Assad Orders Referendum on New Constitution

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered that a referendum be held later this month on a new constitution that would allow for additional political parties and limit the president to two 14-year terms, Syria's state-run TV station announced today. But opposition leaders immediately dismissed the gesture as an attempt to stall for time, saying they won't accept anything less than Assad's resignation, and, as the AP points out, it would be hard to hold a referendum amid the violence wreaking havoc on the country.

That violence continued today, with shells continuing to rain down on Homs. One attack hit a key oil pipeline that runs through the rebel-held Baba Amr neighborhood there—an attack that state-run TV blamed on "armed terrorists." Government troops also launched an attack on Hama, firing on residential neighborhoods from armored vehicles, the Guardian reports. Amidst that bloody backdrop, France says it is "renegotiating" a UN resolution with Russia, which has stood by Assad's regime. (More Bashar al-Assad stories.)