Syria Live: UN Security Council Condemns Violence by Both Sides

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1315 GMT: Protest Watch

Protesters in Kafranbel in Idlib Province have expressed condolences to the victims of Monday's bombings of the Boston Marathon:

0945 GMT: The Opposition Within

The leader of the internal opposition, Haytham Manna, has criticised both the opposition outside Syria and the Assad regime as he declares that a negotiated political solution is still possible.

Manna portrays the external opposition as a divided Syrian National Coalition, "more likely to implode than become institutionalised", with an "an alliance between hardline Islamists and Qatar" demonstrating that "the SNC has no ideology, no common vision and no real independence".

Meanwhile, Manna says, "The dictatorship is not serious in calling for a negotiated political solution," but President Assad "is confident that the opposition's political forces no longer represent real power".

Without offering any practical steps, Manna insists, "We must adhere to a negotiated political solution in this difficult phase."

0615 GMT: Casualties

The Local Coordination Committees claim 111 people were killed on Thursday, including 53 in Damascus and its suburbs.

The Violations Documentation Center reports 57,234 people killed since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011, an increase of 108 from Thursday.

Of the dead, 45,292 are civilians, a rise of 58 from yesterday.

0545 GMT: United Nations Statement

The UN Security Council has "condemned the widespread violations of human rights by the Syrian authorities, as well as any human rights abuses by armed groups", declaring, "The escalating violence is completely unacceptable and must end immediately."

The statement came after the UN humanitarian affairs agency asked the Security Council to approve cross-border relief operations into Syria to deliver aid to some of the 4 million people displaced inside the country.

"The situation in Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe with ordinary people paying the price for the failure to end the conflict," Valerie Amos, the head of the agency said. "I do not have an answer for those Syrians I have spoken to who asked me why the world has abandoned them."

On Monday, the heads of five UN agencies concerned with Syria declared, via The New York Times, "There still seems to be an insufficient sense of urgency among the governments and parties that could put a stop to the cruelty and carnage in Syria."