Opponents to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have united to form a national council, as Russian lawmakers visited the country to help defuse the ongoing crisis.

An 80-member central council was elected on Saturday, with a quarter deemed “young revolutionaries”, as various opposition groups unified in their aim to oust President Assad.

The council saw a wide range of groups negotiate and come together, including Arab and Kurd nationalists, as well as liberal opposition members and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The move comes as a delegation of Russian MPs came to the country hoping to meet with both the President and the opposition, in order to broker talks.

Russia, a long-time ally of Syria, has been criticized for obstructing any Security Council resolutions that have sought to condemn the current regime’s behaviour.

Previously, French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, accused the Syrian government of crimes against humanity and urged Russia to join them in passing sanctions against the Syrian regime.

Juppe told reporters that,

"The Syrian regime has committed crimes against humanity… The way it suppressed the popular protests is unacceptable.”

He went on to say that “there should be international sanctions” which would send “a powerful signal that such actions cannot continue ".

"I hope Russia will back us in the Security Council even if our positions do not yet fully agree."

Meanwhile Ilyas Uumakhanov, vice president of the Russian upper house said,

"Russia cares about the fate of the Syrian people. That's why we want to find a way to stop a negative scenario developing."

"We intend to assess the situation, lead the consultations with the different political forces."

Strong sanctions have been put in place against Syria by the EU and US, while the Arab League has also joined the criticism of President Assad’s regime.

Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) has denied accusation it is targeting black immigrants and dark-skinned Libyans in its hunt for Gaddafi loyalists.

Gaddafi is thought to have hired mercenaries from Sub-Saharan countries, including Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan to fight the Libyan rebels.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has spoken out against the UN Security Council for failing to take a strong stand on the ongoing unrest in Syria.

Human Rights Watch released a report Thursday calling for the International Criminal Court to do more to hold senior government officials accountable for atrocities and improve its credibility.

The Arab League demanded Syria end its brutal crackdown of peaceful protest on Tuesday.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syria could descend into "civil war" and criticised Assad's regime for failing to "listen to the voice of the people."

The Turkish Prime Minister recently embarked on a tour of Arab Spring states emerging from the shadow of repressive dictators. Currently in Egypt, Erdogan is due to visit Tunisia and Libya shortly.

The UN estimate on the number of protesters killed was raised to 2600 on Monday at the UNHRC.

Navi Pillay, the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated, “the situation in Syria is still dire.”

Amid such casualty figures and harrowing tails of torture and abuse by Syrian security forces, the appointment a three member panel to investigate the allegations was announced on Monday.

However it remains uncertain how the investigation will take place, as President Assad has not granted the panel permission to visit the country.

Speaking at the world's largest arms fair, held in London, the British Defence Secretary Liam Fox defended the UK's export licensing procedures as "amongst the most rigorous in the world"

Fox added,

In a letter to the United Nations, the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network (HLLN) severely condemned the lack of adequate inquiry and prosecution of Sri Lankan soldiers accused of systematically raping Haitians women and girls as young as 7, whilst posted as UN peacekeepers in 2007.

Ezilo Dantò, HLLN president writes,

“In 2007, it was discovered and reported that girls as young as 13 were having sex with U.N. peacekeepers for as little as $1 in Haiti.” 

“Moreover, Sri Lankan soldiers were accused of systematically raping Haitian women and girls, some as young as 7 years old.”

“If only a dozen UN peacekeepers were punished for sexual abuse and rape, then that means, for instance, most of the 114 Sri Lankan soldiers deported back to Sri Lanka from Haiti in 2007 for sexual abuse and rape in Haiti did not get punished,”

“Humanitarian aid workers and UN peacekeepers accused of sexually abusing and sexual trafficking children in Haiti should have their names and their country’s identities exposed so that this matter may be cleaned up once and for all.”

However, Brigadiear Nihal Hapuarachchi, spokesperson for the Sri Lankan Army is reported to have stated the matter is closed. A full inquiry was carried out and those soldiers who were found guilty were prosecuted he asserted.