Protests went on as elections kicked off in Syria  As the possibility of a civil war in Syria becomes more and more apparent, the UN human rights chief has raised the estimated Syrian death toll to 5,000. Nine months of unrest have gripped the nation as pro-democracy protests began to take place agains the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad, who responded with a brutal, bloody crackdown that has not even spared children.
The latest figure reported to the UN Security Council by humanitarian chief Navi Pillay is 1,000 higher than the one she announced just 10 days ago. The toll includes civilians, army defectors and those executed for refusing to shoot civilians, but not soldiers and other security personnel killed by opposition forces, she said.
 The Syrian government menawhile has claimed more than 1,100 members of the army, police and security services have been killed.
In a familiar rhetoric, Ms Pillay said the Syrian government's actions could constitute crimes against humanity and issued a fresh call for the council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisa, Egypt, Yemen and Libya sparked a wave of largely peaceful protests against four decades of Assad family rule around mid-March
 A violent security crackdown has yet failed to halt the unrest, which turned bloodier in the last few months as defecting soldiers join armed civilians in fighting back in some areas.
One flashpoint region is the central province of Homs, which has borne the brunt of the crackdown with tanks romaing the streets a now common sight. An explosion set a gas pipeline on fire on Monday, the second reported pipeline blast in the area in a week.  
The explosion occurred near the restive town of Rastan, the scene in late September of one of the first battles between army defectors and security forces. The insurgents have since opted for hit-and-run attacks on patrols and security compounds.
Despite the spiralling violence, the Syrian authorities held local elections on Monday as part of what they say is a reform process, but Assad's critics described the voting as irrelevant.
Monday was also the second day of the opposition's "Strike for Dignity", but its success was hard to gauge in some cities where the risk of getting caught in further violence kept many residents at home.
Though the strike has found support in protest strongholds around the country, it has not taken hold in central parts of the capital Damascus or the business hub of Aleppo.
In Homs, activists said at least four civilians were killed by tank fire on Sunni Muslim districts, where the strike held and voting was largely boycotted.
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a Syrian activist network, said security forces killed another 16 people elsewhere in Syria, including in villages around Homs and in the northwestern province of Idlib on the border with Turkey.
Syria has barred most independent and foreign journalists, making it hard to assess conflicting accounts of events there.
A notable exception was US network ABC's veteran journalist Barbaba Walters, who managed to conduct an interview with Assad. Assad was almost universally criticised for what appeared to be a complete denial of the human rights violations plaguing his people.
In New York, Western envoys on the Security Council said Ms Pillay's briefing on Monday was the most horrifying they had heard in recent times and termed it scandalous that the council, paralysed by opposition from Russia and China, had taken little action on Syria.
"Independent, credible and corroborated accounts demonstrate that these abuses have taken place as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians," Ms Pillay said, according to briefing notes seen by Reuters.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he too was troubled by Ms Pillay's report but said outside intervention could lead to civil war and a far higher death toll.
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle called on Russia and China to back Security Council action on Syria after learning of the raised death toll.
“I think it is necessary that those countries in the Security Council which are still hesitating, change their minds," he said
Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said Ms Pillay should never have appeared before the council for a session that was part of a "huge conspiracy concocted against Syria from the beginning."
As more unconfirmed footage emerged of the latest fighting across the country, the government urged Syrians to vote in local elections. The opposition has described the poll as “pointless”.
Assad's government portrays the municipal polls as part of a process leading to a parliamentary election next year and constitutional reform. But critics say local elections have little meaning in a country where power is highly centralised.
Prime Minister Adel Safar urged voters to "stand together to save our country from the conspiracies against us" and SANA said Syrians had flocked to the polls in 9,849 voting centres.
In Damascus where support for Assad is strong, pollng stations appeared busy.  
Assad has said reforms cannot be rushed in Baathist-ruled Syria, which is a close ally of Iran, a key player in nearby Lebanon and supporter of militant anti-Israel groups.
Some of his opponents see civil disobedience such as the strike action as preferable to armed confrontation.
"The cost will be more human lives I am afraid. But it is less costly than an armed uprising and the regime dragging the country into a Libya-type scenario," said Rima Fleihan, a member of the foreign-based opposition Syrian National Council.