DENVER - Six people were killed Saturday in Homs, Syria, marking the seventh straight day of attacks. Thousands have been killed since protests began nearly a year ago and hundreds have died just in the last week.
Countless others have been wounded, including many children, who can't get the medical attention they need.
University of Denver International Studies Professor Joseph Szyliowicz has been watching the protests closely and says despite the horrifying images we're seeing, the oppression is getting surprisingly stronger.
"What you have happening in Syria is truly revolutionary. The Arabs of the region are no longer going to accept the massacre of other Arabs," says Szyliowicz.
"It's terrible to see pictures of bodies and so forth but the overwhelming impression apart from this is the power that is being demonstrated by the Syrian opposition," says Szyliowicz.
Szyliowicz says we may very well be on the verge of a civil war, one that America needs to be involved in.
"There's no doubt at all that we need to act but I would caution that getting involved in Syria is not going to be an easy affair as it was relatively speaking in Libya. I would say that the U.S. should act strategically and work with Turkey," says Szyliowicz.
It's been a deadly year in the Middle East, between Libya and Syria - something Szyliowicz says has changed the region's future for good.
"The events of 2011 and continuing events into 2012 have transformed the middle east. There is no question that the middle east of today is no longer the Middle East as it was 5-10 years ago," says Szyliowicz.
Syria's deputy foreign minister is defending the regime as violence spreads. He says the government will "overcome difficulties" through reforms and dialogue with its opponents and says betting on the collapse of Syria "is betting on failure."
The comments come on a day when gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus. Syria's state-run news agency says three men opened fire as the general left his home Saturday morning. It's the first killing of a high-ranking military officer in the capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March.
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