Talks continue at the U.N. Security Council today over a measure to respond to the Syrian government’s crackdown on the growing uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In a bid to avoid a Russian veto, backers of a proposed measure have dropped language calling on Assad to step down. Russia has vowed to block any measure that would allow for foreign military intervention. The ongoing talks at the United Nations come as more accounts of a war-zone-like atmosphere emerge from restive Syrian cities. In Homs, a young boy described what he said was the torture and murder of his father by Assad’s forces.

Unidentified: '’They called us and said, ’We have Abdel Fattal Hosam.' We went to the government hospital, and he had marks of torture on his face. There were no gunshot wounds. He was just tortured. We found him dead. He was in a coma for five days and then died. They called us from the hospital and told us to come and get him. He had a taxi car, as well. They burned the taxi.’’