Syria

Mideast Syria_Star(7).jpg

A Free Syrian Army fighter points his weapon as he watches a Syrian Army jet, not pictured, in Fafeen village, north of Aleppo province, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

A Free Syrian Army fighter holds his weapon as he prepares himself for advance, close to a military base, near Azaz, Syria, on Dec. 10, 2012. The gains by rebel forces came as the European Union denounced the Syrian conflict, which activists say has killed more than 40,000 people. (Associated Press)

Mideast Syria_Lea.jpg

Syrian women stand amid the ruins of their farm, destroyed by government army jets, in the village of Al-Hafriyeh, Syria, on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

Mideast Syria_Star(5).jpg

In this Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 photo, a Syrian rebel recites verses of the Quran after clashes with troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad in Aleppo, Syria. As fears grow in the West that Assad will unleash chemical weapons as an act of desperation, NATO moved forward Thursday with its plan to place Patriot missiles and troops along Syria's border with Turkey to protect against potential attacks. (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

Mideast Syria_Live.jpg

**FILE** This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network (ENN), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows anti-Syrian regime protesters carrying a banner during a funeral of a man, who also carried by the protesters, at Kfar Nebel town, in the Idlib province of northern Syria on Nov. 30, 2012. The man was killed by the shelling of the Syrian forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. (Associated Press/Edlib News Network)