Brutality of Syria war casts doubt on peace talks [GRAPHIC CONTENT]

Syria’s conflict was sparked by an act of brutality — the detention and torture of schoolchildren who spray- painted anti-government graffiti in a southern city. In the three years since, the civil war has evolved into one of the most savage conflicts in decades.

The atrocities have been relentless. Protesters gunned down in the streets. An opposition singer whose vocal chords were carved out. Beheadings and mass sectarian killings. Barrels full of explosives dropped from warplanes onto bakeries and homes.

It will be hard enough to find a political solution to Syria’s crisis at an international peace conference convening in Switzerland today, given the vast differences between the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the opposition. In a nation drowning in blood, reconciliation and justice over the atrocities seem even more distant.