US condemns attack on envoy in Syria

Assad supporters assaulted Ford's convoy in July after he visited the flashpoint city of Hama [YouTube] Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, has condemned an attack on US ambassador Robert Ford, after his convoy was pelted with eggs and tomatoes by supporters of the Syrian president as he and his colleagues met an opposition figure in Damascus. "We condemn this unwarranted attack in the strongest possible term. Ambassador Ford and his aides were conducting normal embassy business and this attempt to intimidate our diplomats through violence is wholly unjustified," Clinton said on Thursday. Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said the mob was violent and seriously damaged embassy vehicles, but that Ford was unharmed. "This is clearly part of a campaign to intimidate dipilomats who are bearing witness to brutality of the Assad regime," Carney said. He added that the US would not recall Ford and urged the senate to "show its support and confirm [Ford] so he can continue his work." Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan reporting from Washington DC said that with a media blackout in Syria, the US government believes it is necessary for their staff to remain in the country. "It is incumbent upon Robert Ford, the ambassador, and his staff to remain in Damascus, to move around the country, to see what is happening between the government and those who are opposed to the government of Bashar al-Assad," Jordan said. Read more....