Carnage continues 1 year later in Syria Wednesday's death toll is at 82 The protests in Syria began last March "The people of Syria need our help," a UN officials says (CNN) -- Thursday marks a year since Syrians took to the streets, emboldened by the successes of other Arab Spring nations, and began protesting against President Bashar al-Assad. Last March 15, hundreds stormed the streets in the southern city of Daraa, angry about abuses against schoolchildren, in a protest called a "Day of Rage." A year later, the protests have spread as has the misery. More than 8,000 civilians have been killed in a brutal crackdown by al-Assad forces, the United Nations says. Countless others are missing, thousands are injured and hundreds of thousands have fled. And as the international community ponders a solution, the carnage seems endless. "The people of Syria need our help," said Valerie Amos, the U.N. humanitarian chief. They want peace, security and stability, so they can get on with their lives. We must do everything we can to stop the violence and end the suffering of people caught in the conflict. Wednesday was no different in Syria as the civilian death toll climbed. The opposition said 82 people died Wednesday across Syria, including dozens in the rebel stronghold of Idlib, where activists reported Syrian military forces had seized control following a four-day onslaught. U.N.-Arab League envoy for the country, Kofi Annan continued to try and get responses from Syrian authorities to proposals laid out over the weekend for ending the bloodshed. Annan met last weekend in Damascus with al-Assad in an attempt to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Opposition activists have put the toll at more than 9,600. However, Venezuela's parliament on Tuesday passed "an agreement in solidarity with Syria in light of the imperial threat presented by the United States and its Arab allies." CNN's Nic Robertson, Kareem Khadder and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.