Fjghting goes on: 80 die

Islamist rebels linked to al Qaeda have taken the town of Kessab, in north-west Syria. Eighty people were killed, at least 13 of them beheaded, three churches were desecrated and homes were looted.

Several thousand Armenian Christian residents fled for their lives, taking refuge in neighbouring towns like Latakia. Some are staying with relatives and friends; the rest are sheltering in overcrowded church buildings. A dozen or so families with members too elderly to leave have remained in Kessab, and were reportedly taken hostage.

Some 150,000 Syrians are estimated to have died since fighting began. Ten million of the country's 24 million population are now believed to be homeless. Up to four million have fled the country for Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. 

Sixteen million, including more than five million children, are calculated to be in need of humanitarian aid.

Baroness Warsi, the UK's minister for faith and communities, has set up a Foreign Office group for freedom of religion or belief. She has warned that Christianity is in danger of becoming extinct in the countries where it was founded.

But when is someone going to do something to stop the fighting in Syria?