Assad's fall 'matter of time' – ex-UN observer

The former head of the UN observer mission in Syria says it is “only a matter of time” until President Bashar al-Assad’s government falls.

But Norwegian Maj Gen Robert Mood, who left Syria last week, said Mr Assad’s fall would not necessarily mean an end to the 16-month-old conflict. Syrian forces renewed their assault on the northern city of Aleppo on Friday.

The US state department says it fears Syrian government forces are preparing to carry out a massacre there. The pro-government al-Watan newspaper warned that the “mother of all battles” was about to start.

“In my opinion it is only a matter of time before a regime that is using such heavy military power and disproportional violence against the civilian population is going to fall,” Maj Gen Mood told the Reuters news agency