CRACKDOWN

U.N.: Syria Death Toll Over 4,000

Calls situation “civil war.”

With international pressure on Syria growing, the United Nations is saying the death toll has risen above 4,000 and is likening the situation to a civil war. The Arab League has warned of international intervention if Syria doesn’t stop its violent repression of protests. Nabil el-Araby, the secretary-general of the Arab League, said the Syrian regime can "avoid the dangers of a foreign intervention" if it agrees to an Arab League plan to allow observers into the country to monitor its handling of the unrest. Earlier this week the League voted to sanction the Syrian regime and cut ties to its central bank. The U.N.’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said it is raising the death toll to 4,000, but the figure is probably much higher, and that it is characterizing the conflict as a civil war.