Disturbing video emerges as UN weighs resolution

1,100 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests began in March Damascus - Arabstoday Video footage has emerged showing the body of a Syrian boy reportedly tortured to death after his arrest in April following a government crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the country .  The video, provided to Al Jazeera by sources inside Syria, shows the mutilated body of 15-year-old Thamer al-Sahri, who was arrested for participating in an anti-government demonstration.
Hundreds of residents of the Syrian town of Jeeza filled the streets to mourn his death on Wednesday, the day his body was released from the mortuary and returned to his parents, six weeks after he went missing.
The amateur video shows al-Sahri's body riddled with bullets, missing an eye, several teeth, and according to Al Jazeera's source, returned to his family with a broken neck and leg.  Al Jazeera is unable to independently verify the footage due to restrictions on journalists in the country.
Al-Sahri was arrested along with his friend, 13-year-old Hamza al-Khateeb - the teenager whose brutal death caused much of the world to pay closer attention to the events in Syria. Al-Khateeb's body was also mutilated. The Syrian government has denied using torture against protesters, but the latest video could lead to renewed demonstrations in the country against alleged excesses by the Syrian security forces.
UN weighs resolution
The footage emerged as the UK and France pushed for a UN Security Council resolution condemning the violence in Syria.
The UN Security Council debated a draft resolution on Wednesday condemning Syria's actions. The European resolution demanding Syria end its violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters could be put to a vote in the coming days at the United Nations despite the threat of a Russian veto, the British UN envoy said. However, the proposal falls short of calling for military action or further UN sanctions against the Syrian government.  The draft was submitted by France and Britain during a council meeting at which the 15-nation body was briefed by a senior UN official on the unrest in Syria.
"We would like a vote as soon as possible, before the end of the week," Mark Lyall Grant, the British representative to the UN, said.
Russia and China, which both hold vetoes, have made clear they dislike the idea of council involvement, which they say could help to destabilise a strategic Middle Eastern country.
Moscow has long been an ally and arms supplier of Syria. Russia, citing NATO's inconclusive bombing of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, said it would veto intervention against Syria in the Security Council.
'Struck by fear'
Meanwhile, the unrest continued in Syria, where residents of the northern town of Jisr al-Shughur have fled amid fears of a military crackdown, three days after the government pledged retaliation for the alleged killings of 120 security personnel.  Locals said many residents were fleeing the area for the Turkish border about 20km away, before the expected assault.
About 160 Syrians crossed into Turkey in two separate waves on Wednesday, an AFP news agency reporter at the scene said. Mohammed Ibrahim al-Shaar, the interior minister, has said "the state will act firmly, with force".
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, has said his country will not close its doors to refugees fleeing the unrest in Syria.  Speaking on Wednesday, Erdogan said: "At this point it is out of the question for Turkey to close its doors to refugees coming from Syria. The recent developments are really unfortunate.
"We are monitoring developments with concern as we have very different information and it raises our concerns."
Erdogan's plea
Erdogan called on Syria to show more tolerance towards its citizens after the latest clashes in the northwest.
"We hope Syria will be more tolerant towards civilians and implement persuasive reforms so the transitional process can be effective," he said.
A foreign ministry official said about 420 people have crossed the border from Syria since the bloody protests started in March.
Turkey has built strong ties with Syria in recent years and has been exerting growing pressure on al-Assad, with Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, calling on him to introduce "shock-therapy" reforms to end the trouble.
Activists say about 1,100 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests began in March. From Al Jazeera English