Twin blasts struck Syria's capital, Damascus, as the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad – and the government's brutal crackdown against it – enters its second year.

Syrian state television said what it called “terrorist attacks” Saturday morning killed police and civilians. It said preliminary reports traced the two explosions to car bombs targeting a security police building and a building housing intelligence services.

The United Nations says well over 8,000 people have died since the protests began a year ago Thursday. A spokesman for the secretary-general blamed the violence on the Syrian government's decision “to choose violent repression over peaceful political dialogue.”

Friday, former U.N. chief Kofi Annan urged U.N. Security Council members to break their deadlock on pressuring Syria over its deadly crackdown.

In a briefing from Geneva, the U.N.-Arab League envoy said he is sending a team to Damascus next week to discuss a plan to deploy international monitors. Mr. Annan also told reporters Syria's political turmoil needs to be handled carefully, to avoid any “miscalculations” that could lead to a “major escalation” impacting the entire region.

In a statement Friday ahead of Mr. Annan's briefing, the Syrian government said it has pledged cooperation in finding a “political solution” to the crisis. However, the Foreign Ministry again blamed terrorists and foreign interference for much of the deadly violence.

Activists say thousands of protesters Friday called for international military intervention as they demonstrated in several cities, including Aleppo and Homs. There were also scattered reports of gunfire.

Rebel fighters have been in retreat throughout Syria, and a movement of opposition activists has been fragmented with dissent. Western governments have been reluctant to arm the Syrian opposition saying the move could further enflame the situation.

A number of Arab countries have closed their Damascus embassies in protest of the continued violence, including the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkey says it is considering setting up a buffer zone along its border with Syria.