Jackie Northam is NPR's International Affairs Correspondent. She is a veteran journalist who has spent three decades reporting on conflict, geopolitics, and life across the globe - from the mountains of Afghanistan and the desert sands of Saudi Arabia, to the gritty prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the pristine beauty of the Arctic.
In Syria, fighting is intensifying as clashes between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad have left hundreds of people dead.