It is puzzling that world leaders are warning the anti-regime rebellion in Syria could turn into a "sectarian war" whereas reports have for long established that it is indeed a conflict between the minority Alawite rulers of the country and the majority of the population led by the Sunnis.

Foreign governments also warn of a civil war in Syria, whereas what is happening is nothing but a civil war.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton maintains the same line. She said on Tuesday Syria must not be allowed to descend into a sectarian war, and warned against “proxies or terrorist fighters” being sent in to join the conflict.

“We have to set very clear expectations about avoiding sectarian warfare,” Clinton told a news conference in South Africa. “Those who are attempting to exploit the situation by sending in proxies or terrorist fighters must realise that they will not be tolerated, first and foremost by the Syrian people,” she added.

The situation in Syria remains blurred. The regime of President Bashar Al Assad does have the military power to withstand the challenge posed by the opposition and is cracking down violently on dissent. More than 16,000 people have already been killed and the regime’s security forces are maintaining their killing spree.

The extent of involvement of extremist groups like Al Qaeda in the conflict is also unclear. Al Qaeda is definitely playing a role in the rebellion. The group is active in neighbouring Iraq and its operatives are said to be crossing into Syria and staging their own attacks.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which is the dominant group in the Syria opposition, have little in common ground with Al Qaeda and would not want to be associated with “international jihadists.”

The Syrian regime, which retains strong support from the country’s business elite and minorities such as Christians who are also present in the armed forces, is seen to have the ability to sustain itself for some time.

According to Clinton, the defection on Monday of Assad’s prime minister Riyad Hijab is “the latest in a line of such defections and the opposition is becoming increasingly co-ordinated and effective.”

She said she is unable to “put a timeline” for the ouster of the regime, but “I know it’s going to happen.”

Well, the world knows that the Assad regime will be toppled but does not expect that to happen soon.

Clinton’s call on the international community to prepare for a post-Assad Syria is very pertinent since the world cannot afford to have a repetition of Libya in Syria.

However, the situation requires immediate measures to check the regime’s violent crackdown against the people. Otherwise, tens of thousands more will be killed by the time the international community – a majority of world governments – come together on a common platform to intervene in Syria. And such intervention cannot be restricted to diplomacy – a language that the ruler of Damascus has for long been misusing.