to stop the bloodshed.

"Escalating military action in Syria will end up leading to a civil war in Syria, which no one wants to see," Elaraby told reporters at the League office in Beijing, where he was meeting with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Xi Jinping, China's likely next president, according to Reuters. "I don't think the Syrians deserve something like that."

More than 9,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 14 months ago, despite international efforts that have so far stopped short of military aid to the rebels. Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan "has not been succeeding," White House spokesman Jay Carney said last week, raising the possibility of greater U.S. involvement, with unknown consequences just months before the presidential election.

Meanwhile, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to start briefing his colleagues Tuesday on the results of his trip last week to Israel, Egypt and Jordan, where the subject of what to do about Syria has been high on everyone's mind.

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