Syria - the war spreads

After bombing the tar out of most of the cities of Syria and two reported car bomb attacks by the opposition over the weekend reports that fighting in Damascus has increased dramatically.

Armed Syrian defectors took their uprising into the heart of a heavily guarded and wealthy district of Damascus on Monday, clashing with security forces in what activists and residents called the most intense fighting in such a strategic area since the protests against President Bashar al-Assad began a year ago

I was hoping to find some indication of the Russian ship the Iman tanker said to carry a Russian force of anti terror fighters sent to back up Assad's army as reported by ABC news but, unless anyone out there has a copy of Google Earth Pro with it's live satellite photos I can't verify. I did however find what appears to be three military ships in the harbor (note the three ships in the upper left of the photo). The screen grab was dated sometime in 2011.
If it's true that the Russians have sent such a force then this is not good news either for the middle east or the civilians in Syria especially Damascus. You can be sure that Assad will do everything to protect his own hide.

All of this going on while the headline news is reporting that Russia is wanting a halt in the fighting as some type of humanitarian gesture. Only time will tell how this will play out but by the looks of it so far it's not looking good. Enough proposals have been signed to wallpaper an office yet nothing has been done and civilians continue to die.