As much of the world continues to watch in outrage the Syrian regime’s bloody campaign against the country’s dissents, or freedom fighters depending on one’s point of view, the mettle of many of the world’s leaders is being put increasingly to the test.

Push is very quickly coming to shove over the Syrian regime’s escalating use of violence in its so far unsuccessful attempts to stamp out the country’s uprising.

And with each passing day, it is becoming more and more apparent that nothing short of military intervention in Syria will bring the bloodshed to an end.

With the pullout of United Nations observers, who entered the country as part of Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan, it is hard to imagine how many other avenues are available to the international community to bring the bloodshed to a halt.

In fact, since accepting Annan’s six-point peace plan on 27 March, the Syrian regime appears to have done precious little but buy time while increasing its attacks on its opponents. The United Nations said yesterday that levels of violence in the country have grown worse than they were before their observers entered the country back in April.

According to the UN peace plan, drawn up by former secretary general and UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, the drawback of Syrian forces was to have been followed by a full ceasefire by both sides. The ceasefire was supposed to have lead to an observer mission and talks between both sides on the country’s future.

That much happened, but the observer mission was brought to an abrupt end the week before last because of exponentially increasing violence − leaving the peace plan in shambles and the way forward in a lurch.

And in the meantime, the onslaught by Syrian President Bashar Assad continues unabated.

A UN investigation into the massacre of 100 civilians – mostly women and children – in the village of Houla last May, has found that troops loyal to the Assad regime ‘may have been responsible’ – diplomatic speak implying guilt – but a final verdict will require further UN investigation.

Since the conflict began in March of last year with peaceful protests challenging the regime, activists say some 14,000 people have been killed. Syria, it cannot be denied, is now well and truly rushing headlong towards an even bloodier civil war.

In the meantime, the failure of Annan’s internationally-brokered peace plan has made it more difficult for outside observers, humanitarian workers and supplies to get in, or reliable information to filter out.

If a fully fledged Syrian civil war does erupt, one thing that will filter out of the country will be those escaping the violence. Much as Malta had evacuated foreign nationals from Libya when the full brunt of violence had broken out, Cyprus is now bracing itself and making plans for similarly dramatic evacuations.

Western world leaders had once pinned their hopes on diplomatic pressure exerted by Kofi Annan, and most are apparently unwilling to venture militarily into another Arab nation in conflict. US Senator John McCain, however, has in the past called on the Obama administration to launch US airstrikes to end Assad’s brutal crackdown.

If the regime’s continued assaults on civilians are anything to go by, it will not be long before nothing short of concrete, coercive and concerted action by the international community will make the regime change its ways.

That decision, one way or another, was at the time of writing yesterday set to be taken on Saturday when US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are due to be joined by top diplomats from UN Security Council nations, and possibly also by neighbours of Syria.