July 11, 2011
Crowds in Syria Attack U.S. and French Embassies
By NADA BAKRI
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Pro-government demonstrators attacked the American and French embassy compounds in Damascus, Syria, on Monday, angered over visits by the ambassadors to a central Syrian city that has emerged as a flashpoint of the popular uprising against the government.
The demonstrators threw rocks, eggs and tomatoes at the two buildings and tried to storm both compounds. But American Marine guards blocked their way at the United States Embassy, and French guards fired live ammunition into the air to drive the attackers away, according to witnesses. Several injuries were reported, but no deaths.
An eyewitness in Afif, the old quarter of the capital where the American Embassy is located, said that demonstrators tore down embassy plaques and tried to break security glass. The witness, who declined to be identified because of the delicacy of the situation, said the protesters traveled to the embassy in four buses, and that some of them were armed.
French officials said that three embassy guards were injured when "well-organized groups" attacked the French compound using a battering ram. An eyewitness said that French guards briefly detained one of the protesters.
France and the United States have been critical of Syria's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. France has led the effort to pass a United Nations resolution condemning top officials of President Bashar al-Assad's government. Human rights advocates put the number of deaths at 1,300 since the uprising began nearly four months ago.
The United States has stopped short of saying the president should step down, though Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Mr. Assad had "lost legitimacy" as a leader, using some of the strongest language by a top American official, The Associated Press reported.
The attacks were a response to a visit by Robert S. Ford, the American ambassador, and his French counterpart, Éric Chevallier, to Hama, the central Syrian city that has become a hub [1] for demonstrations. On Monday, protesters also attacked Mr. Ford's residence, which is several blocks from the American Embassy.
The diplomats went to Hama on Thursday and stayed until Friday afternoon in a show of support for the tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters who have taken to the streets there. The Hama demonstrations were among the largest since the popular uprising started in mid-March, and the diplomats were warmly received there. [2] Scenes from Friday were reminiscent of demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt that brought down authoritarian governments there this year.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry summoned both diplomats on Sunday to condemn their visit.
The French and American governments expressed fury on Monday over the attacks, which were widely assumed to have taken place with the government's tacit approval.
A State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, called the attackers "thugs" and rejected the suggestion by some in Syria that Mr. Ford had provoked the attacks by visiting Hama. "Ambassador Ford is doing his job as a witness, as an observer," she said. "Our main concern here is that the Syrian government, rather than dealing with its own problems, and rather than addressing the grievances of its own people, is seeking to make distractions around our embassy."
"We strongly condemn the Syrian government's refusal to protect our embassy, and demand compensation for damages," the State Department said in a statement on Monday. "We call on the Syrian government to fulfill its obligations to its own citizens as well."
The French government complained about a lack of protection from the Syrian authorities, and said the attacks on its embassy were recurring.
Bernard Valero, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the attackers destroyed the ambassador's vehicle and wounded three guards, "and this in front of Syrian security forces manifestly in little hurry to stop these violent acts." He said security guards at the embassy fired three warning shots to dispel protesters.
The State Department also accused a television channel that it said was close to the government of helping to incite "the violent demonstration." It did not identify the channel.
In a message posted on the embassy's Facebook page [3] on Sunday, Mr. Ford condemned the crackdown on protesters. He called on the government to respect basic human rights as a way to resolve the crisis.
"We respect the right of all Syrians -- and people in all countries -- to express their opinions freely and in a climate of mutual respect," Mr. Ford said in his message. "We wish the Syrian government would do the same, and stop beating and shooting peaceful demonstrators."
The attacks came as Syrian officials held a second day of talks meant to pave the way for a broader conference in which authorities said they would announce a multiparty system. The opposition boycotted the meeting, saying it would not participate amid the crackdown.
Scott Sayare contributed reporting from Paris, Brian Knowlton from Washington and J. David Goodman from New York.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/world/middleeast/09syria.html
[2] http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/u-s-ambassador-greeted-with-roses-by-syrian-protesters/
[3] http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150237831306938