Much attention has been paid to ABC's Barbara Walters, who was given unprecedented access to President Bashar al Assad, as well as a tour of Syria's capital Damascus.
But Walters is the only Western reporter who has managed to get into the country. Below the Nightline videos, we have posted three videos by Clarissa Ward of America's CBS News, who smuggled herself into Syria without the blessing of the regime, risking her life and those who dared to speak with her. Ward documents the fear of the protesters, the horrors of makeshift field hospitals, and the defiance of those people hidden away to challenge Assad and his version of events.
Then there is the video from Stuart Ramsay of Sky News. Instead of reporting on the activities of dissidents in the back rooms, Ramsay walked with them in the streets of Homs, streets that are littered, every single day, by sniper fire and artillery strikes.
Did Assad order his loyalists to shoot? Is he guilty of crimes against humanity? These questions will not be answered here. But we can venture from this footage if these forces --- not under his control, according to the President --- responsible for human rights abuses, atrocities, and civilian casualties on a wide scale.
Assad --- "Indiviual Mistakes" Led to Deaths
Walters Reports from Damascus
Clarissa Ward reports on a Syrian field hospital
Ward reports on a protest in Douma, while a military helicopter circles overhead
This week, scores of civilians have died in Homs. Ward speaks to defecting soldiers who are trying to defend the civilians
Stuart Ramsay reports from Homs, where things have only gotten worse since he left