JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (Catholic Online) - It is no longer safe for many reporters to remain in Syria as government forces become increasingly indiscriminate in their attacks. Food and water shortages are also becoming acute according to activist groups. 
The cultural heritage of Syria, once in ancient times the most powerful nation on the planet, is also being destroyed. 

Estimates of casualties range from a conservative 20,000 dead to 30,000. 

Survivors dig for their dead and dying using their bare hands. 

With fighting constant and the UN busy holding its General Assembly, the disaster in Syria has been getting less attention in the media. As world focus shifts to the possibility of conflict between Israel and Iran and Americans focus on their upcoming election, Assad is using the lull in vigilance to step up violent attacks on his own people. 
In addition to warplanes, the Syrian army is using artillery to fire shells indiscriminately into cities and towns where rebel fighters are known to reside. 

As usual, unsuspecting and uninvolved children are suffering the most. It is the children who most acutely feel the pangs of hunger and who are left without loved ones to care for them. 

Meanwhile, Russia and China continue to block any meaningful efforts to quell the violence. 

While the Syrian ambassador to the UN offered an appeal to peace and a truce to end the fighting, the opposition disregarded the message, calling it a ploy to trick the international community that there is a chance for peace. 

Click here to see images from the conflict (warning mature viewers only).

So while the world dithers, more and more innocents are killed in the violence. Perhaps worse, the humanitarian situation is becoming dangerous for millions as food, water, and medicine run out. For now, the primary hope for the Syrian people lies in Assad's swift capitulation and the aid that reaches the country from overseas. 

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