The two-year-long conflict has cost almost 70-thousand lives and reportedly forced a million to flee the country.

 

　　The anniversary comes at the time when arming the Syrian rebels is being considered as a possible option.

 

　　Britain and France have been pressing other EU countries to back their proposal to lift an arms restriction currently imposed on Syria, and the European Union is scheduled to review that embargo in May.

 

　　The Syrian government though is describing the suggestion as a "flagrant violation" of the principles of international law.

 

　　The Russian government has also opposed the suggestion, saying "it is not an option".

 

　　And Dong Manyuan, an international strategic analyst at China Institute of International Studies, says arming the rebels could make things worse.

 

　　"Arming the rebels will only further add fuel to the fire. It is not practical for the rebels to overthrow the Assad government, at least in the short term. The government still has wide support among citizens. Its control over the military forces, administrative organs and natural resources still prevails. It is difficult to break the power balance unless there is a direct military intervention."

 

　　"Inside Syria, only the Free Syrian Army is the hardliner that is trying to force Assad to step down by force. Some opposition groups, or we can say at least half of the opposition groups, always believe a national dialogue is the right way to end the crisis. I think the international community should realize that peaceful dialogue is the only way to solve the problem."

 

　　Germany, Austria and Sweden are said to be among the EU countries reluctant to lift the arms embargo.

 

　　There's also been some suggestion from the United Nations that lifting the arms embargo will make the job of humanitarian agencies "more difficult".