Brussels, 12/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU High Representative Catherine Ashton has expressed alarm over attacks on US and French embassies in Syria, and renewed calls for President Bashar al-Assad to end the military crackdown on protestors. “This is very alarming”, she told reporters in Washington on 11 July after talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Her remarks came after reports that hundreds of Syrian government supporters had smashed windows at the US Embassy in Damascus, while guards at the French Embassy fired shots in the air to keep assailants at bay. “The Assad regime will not succeed in deflecting the world's attention from the real story unfolding in Syria. This is not about America or France or any other country. This is about the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, for dignity, universal rights and the rule of law”, Clinton said.
Ashton criticised Assad for failing to include the Syrian opposition in political dialogue, and she expressed concern for people who had fled the crackdown in northern Syria across the border into Turkey. “It is really important that he takes note again of what we've called for consistently, which is the end to violence, and we continue to use our political and economic power to try and get him to turn away from what is a terrible situation”, she said. The displaced, she added, are in a predicament that is “very grave indeed”. According to human rights groups, some 1,300 people have been killed since the security drive began in March. Close to 10,000 have been arrested, and a similar number remain across the border in Turkey. (LoC)