Seven months into the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the Syrian opposition remains starkly divided on several key issues. According to the BBC, these issues include "the question of whether or not to encourage foreign intervention, whether there should be regime change or dialogue, and whether there should be armed rebellion or peaceful protest."

The Syrian National Council (SNC), which was recently formed in Turkey, and the Damascus-based National Coordination Committee (NCC) are the two main opposition groups that have emerged in Syria. While both blocs agree on overthrowing the current regime, the NCC calls for dialogue with Assad's regime (on the condition that the regime ends the violence against protestors), while the SNC vehemently rejects any form of dialogue. 

While the SNC and the NCC both originally rejected foreign intervention, the SNC membership now seems divided on the issue. According to Foreign Policy Magazine, "some SNC members, especially the youth activists, have been calling for the imposition of a no-fly zone and the protection of civilians including a NATO-led intervention akin to the one in Libya." The NCC calls instead for economic sanctions and other political maneuvers to counter Assad's regime. 

Military defectors organized under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) mark yet another facet of Syria's opposition. The FSA has repeatedly mounted attacks on Syrian security forces and Syrian security forces and army, worrying many that the crisis will escalate into a civil war. A majority of the opposition agrees that protests should remain non-violent, however many youth activists are growing impatient with the slow progress on the political front.

(Euronews: 0739 PST, April 26, 2011) UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday that Britain is working on "possible further measures" to be taken against the Syrian government unless it stops attacking its own people. This comes as amateur video footage emerged on the internet that appears to show Syrian security forces shooting at protesters in Deraa yesterday.

Warning: Video contains graphic images from the start.

Syria: Deraa Witness Says 'Snipers Are Everywhere'

(Al Jazeera English: 0320 PST, April 26, 2011) A resident of Deraa, who we are not naming for security reasons, described to Al Jazeera, through a translator, a desperate situation on the ground in the restive southern city.

(Euronews: 0604 PST, April 25, 2011) Syrian government tanks and troops have gone on the offensive in the southern town of Deraa, the cradle of the protests which began last month. Residents say the forces moved in just after dawn prayers, opened fire at random, while bodies were left lying in the street. The military action is evidence, say rights groups of the escalating crackdown in cities across the country.

Syria has now closed all its land border crossings with neighbouring Jordan in what one official said, "related to what appears to be a major security operation."

Warning: This video contains some graphic images.