Middle East News

US withdraws ambassador to Syria due to security threats

Oct 24, 2011, 12:08 GMT

A file handout photo made available by Syria\'s official news agency SANA and reissued on 24 October 2011 shows US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford (R) speaking with Syrian President Bashar Assad (L) . EPA/SANA

Cairo/Damascus - The United States has pulled its ambassador out of Damascus following a number of threats and allegations of an 'incitement campaign' being carried out against him by the Syrian authorities, a US spokesman said Monday.

'Ambassador Robert Ford was brought back to Washington as a result of credible threats against his personal safety in Syria,' US State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

Toner said it was not known when Ford might go back to Syria, adding that 'we hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford.'

Over the past few months, Ford has been outspoken against the Syrian government's use of violence against pro-democracy protesters.

'Ambassador Ford's presence is a benefit to our mission in Syria as he has worked diligently to deliver our message and be our eyes on the ground. This decision was based solely on the need to ensure his safety, a matter we take extremely seriously,' Toner added.

Ford 'has informed the Syrian foreign ministry of the dangers and the incitement campaign against him in local media, overseen by the government, before he left the country on Saturday,' a source at the embassy in Damascus told dpa earlier.

He was subjected to several attacks by loyalists to President Bashar al-Assad, who described Ford's stances as 'blatant interference in internal affairs and incitement against authorities.'

In July, supporters of al-Assad attacked the US and French embassies in Damascus, after both envoys visited the restive city of Hama.

In September, Ford was pelted with tomatoes by a pro-government group, Washington said.

More than 3,000 people, including at least 187 children, have been killed in the government's clampdown on the protests since they began in March, according to the United Nations.

Protesters have taken to the streets demanding greater freedoms and the ouster of al-Assad.

At least 11 people were killed on Monday alone by troops and mobs loyal to al-Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Six of them were killed in the central province of Homs, while a further five died in the northern province of Idlib.

Two of the victims were members of government troops killed by gunmen, believed to be army defectors who joined the protesters, the London-based group said.

Meanwhile, a Syrian army unit crossed the border into the area of Hneider in Lebanon's Wadi Khaled and snatched two people wanted by the Syrian regime, the Lebanese MTV television said quoting residents in the area.

The infiltration into the Lebanese territories by Syrian troops has become a daily routine to chase army defectors and activists wanted by the regime of President al-Assad.

Residents of Lebanese villages that border Syria have expressed grave concern over cross-border incursions by Syrian army troops and called on the Lebanese government to interfere.

Since the uprising in Syria erupted in mid-March, some 5,000 refugees, among them activists and army defectors, have fled into Lebanon.