Syrian President Bashar Assad is quietly preparing the ground to hold elections by early this summer, even as the Syrian conflict rampages into its fourth year with large parts of the country either in ruins or under opposition control.

The weekend massacre of more than 100 people became a potential turning point in the Syrian crisis yesterday as even staunch ally Russia took an unusually hard line against President Bashar Assad’s government.

Balint Szlanko reports from Beirut on the army’s victory over Fatah el-Islam and the prospect of transforming cross-party support into unity.