Syria unrest | World leaders slam referendum results, violence escalates

Damascus: Military forces in Syria have launched a fresh offensive on several towns in the northwestern province of Idlib. This came even as the world leaders attacked Syria's referendum as the Constitution that could keep President Bashar al-Assad in power until 2018, was voted in.
The European Union imposed new sanctions against the country amidst ongoing clashes.

Opposition groups said at least 125 people were killed on Monday.

The UN Human Rights forum will hold an urgent meeting on the Syrian crisis in Geneva on Tuesday.

Even as Syria's democratic transition goes according to plan, it will take many years before a credible opposition to Assad emerges. Most of them are based outside Syria in places like Turkey and Paris. There is also the concern that Syria's sectarian fault lines may be widening which could be a long term threat to stability.

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