Pepe Escobar: Rape of Syria will be top geopolitical tragedy of 2013. (VIDEO)

Syria has reportedly opened the New Year with a horrifying discovery of dozens of corpses in the capital Damascus. Some of the bodies were decapitated and bore traces of torture. They have not yet been identified.

This comes amid widespread doubt there will be any major breakthrough in Syria's bloody civil stand-off any time soon.

Asia Times Correspondent Pepe Escobar predicts that the conflict could follow the Lebanese Civil War scenario and continue for another fifteen years.