United Nations peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi hopes to persuade Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to comply with a four-day truce during the Muslim holiday marking the Hajj, which begins Oct. 25, but many in the opposition remain skeptical about his plan.  

Brahimi, who arrived in the capital Damascus on Friday afternoon, will meet Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Saturday morning, said the U.N. spokesman in Damascus, Khaled al-Masri. He did not say whether the envoy would meet Assad.

"We will talk about the ceasefire and the Syrian issue in general. It is important to decrease the violence - we will talk with the government and political parties and civil society about the Syrian issue," Brahimi told reporters upon arrival.

The violence showed no sign of abating, with opposition activists reporting heavy street clashes in Aleppo, Syria's biggest city, and intensified army bombing of towns along the strategic north-south highway. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby backed a ceasefire. "The longer the violence lasts, the more difficult it will be to find a political solution and rebuild Syria," they said in a joint statement.

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Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called for all sides to observe the three- or four-day ceasefire.

"It is important that the Syrian regime, which bombards its own people with fighter planes and helicopters, halts these attacks immediately and unconditionally," Davutoglu said in Ankara.

Iran also backed the ceasefire call but added that the main problem in Syria was foreign interference - a reference to support for the rebels by Gulf Arab states, the United Sates and other Western powers, and Turkey.

"We consider the establishment of an immediate ceasefire an important step in helping the Syrian people," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian said, as quoted by Mehr news agency.

"Syria has taken important steps against terrorism and foreign interference and is pursuing political reforms and the security of the country."

Most opposition forces doubt Syria will comply with what they see as another toothless initiative. The largest opposition group, the Syrian National Council, has thrown its support behind the initiative but will hold the Syrian government responsible for any violation. 

“The last time [a cease fire was agreed upon], the Syrians [who support Assad] violated it the first day. I hope this time they will respect it,” says Khaled Khoja, council representative and spokesman in Turkey. “I hope this time they will accept it, allow people to express their ideas peacefully, release prisoners and withdraw their forces from cities.”

Although Khoja says the Free Syrian Army, an umbrella organization for defected soldiers and armed opposition, has conditionally accepted the truce, its fighters will respond if attacked first by Syrian government forces. Khoja, like many in the opposition, worries that the initiative will fail because there is no penalty to compel the regime to observe the ceasefire.   

Syrian helicopter reportedly downed by rebels over Idlib

“There must be a mechanism in order to make the Syrian regime comply. If there is no mechanism, the Syrian regime will continue to do the same.”

Rafif Jouejati, the Washington, D.C. based spokeswoman for the Local Coordination Committees, the largest activist network inside Syria, believes the truce is destined to fail.

“It is a feeble attempt by the international community that has no timeline, no consequences for failure to observe it, no consequences for continued bombardment. Since there are no consequences, any plan will fail and [Assad] will continue to kill civilians. It carries the same weight as a U.N. condemnation," she said.

"Unless there are actual consequences, it is meaningless. I have relayed messages to Brahimi from the protesters: ‘Welcome to Syria on your mission impossible. Why didn’t you send Tom Cruise?’ It is an insult to the people who go out everyday and brave the bombing and bullets.”

Syrian government forces strike rebel held towns

Jouejati said this was the fourth attempt at brokering a ceasefire deal. “Assad has proven he is not going to look for political solutions. He has confirmed it through word and deed and will continue his security solution.” 

A Britain-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, doubts Brahimi’s ability to influence armed elements, whether they're on the opposition or government side. Brahimi cannot control Jebhat al Nusri, a jihadist militia, said director Rami Abdulrahman.  "He cannot control what is happening on the ground," Abdulrahman said. "He doesn’t know how many Syrian troops are on the ground.”

More than 30,000 people have been killed over 19 months in the intensifying conflict.

More weapons in Syria could trigger 'all-out war'

There is little agreement among the many armed rebel militias who are temporarily unified by the desire to topple Assad. Although the Free Syrian Army reportedly supports the truce, a senior commander in Daraa, a Syrian city on the border with Jordan and the starting point of the revolution, told the British Guardian newspaper, “Brahimi’s proposal for a truce is stillborn. 

“His project does not have any hope. Even if [exiled FSA leader] Riad al Assad accepts the truce, we will not. We will continue to fight," Staff Col. Ahmad Fahd al-Nimah, commander of the military council in Daraa, told the Guardian. "We represent those fighting on the ground in Syria. No one outside Syria can tell us what to do.” 

An activist reached by phone in the same city told NBC News the people in the streets of Syria do not accept the ceasefire. Da’il, who gives only his first name for security purposes, believes the regime will use the ceasefire to fortify military positions. 

“Before, when the Arab League and U.N. sent in peacekeeping observers, peaceful protesters were still being shot at. How can there be a ceasefire now, when there is nobody on the ground to observe it? No way will it work. Right now there is a roadblock with a sniper in front of me. If I walk out I will get shot. There is no way to stop the fighting. It is going on all the time,” he said. 

Da’il went on to express the public’s cynicism toward the initiative: “There is a local saying here: If somebody tries something and fails, he is crazy if he tries the same thing again.” 

Reuters contributed to this report.

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UNITED NATIONS - Rwanda - along with Australia, Argentina, Luxembourg and South Korea - won a seat on the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, despite accusations by a U.N. panel that Rwanda's defense minister commands a rebellion in Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Rwanda was unopposed in its bid for the African seat on the council that South Africa will vacate at the end of December, but still needed approval from two-thirds of the U.N. General Assembly members present to secure the two-year term. It won 148 votes in the 193-nation assembly.

Argentina also was elected to the council unopposed, winning 182 votes. Australia won a seat with 140 votes, Luxembourg with 131 votes and South Korea with 149.

Cambodia, Bhutan and Finland failed to secure two-year seats on the council.

There are five veto-holding permanent members of the council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - and 10 temporary members without veto power. Thursday's election was for the term from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2014.

Rwanda's government said that it would work with all members of the council to ensure "it is responsive and reflective of the views & aspirations of the developing world."

"Rwanda's troubling and tragic past allows it to bring to the UNSC a unique perspective on matters of war and peace," it posted on a Twitter account created for its Security Council term (@RwandaUNSC).

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Before the vote, the Congolese delegation told the General Assembly it objected to Rwanda joining the Security Council, accusing its neighbor of harboring "war criminals operating in the eastern part of the DRC and who are being sought by international justice." 

A confidential U.N. report, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, cast a shadow over Rwanda's election to the 15-member U.N. power center - which has the ability to impose sanctions and authorize military interventions.

Support for rebels
The Security Council's "Group of Experts" said that Rwanda and Uganda - despite their strong denials - continued to support M23 rebels in their six-month fight against Congolese government troops in the east of the country. 

Rwandan President Paul Kagame posted a declaration on Twitter welcoming the result: "No matter what haters say ... justice&truth will prevail!!! Sometimes it just requires a bit of good fight for all that...!!!" 

Speaking to reporters in New York, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo complained about the timing of the leak of the experts report to Reuters two days ahead of the Security Council vote, but added that the leak was "predictable."

She also sought to assure Congo that Rwanda would be a responsible council member. "I believe the Democratic Republic of Congo should see Rwanda on the Security Council as value addition," she said after the vote.

Philippe Bolopion of the advocacy group Human Rights Watch criticized the inclusion of Rwanda on the Security Council

"After blatantly violating the Security Council's arms embargo and undermining the work of the U.N. by propping up the abusive M23 rebels, Rwanda is rewarded with a seat at the table," he said.

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"Kigali is now in a position to try to shield its own officials implicated in abuses from U.N. sanctions, which is a flagrant conflict of interest," Bolopion said in a statement. "Other Security Council members now have an even greater responsibility to hold Rwanda to account." 

Britain's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Philip Parham put a more positive spin on Rwanda's election, saying: "We look forward to working with them on issues of international peace and security including the efforts to try to end the cycle of violence in the eastern DRC."

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr described Australia's election as a "big juicy, decisive win" that endorsed the country as a good global citizen.

Heavy rains exacerbate Congo crisis

"For us as a middle power a long way from the centers of clout in the world, the centers of power in the world, this is a lovely moment," Carr told reporters after the vote.

South Africa, Colombia, Germany, India and Portugal are leaving the Security Council in December. Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Pakistan, Togo and Morocco will remain until the end of 2013.

The last time Rwanda was on the council was in 1994-95. That coincided with a genocide in which 800,000 people were killed when Rwanda's Hutu-led government and ethnic militias went on a 100-day killing spree, massacring Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The Congolese government on Wednesday demanded targeted sanctions against Rwandan and Ugandan officials named in the U.N. experts report.

According to the U.N. experts, who monitor compliance with sanctions and an arms embargo on the Congo, Rwandan Defense Minister General James Kabarebe was ultimately commanding the rebellion and both Rwanda and Uganda were providing weapons, troops and military and political aid to the insurgency.

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Syria's foreign minister on Monday accused the United States, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of supporting "terrorism" in his country by funneling arms, money and foreign fighters to rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad.

Speaking on the last day of the annual 193-nation U.N. General Assembly, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem also accused Libya of backing the rebels and said an arm of the al-Qaida network had taken responsibility for some bomb attacks in Syria.

Moualem said outside calls for Assad to step down amid the 18-month-old conflict were a "blatant interference in the domestic affairs of Syria, and the unity of its people and its sovereignty."

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"In what context can we classify the explicit request of the United States from the armed terrorist groups not to surrender their arms as a response to amnesty decrees and decisions issued by the Syrian leadership?" Moualem asked, according to Al Jazeera.

Ancient Syrian market being consumed in fire started by fighting

"We also wonder to what extent the statements of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United States, and France that clearly induce and support terrorism in Syria with money, weapons and foreign fighters, are in line with the international responsibilities of these countries in combating terrorism," Moualem added, according to Al Jazeera. 

His speech came three days after countries calling for Assad's ouster met on the sidelines of the General Assembly but announced steps far short of what the rebels wanted as they press ahead in the bloody civil war.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Moualem earlier on Monday and "raised in the strongest terms the continued killings, massive destruction, human rights abuses, and aerial and artillery attacks committed by the government," Ban's spokesman said in a statement.

"He stressed that it was the Syrian people who were being killed every day, and appealed to the Government of Syria to show compassion to its own people," the spokesman said.

Ban raised the growing humanitarian crisis inside Syria, which was also spilling over to neighboring countries, the spokesman added. The United Nations said about 294,000 refugees from Syria had fled into Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey.

Qatari leader calls for Arab nations to intervene and 'stop the bloodshed in Syria'

More than 30,000 people have been killed, according to opposition activists, and there are fears the civil war could destabilize the wider Middle East.

According to the BBC, further violence in Syria was reported Monday, carried out by both sides.

A U.K.-based activist group said 18 soldiers were killed by rebels, the BBC reported, while 30 others were feared dead following an air strike by Syria's armed forces in the town of Salqin.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have denied aiding the rebels. The United States and France have said they are providing "non-lethal" support and not weapons.

"Under the pretext of humanitarian intervention, these countries interfere in the domestic affairs of states, and impose unilateral economic sanctions that lack the moral and legal basis," Moualem said.

"And under the pretext of concepts such as the 'Responsibility to Protect,' drums of war are beaten, and sedition and unrest are spreading and damaging the structure of national societies," he said.

Moualem was referring to a concept about governments' responsibility to protect civilians that has become increasingly popular in Western diplomatic and academic circles. The concept was used to justify last year's military intervention in Libya that led to the ouster and death of leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"Worst of all is to see permanent members of the Security Council, who launched wars under the pretext of combating terrorism, now support terrorism in my country," Moualem said.

At a meeting Friday of countries supporting Assad's ouster, the United States and France announced increased support for the Syrian opposition. But the meeting produced no sign that the direct military aid sought by the rebels to create safe havens for civilians was on the way.

Russia, backed by China, repeatedly has vetoed Western- and Arab-backed council resolutions that criticized the Syrian government and threatened it with sanctions, saying the United States, Europe and Gulf Arabs are seeking regime change.

'Fabricated' aid crisis
Moualem told the U.N. General Assembly that some people had tried to "fabricate a refugee crisis through inciting armed groups to intimidate Syrian civilians in border areas and forcing them to flee into neighboring countries."

"I appeal from this podium to those Syrian citizens to return to their towns and villages where the state will guarantee their safe return and their precious lives away from inhuman conditions they suffer in these camps," he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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NEW YORK -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that a “clear red line” be set to stop Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, telling the U.N. General Assembly that with a nuclear Iran, no one in the world would be safe.

In a speech at the U.N. Thursday, Netanyahu said that Iran will have enough enriched uranium to build a bomb by next summer. He said his "red line" to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons is to stop it from accumulating that uranium -- because it would impossible to know when Iran has achieved the next step: building a detonator to fire a weapon.

At the U.N. podium, the Israeli prime minister showed a cartoon-like picture of a child's version of a bomb -- and drew a red line to illustrate his ultimatum.

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He said that he and Israel appreciated President Barack Obama's statement that the U.S. also would not let Iran get a bomb -- and that he is confident that together the U.S. and Israel can chart a path together.

Palestinian leader: We seek 'nonmember' UN status 

But he was very tough on Iran, reciting a litany of terrorism by Iranian proxies around the world and saying that given Iran's aggression without nuclear weapons, if it got nuclear weapons, who'd be safe anywhere?

In his speech, he also compared a nuclear-armed Iran with a nuclear-armed al-Qaida -- and said the only way to prevent war is to draw that red line against Iran accumulating enough enriched uranium to create a bomb.

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An August report by U.N. inspectors said Iran has stockpiled 91.4 kg (about 200 lbs.) of the 20 percent material.

According to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, around 25 kg (about 55 lbs.) of uranium enriched to a 90 percent purity level would be needed for a single nuclear weapon.

Israel, believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and has expressed frustration over the failure of diplomacy and sanctions to rein in Tehran's nuclear activity. Iran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful energy purposes, not for nuclear bombs.

Obama warned Iran on Tuesday in his speech to the General Assembly that he would do what it takes to prevent Tehran from getting nuclear arms and that "time is not unlimited" for diplomacy to resolve the issue.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this week he did not take seriously the threat that Israel could launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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U.S. officials tell NBC News that Iran's claim it conducted missile tests in the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday is "pure fabrication" and that there is no evidence to back up Iran's claims.

"The mid-range system ... is capable of intercepting targets at a range of 50 km (30 miles) and can fly at an altitude of 75,000 feet," state-run Press TV's website said.

A Senior Revolutionary Guard commander said Tuesday that Iran test-fired four anti-ship missiles that hit a "big target" the size of a warship simultaneously, causing it to sink in "50-seconds" in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to U.S. officials, there was no missile firing in or around the strait or the Persian Gulf.

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In the past Iranians have released photos and video of missile firings claiming they were part of current exercises. It was later proven, however, that the images were actually from earlier missile tests but doctored to alter the background.

In one photo that claimed to show six missiles being fired simultaneously, it was proven all missiles were actually the images of the same missile photo-shopped across the landscape.

Some news outlets reported Tuesday morning that the Iranian missile test is evidence of the threat posed to U.S. warships in the region, and in direct response to the international mine-sweeping exercises being conducted 250 miles from Iran in the North Arabian Sea. Some reports said the alleged missile tests were an obvious show of force from Iran on the eve of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's United Nations General Assembly address Wednesday.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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When Tracey Shelton, a correspondent for GlobalPost, arrived in a Syrian neighborhood that had been bombed earlier on Monday, rescuers had spent six hours digging through rubble and had unearthed the bodies of seven children and their father.

Then, beneath the pile of chalky dust and broken concrete slabs, she reported, they found the mother, dead, holding her 1-year-old son, Hassan. “He was discovered unscathed, still cradled in her lifeless arms,” Shelton said in her report.

For the men who found Hassan, he became a symbol of hope amid the devastation consuming the Syrian city of Aleppo.

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“He stayed for around six hours underground until we got him out with our simple tools – and thank God, he survived,” one of the rescuers told Shelton. “His whole family was martyred but God willing he will see the death of Bashar and all of his people.”

They rushed Hassan to a hospital, where medics ripped away his clothing. He was covered in a white powdery substance and he looked confused and overwhelmed.

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At the hospital, the only ambulance driver – formerly a fashion designer -- told Shelton that planes attack crowded places like hospitals and bread factories.

“There are so many people gathered there from early morning,” he said.

In Syria, the 18-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad has claimed the lives of 26,000 people, according to activists’ estimates. The battle for Aleppo, where Hassan was found, has lasted for more than a month, as Assad's army tries to oust the rebels.

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Meanwhile, the U.S. has sent a dozen spies and diplomats to the border between Syria and Turkey to advise rebel forces in their mismatched fight against Assad’s forces, The Associated Press reported.

The Obama administration wants to help the rebels tactically and with non-lethal support like encrypted radios but does not want to contribute weapons, officials told the AP.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has maintained pressure on the Security Council – made up of China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. – to protect Syrians.

"We have seen the immense human cost of failing to protect," he said.

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Diplomatic attempts to end the conflict in Syria are "nearly impossible" and not enough is being done to end the fighting, the new U.N. and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said in an interview broadcast on Monday.

"I know how difficult it is -- how nearly impossible. I can't say impossible -- nearly impossible," Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat, told the BBC. "And we are not doing much. That in itself is a terrible weight."

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Brahimi replaced Kofi Annan as the United Nations and Arab League joint special representative on Syria at the end of August. Annan stepped down after blaming "finger-pointing and name-calling" at the U.N. Security Council for hampering efforts to find a breakthrough in the conflict.

Around 20,000 people have been killed during a 17-month uprising against Syria's President Bashar Assad.

Brahimi said he was "scared of the weight of responsibility" on his shoulders and was aware that not enough is being done to end the violence through diplomacy.

"People are already saying 'People are dying and what are you doing?' And we are not doing much. That in itself is a terrible weight," he told the BBC. 

Rebels hit Syrian army headquarters in Damascus

Brahimi said he felt like he was "standing in front of a brick wall", looking for cracks that may yield a solution. 

"I'm coming into this job with my eyes open, and (with) no illusions," he said. 

China against ‘safe zone’
Meanwhile, in an indication of what Brahimi is up against, China's top newspaper said that a Turkish proposal for a Syrian "safe zone" under foreign protection for civilians fleeing intensifying violence there would not help resolve the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country. 

The battle for Aleppo: My 18 days with the Syrian rebels

China has repeatedly condemned any plan which hints at outside interference in the Syrian crisis or proposes "regime change." Both China and Russia have vetoed proposed U.N. Security Council resolutions intended to put pressure on Assad. 

Turkey fears a mass influx of refugees similar to the flight of half a million Iraqi Kurds into Turkey after the 1991 Gulf War. 

But the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, said safe zones would not work. 

"The contributions of countries which neighbor Syria to appropriately looking after refugees deserves support, and it is understandable they are coming up with ideas to lessen the pressure on themselves," it wrote. 

"But setting up 'safe zones' in Syria is not a good policy. As UNHCR chief António Guterres has clearly stated, the lessons from history show so-called 'safe zones' can provide next to no real protection for refugees." 

France has supported Turkey's call for a safe zone and pressure for action has increased after the U.N. refugee agency said last month that Syria's exodus was accelerating. 

Assad stays cool amid reported slaughter on the bread lines

Up to 200,000 people could settle in Turkey if the conflict worsens, according to the UNHCR. 

Credible protection for "liberated" areas would require no-fly zones patrolled by foreign aircraft, but there is no chance of securing a U.N. Security Council mandate for such action, given opposition from veto-wielding members Russia and China. 

The People's Daily said any efforts to help alleviate the problem must respect Syria's sovereignty and independence. 

"Humanitarianism must not be politicized and nor should it be militarized," it wrote. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

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