Brahimi warned that the Syrian civil war is worsening and the country faces a growing food crisis.

“There is no prospect for moving forward today or tomorrow,” Mr. Brahimi told journalists following a briefing of the Security Council on the issue. “But I also told the Council that, paradoxically, now that I have found out a little more about what is happening in the country and the region, I think that we will find an opening in the not-to-distant future.”

Brahimi briefed the council for the first time about his recent visit to Damascus and the wider region, including his talks with Assad, ahead of the annual UN General Assembly gathering which begins on Tuesday. More than 18,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the uprising against President al-Assad began in March 2011. In addition, more than 260,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries and an estimated 2.5 million are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Mr. Brahimi recently returned from his trip to the Middle East where he met with President al-Assad to discuss the crisis. He then visited refugee camps in Turkey and Jordan, where he heard first-hand accounts of the struggles facing those who fled the conflict in their homeland.

On Saturday, upon his return from the region, the Joint Special Representative met with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to address the violence in Syria and on how to progress towards an inclusive political solution that will address the legitimate demands of the Syrian people

In his press encounter today, Mr. Brahimi acknowledged that while he did not have “a full plan” as of yet on how to tackle the escalating conflict, he planned on returning to Syria soon.

“I’m returning to the region and I have agreed with the Council that I will come back here as soon as I can with more ideas on how we can move forward,” Mr. Brahimi continued. “I refuse to believe that reasonable people do not see that you cannot go backward; that you cannot go back to the Syria of the past.”

Turning his attention to the Security Council’s ongoing deadlock – due to differences over how to proceed, the Council has so far been unable to unite and take collective action to put an end to the crisis – Mr. Brahimi said he was encouraged by the Council members’ interest in the situation and their “generous support” to his mission. He also called on both the Council and the League of Arab States to remain united in their position.

“I said that if I do not represent the entire Council, I’m nothing,” Mr. Brahimi stated. “I need to be seen to represent a united Council and united League of Arab States.”

Addressing the press stakeout, Ambassador Peter Wittig of Germany, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for this month, said the Council welcomed the opportunity to discuss the situation in Syria with Mr. Brahimi and that the Council members expressed grave concern about the ongoing violence in the country and its humanitarian impact.

For his part, Mr. Brahimi noted that there was “no disagreement anywhere” that the situation in Syria was getting worse and that the violence had turned into a threat to regional peace and security. Nevertheless, he urged patience. “Please don’t forget that I started just three weeks ago,” he noted.

“The  Syrian National Council (SNC) calls on the UN Security Council to convene an immediate meeting to discuss the situation arising from the massacre in the presence of international observers, and determine the responsibility of the United Nations towards the genocide and forced displacement carried out by the regime against unarmed civilians,” according to a statement by SNC.

“The shelling on the town of Houla, Homs lasted for 12 hours, followed by a terrible massacre committed by the regime and its mercenaries,” SNC added.

Some of the victims were hit by heavy artillery, others “slaughtered with knives while entire families, were massacred  SNC said.

The National Council has also called on the Syrian people to declare mourning for three days and  and respond to the massacre, with more demonstrations, especially in Damascus and Aleppo.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory while giving a lower death toll of 55, agreed that this was “a real massacre” and complained that “U.N. observers are just staying silent” on the matter, according to Al Arabiya.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon blamed the Syrian government on Friday for much of the “unacceptable levels of violence and abuses” occurring every day in violation of a U.N.-backed peace plan.

Ban also called on all elements of the opposition to stop the violence and respect human rights.

“The mission of the observers may be risky. The situation in Syria remains fragile, and one will be completely dependent on both parties respecting the integrity of UN personnel,” says Norweigian Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eid.

“We therefore have to have realistic expectations in terms of what the observer force can achieve. Still, our hope is that the presence of the observers may help reduce the level of violence in the country,” he added in a statement released by the Norweigian mission to  UN website.

Mood has been a military advisor to Kofi Annan by supporting Annan in his efforts to halt the violence in Syria, and to prepare the ground for the establishment of an observer mission.

The UN Security Council on April 21st unanimously decided to establish an unarmed military observer force. Last Saturday, the Security Council authorized the establishment of UNSMIS,an observer mission made up of up to 300 unarmed military observers an deployed for an initial period of 90 days, to monitor the cessation of violence in Syria.

Born in Norway in 1958, Mr. Mood has extensive experience and knowledge ofpeacekeeping operations at a national and international level, including inUN operations such as the Organization¹s Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)from 1989 to 1990.

The observers are also tasked with monitoring and supporting the full implementation of the six-point peace plan put fornt by the Joint Special Envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Kofi Annan, which calls for an end to the violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, and the start of inclusive political dialogue that takes into account the wants of the Syrian people.

The opposition Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) said government forces fired a rocket at the building in Mashaa Attayar district on Wednesday.

State-run SANA TV reported  the explosion by showing pictures of injured children in hospital and says 16 people died in the blast in a house used to make bombs by “armed terrorist groups”.

One report by Syrian activists said 13 children and 15 women were among the dead.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based rights group, not knowing the casue of the explosion, asked UN monitors in the area to investigate.

Meanwhile, a video has emerged which purportedly shows a man being buried alive by security forces,  for sending material to TV stations.

The opposition Syrian National Council has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting “so that it can issue a resolution to protect civilians”.

Persistent violence has been reported across Syria since a ceasefire was introduced earlier this month including areas where UN observers are present.

France now says the Security Council should consider the use of  military force in Syria if Mr Annan’s peace plan fails to halt the violence.

The plan calls on Damascus to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from cities.

Alain Juppe, demands at least 300 U.N. observers on the ground in Syria within two weeks and would push for a Chapter 7 resolution which allows the use of force at the United Nations if Damascus does not comply by early May, according to AP.

France would take under consideration peace envoy Kofi Annan’s report due on May 5 as a deadline for Damascus to meet the terms of the plan.

His comments come as activists reported on Wednesday the deaths of dozens of people by government forces.

He claimed that Assad’s government has not honoured the pledges to withdraw its military from cities and towns.

”We cannot allow ourselves to be defied by the current regime,” Juppe said.

“This cannot continue. We want to see observers in sufficient numbers, at least 300 … deployed as quickly as possible,” Juppe said.

“If that does not work, we cannot allow the regime to defy us. We would have to move to a new stage with a Chapter 7 resolution at the United Nations to take a new step to stop this tragedy,” Juppe said.

An explosion in Syria’s central city of Hama on Wednesday, killed at least 18 people and wounding dozens more, Local Coordinating Committees (LCC) in Syria said.

At least 40 people were killed across the country on Wednesday, Al Arabiya reported.

“A buffer zone, a security zone, are things being studied,” Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters, adding that this was only a suggestion being considered.

It has been made clear that a buffer zone inside Syria would need to be secured which would require at least  Syrian government approval, that could bring Turkish forces into confrontation with Syrian forces reports Reuters.

Turkish Prime Minister also said he was considering recalling its ambassador from Damascus once Turkish citizens had fleed Syria, which the Turkish Foreign Ministry urged them to do at once.

Turkey says that there are currently 14,700 Syrian refugees living in camps on its territory. On Thursday it announced there had been an increase in the flow, with some one thousand arriving within one day, as Fighting has moved closer to the Turkish border, with a government attack in the Idlib region.

At the same time, UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan urged the Security Council to end its differences over Syria and unite to end the bloody crackdown on protesters.

As Assad’s  isolation grows, four members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced the closures of their embassies in protest against itsbrutal crackdown, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) .

Russia, one of Assad’s few remaining allies , condemned the decision, saying it was essential to keep communication.

Russia and China have vetoed two resolutions on Syria in the past six months saying they were unbalanced. The council has been internationally critisized for its failure to pass a resolution in the year of the revolt.

Chinese and Russian vetos have hampered Western and Arab-backed diplomatic action over Syria in the United Nations. Turkey is looking for closer co-operation with the Arab League, while pressing Russia to

The Syrian crisis has put new energy into old allegiances in what had been shifting diplomatic territory in the region. Syria and Russia are old allies, but Syria, already close to Iran, had been moving closer to Turkey until earlier this year.

Gaza’s Hamas leadership and the Islamic Jihad faction confirmed the ceasefire with Al Jazeera on Tuesday, after four days of Israeli attacks. Israel accuses Palestinian factions of firing rockets into the country.

The latest round of violence began on Friday after Israel killed Zuhair Al-Qaisi, head of the Popular Resistance Committees, prompting militant groups to begin lobbing rockets over the border. The army said Qaisi had planned a deadly attack in August 2011 and accused him of planning a repeat attack “in the coming days.”

“We accept a ceasefire if Israel agrees to apply it by ending its aggressions and assassinations,” according to Daud Shehab, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said.

The United States welcomed the truce.”There are reports that the Egyptians have been able to negotiate some calm. If, in fact, that’s the case, that would, of course, be very welcome,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in Washington according to AFP news agency.

Home Front Defence Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio, Israel had reached an “understanding” with militant groups in Gaza

The Palestinians and Israelis made rival calls Sunday for the UN Security Council to act as the international Quartet on the Middle East -the United States, European Union,United Nations and Russia -holds its first top-level meeting in six months on Monday.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, said the Security Council must “act with urgency to address this crisis,” accusing Israel of staging an “escalation of deadly violence and terror.”

In return, Israel criticised the international community’s “silence” over rocket attacks from Gaza, and said in a letter to the Security Council that it would take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians against the renewed barrage.