Syria's civil war continued unabated in late-2013 amid international debate on how to mediate the nearly two-and-a-half-year-old conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions more. In September, the United States seemed poised to launch limited, punitive air strikes on the Assad regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons, but a potential UN-sponsored plan to neutralize Syria's chemical arms stockpiles may forestall Western military intervention.