{"id":996,"date":"2012-02-07T13:21:41","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T19:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/peacenotwalls\/?p=996"},"modified":"2012-02-08T16:05:05","modified_gmt":"2012-02-08T22:05:05","slug":"pray-for-the-people-of-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/elcasumud\/pray-for-the-people-of-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray for the People of Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"

The people of Syria are in our thoughts and prayers as the violence intensifies following lack of action by the UN Security Council.\u00a0 China and Russia vetoed a Western-Arab U.N. Security Council resolution backing an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside and end the government’s violence against its people.\u00a0 The changes proposed by Russia, seen by Reuters, would have introduced language assigning blame to Syria’s opposition, as well as the government, for violence in which the United Nations says more than 5,000 people have died.<\/p>\n

Western nations reject the idea of equal blame, saying the government is mainly responsible.<\/p>\n

Russia had also insisted on dropping a demand that the Syrian government withdraw its security forces from cities, but U.S. and European delegations refuse to include that change.<\/p>\n

Please pray for an end to the violence and an outcome that will bring freedom and prosperity for the Syrian people.<\/p>\n

For more information and analysis, see:<\/p>\n