Pressure mounts as Syria misses observer deadline

Pressure mounts as Syria misses observer deadline

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian military vowed Friday to “cut every evil hand that targets Syrian blood,” saying recent attacks on elite security forces marked a dangerous escalation in the country’s 8-month-old crisis. The defiant statement signaled the country’s violence is worsening as President Bashar Assad tries to quash the most serious threat to his family’s 40-year dynasty, under ever increasing international pressure. Damascus faced the possibility of sweeping economic sanctions from the Arab League after missing a deadline Friday to allow hundreds of observers into the country.