Free Republic

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces killed at least 32 civilians on Friday, including 23 in the capital Damascus, in an intensifying crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. It was the highest death toll in the central neighborhoods of Damascus since the uprising erupted four months ago in the southern Hauran Plain near Syria's border with Jordan.

By NOUR MALAS And JAY SOLOMON The Obama administration for the first time Monday said it supported regime change in Syria, capping a day in which mobs attacked the U.S. Embassy in Damascus and tensions between the two nations escalated. "President [Bashar al-] Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said following a meeting with her European Union counterpart, Catherine Ashton, in Washington. "Our goal is to see that the will of the Syrian people for a democratic transformation occurs." Earlier Monday, Syrians sympathetic to President Assad...

BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Syrians carrying olive branches and shouting for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime streamed Friday into the flashpoint city of Hama, where the U.S. and French ambassadors traveled in a strong show of support for the protest movement.

BEIRUT, July 8 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people rallied in the Syrian city of Hama on Friday, calling for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad, as Western envoys visited the city to show support for protesters. -Excerpt- Footage on the Internet showed a huge crowd in Hama's Orontes Square, some carrying a Syrian flag tens of meters long and chanting "The people want the downfall of the regime." In a symbolic show of solidarity, U.S. ambassador Robert Ford and French ambassador Eric Chevallier visited Hama to put pressure on Assad not to crush the protest.

Despite Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich saying a Syrian media report “mischaracterized” a press conference he gave while on a “fact-finding” trip to Syria, video footage of an interview he gave on Syrian television while in Syria clearly shows Kucinich being deferential to and even laudatory of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In an exclusive video obtained by The Daily Caller, Kucinich openly praises Assad, whose regime has reportedly killed over 1,300 demonstrators and injured many more since protests against the dictatorship began earlier this year. (Report says Kucinich praised Syrian dictator, congressman says statement ‘mischaracterized’) “What I learned from my...

BEIRUT (AP) — Defying government guns, thousands of Syrian protesters poured down city streets and a main highway Friday to press demands for President Bashar Assad's ouster. Security forces opened fire, killing at least 15 people, including two children, activists said

BEIRUT – Syria's foreign minister vowed Wednesday to present "an unprecedented example of democracy" in the country within three months, an extraordinary promise in a nation facing an uprising against an authoritarian system in place for decades

BOYNUYOGUN REFUGEE CAMP, Turkey – Syrian troops combing through restive villages near the Turkish border set fire to homes and a bakery Sunday, cutting off a lifeline to thousands of uprooted people stranded in miserable open-air encampments.

Syrian security forces killed at least 16 people Friday, including a teenage boy, as thousands of people poured into the streets across the country calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's autocratic regime, activists said.

Syrian protesters burn pictures of Hezbollah's Nasrallah & Iran's Khamenei.

-excerpt- Human rights activist Mustafa Osso said tanks were also moving Tuesday in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour on the border with Iraq.

BEIRUT – Syrian soldiers and police officers who deserted rather than fire on protesters in a restive northern city remained behind to fight against an expected all-out government assault, a resident said. Troops loyal to the regime came under sniper fire Saturday as they approached.

BEIRUT – Syrian forces shelled a town in the country's restive north and opened fire on scattered protests nationwide, killing at least 32 people on Friday, activists said. Hundreds of Syrians streamed across the border into Turkey, trying to escape the violence.

(Reuters) - Syria's ambassador to France resigned on Tuesday in protest at a crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's forces that has killed scores of civilians, the first Syrian diplomat to quit over the crisis. "I recognize the legitimacy of the demands people are making for more democracy and freedom. My resignation as ambassador of Syria in France takes effect immediately," Ambassador Lamia Chakkour said, announcing her decision on France 24 television. "I can no longer support this cycle of violence," she said, reading a statement to the TV channel.

The Syrian regime is struggling to maintain control over a popular uprising that is turning into open revolt and posing a new challenge to western powers that have so far largely stayed on the sidelines. France on Tuesday stepped up the pressure for a UN Security Council resolution condemning a brutal crackdown that has killed an estimated 1,000 people, after Alain Juppe, the foreign minister, declared that Bashar al-Assad, the president, had lost legitimacy to govern. The northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour was bracing for massive retaliation after the government claimed 120 security personnel had been killed there by armed...

BEIRUT (AP) — Mutinous Syrian soldiers joined forces with protesters after days of crackdowns in a tense northern region, apparently killing dozens of officers and security guards, residents and activists said Tuesday.

-Excerpt- Human rights groups say more than 1,200 people have died in the brutal crackdown against anti-government protesters since March.

-Excerpt- The activists said the attack on Rastan and Talbiseh, in the central province of Homs, occurred after authorities cut all telecommunications with the area. They added that all roads leading to the two towns have been closed off by security forces and soldiers. "The towns are under siege," one of the activists said.

WADI KHALED, Lebanon – Using horses and mules to carry their possessions, Syrians crossed a shallow river Monday to reach safety in Lebanon with tales of a "catastrophic" scene back home: sectarian killings, gunmen carrying out execution-style slayings and the stench of decomposing bodies in the streets.

-excerpt- "Heavy gunfire was heard as at least three residential neighborhoods were hit by tank fire in the besieged city of Homs,..." -excerpt- "There were loud explosions and gunfire from automatic rifles throughout the night and until this morning,"... "The area is totally besieged. We are being shelled."