Western members of the UN Security Council were prepared to invoke immediate sanctions against Syria but settled for wording that only threatens future sanctions because of opposition from China and Russia. While the diplomats were arguing in New York, more deaths at the hands of Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad’s troops were reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in London. At least six Syrians were killed in fighting near Homs and the town of Jabal Al-Zawiya. Others were wounded at Daraa in southern Syria. Syrian opposition groups are continuing their efforts to form a unified front. They announced that they will try again at a meeting scheduled to be held in Istanbul on October 1st.