Angry pro-regime demonstrators tried to attack the US Ambassador to Syria yesterday, as Damascus accused Washington of inciting “armed groups” into violence against its army.
A mob of nearly 100 Syrians tried to storm an office in the capital where the Ambassador, Robert Ford, had just arrived to meet opposition figure Hassan Abdelazim, the latter said.
“They were protesting in the street and at the entrance to the building. They tried to break down the door of my office, but didn’t succeed,” Mr Abdelazim said.
“As soon as the ambassador came in at around 11a.m. (0800 GMT), we heard a noise outside and hostile slogans being chanted. The demonstrators tried to attack the office.”
Mr Ford was holed up inside the office for two hours before security forces arrived and he could return safely to the US embassy, said Mr Abdelazim.
In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said “a crowd of demonstrators tried to assault Ambassador Ford and embassy colleagues today as they went” to a meeting with a “well-known Syrian political figure.”
He added that Mr Ford and embassy staff “are now safely back” at the US embassy.
“The mob was violent; it tried, unsuccessfully, to attack embassy personnel while they were inside several embassy vehicles, seriously damaging the vehicles in the process,” Toner said in a statement.
“Syrian security officers finally assisted in securing a path from the ambassador’s meeting for him and his aides back to the embassy,” Mr Toner said.
The incident came as the regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad accused the United States of inciting “armed groups” into acts of violence targeting its military.
“Comments by American officials, notably Mark Toner, are striking proof that the United States encourages armed groups to commit violence against the Syrian Arab army,” the foreign ministry said.
“The words of the State Department spokesman, describing these terrorist acts as natural, are irresponsible and likely to encourage acts of terrorism and chaos in order to serve foreign goals against the interests of Syrians.
“Syria condemns strongly the US statements and affirms its determination to preserve its security and stability, to defend its citizens and to oppose all attempts to interfere in its internal affairs,” said the statement.