London, Jan. 28 : Syria''s struggle to shake off its determined dictator, a man once regarded by the West as a representative of a new generation of enlightened Middle East leadership, has been more bloodthirsty than any other state caught up in the Arab awakening.

Over the past ten months, more than 5,000 civilians have died.

The UN, which calculated the figure, admitted that so rapidly was the death toll mounting that it gave up trying to update the tally weeks ago.

But the remorseless ferocity with which the Bahader family was killed has given rise to fears that Syria is entering an even bloodier phase of its uprising.

More than 100 people have been killed in countrywide violence over the past 48 hours, according to rights groups, with deaths being reported for the first time in the second city of Aleppo, the one part of Syria that has seen relatively little violence since the unrest began.

Even Mustafa al-Dabi, the reticent Sudanese general heading the Arab League''s controversial monitoring mission to Syria, conceded that things were getting worse, saying that unrest had soared "in a significant way" since Tuesday.

The violence, he told The Telegraph, did not "help the atmosphere to get all sides to sit at the negotiating table."

With the situation rapidly deteriorating, the UN Security Council met in closed session last night to discuss a draft resolution drafted by Western and Arab states with the intention of bringing the matter to a vote next week.

But Russia, which has remained steadfast in its loyalty to the Assad regime, once again signalled its determination to veto the resolution, even though it makes no mention of sanctions.

Gennady Gatilov, Russia''s deputy foreign minister, said that the draft contained "no fundamental consideration of our position" and protested that there was no specific clause ruling out military action.

"The draft is unacceptable for us in this form," he added.

The international community''s perceived impotence in responding to the crisis in Syria has angered many of Mr Assad''s opponents, who question why the West was willing to act to protect Libyans but not them.

Reflecting a growing sense that time might be running out, Ban Ki-Moon, the UN secretary general, urged the Security Council to put aside its differences.

"We have to seize this moment," he said. "We have to help these people. They have been oppressed for so long." Already depleted by the withdrawal of Saudi Arabia and Gulf States, the Arab League. (ANI)