it's clear syria is unlikely to turn into another libya. involving western military action. in the first place, russia will probably block it at the u.n. security council. but even without russia, there's no appetite for intervention. syria is a well armed state in a volatile region. and all-out war would involve its neighbors and western powers are distracted. the united states, the presidential election, europeans with the euro crisis and all of them worried about withdrawing from afghanistan. in paris tonight, president putin was digging in his heels. refusing to consider sanctions on syria and pointing out opposition fighters are also killing people. and the u.n. peace plan, he says, is still worth backing. bridget kendall, bbc news. >> for a closer look at russia's pivotal role in this crisis i spoke earlier with matthew reginsky, deputy director of the program for international peace. over the course of the last week, the more people i speak to about syria, they tend to be saying the best chance we have of avoiding total civil war in syria is to get the russians to put

and in news from libya, a group of militia fighters blocked air traffic. they demanded the release of one of their leaders. thirty militia members were arrested. in denmark, a group of men planning revenge for a cartoon of muhammed face charges of a terrorist attack. the newspaper that apologized has apologizedd them for any offense. >> today, a danis court convicted four men of a terrorist plot, and they were given 12 years each. they planned a shooting spree in copenhagen. the evidence was strong. weapons were found and the conversations were intercepted by swedish intelligence. the act was considered deeply offensive by muslims. the cartoons were published in 2005. in a separate plot from 2010, a somali man tried to kill the cartoonist. the men who were driven in were from north african origin. edish of them sweedis citizens. prosecutors said they intended to take hostage and kill those in the office. three of them were picked up in a suburb of the danish capital. also found were 100 runs of ammunition and plastic handcuffs. this was not the only plot.

colonel gaddafi's former intelligence chief has gone on trial in libya. he faces a long list of charges, in quoting ordering killings -- including ordering killings last year. he denies the charges. today u.s. officials confirmed top al-qaeda operative abu yahya al-libi was killed. his death is being characterized as a major blow to the organization. for more on this, i was joined by a senior political scientist and author of "hunting in the shadows." thank you for joining us. how significant is this? >> it is significant for al- qaeda in pakistan. he served as the gatekeeper. he had a very important role in helping to communicate on the field in iraq and somalia. his death does make it more difficult for the pakistan leadership to communicate on the field. >> the pakistan government says these strikes are illegal. are they? >> the challenge today is that fighting in previous years and decades has been between armies in single country's. al-qaeda is not an organization that fights in one area. its globally. it has elements in our range of areas. it is leg

that syria is not libya. it will not implode, but x load? >> >> yes, -- but exploded? >> yes, that is the estimation of not just kofi annan, but other leaders. that is why there's so much concern about syria. it is not just a question of syria falling into civil war, but a question of a regional crisis. we have heard a lot of grim assessment of the situation on the ground. we heard an acknowledgement from kofi annan that his peace plan is not being implemented and their need to be steps taken to press the government and if that is not going to work, then we need to look at other options. but we have very little detail of what the other options or belittle steps -- bolder steps would be. the secretary-general has come out and said that they love the security council to decide what to do next. the have no information as to what that might be. >> what else did they say about this contact group that james mentioned in his report? >> according to diplomats in the security council, mr. kofi annan did not raise it with the council. but he did raise it with journalists afterwa

one is the sheer strength of syria's armed forces, its military capability, greater than libya's for example. there's no political will behind the military option, reflecting the public mood against another war, particularly in the united states. major powers are left clinging to kofi annan's plan, which he concedes is not being implemented. today, he seemed tired and dispirited. after discussing ways to salvage his peace plan with the american secretary of state -- >> some say the plan might be dead. is the problem the plan or implementation? if it is implementation, how do we get action on that? what other options do we have? >> the international committee of the red cross now says a million ana ha in syria need aid because of the conflict. the report more and more driven from their homes amid shortages of food, medical care, and shelter. bbc news. >> among the bbc journalists who spent a lot of time reporting on the situation inside syria is our middle east correspondent eastpaul wood. his reports have offered a rare view into this conflict, and earlier, he joined me here in the s