The International Red Cross finally figured out that the unpleasantness in Syria is a civil war; they apparently need a lot of proof. Those of us who've been following the violence in Syria reached that conclusion some weeks ago.
Assad's minority Alawites have got nowhere else to go so they keep fighting. There is some talk of carving out an Alawite state on the Syrian coast just north of Lebanon.
Syria could degenerate into several mini-states representing various factions. This would cause less regional angst than the feared split-up of Iraq which threatened to put the Turks at war with a Kurdish state.
