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.
Tit for tat: Syrian ambassador leaves US
Washington – The Obama administration pulled its ambassador out of Syria over security concerns, blaming President Bashar Assad’s regime for the threats that made it no longer safe for Robert Ford to remain.
The Syrian government quickly ordered home its envoy to the United States, raising the diplomatic stakes.
Ford travelled to Washington this weekend after the US received “credible threats against his personal safety in Syria”, state department spokesperson Mark Toner said on Monday.
Ford has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, and enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful defence of peaceful protests and harsh critique of a government crackdown that has now claimed more than 3 000 lives.
“We hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford,” Toner said. “At this point, we can’t say when he will return to Syria.”
Toner said the US embassy will remain open in Damascus and that the threats were specifically directed toward Ford. His return is conditional on a US “assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground”, Toner said.
In an immediate response, Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha promptly left the US on Monday, said Roua Shurbaji, a Syrian Embassy spokesperson.
She said no other steps were being taken by the embassy and declined to comment on the US allegations.
Ford was the first American ambassador to Syria since 2005. President George W Bush’s administration withdrew a full-time ambassador from Syria over charges the country was involved in terrorism and the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Syria has denied any involvement.
Praised
The Obama administration decided to return an ambassador to Syria earlier this year in an effort to persuade Syria to change its policies regarding Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and support for extremist groups. Syria is designated a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the state department.
Although Ford’s appointment in January, while the Senate was out of session, was originally criticised by some Republicans in Congress, he has won praise within the administration and beyond for his determination to meet Syrian opposition leaders in a hostile environment, and tough criticism of the Assad regime’s brutal military response to mass demonstrations.
The Senate unanimously approved Ford’s nomination earlier this month, with foreign Rrlations committee chairperson John Kerry, a Democrat, praising Ford for continuing to visit cities under siege and “speak truth to power.”
Ford was greeted by demonstrators with roses and cheers when he travelled to the restive city of Hama in July, prompting immediate recriminations from the Syrian government, which tried to then limit where Ford could travel.
Only days later hundreds of regime supporters attacked the US embassy in Damascus, smashing windows and spray-painting obscenities on the walls.
Ford also has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, often in co-ordination with pro-Assad media capturing the humiliation.
Media reports said Ford was hit last week with eggs and tomatoes while going to a mosque in Damascus. Other such incidents have occurred after meetings with dissident groups or individuals, and his postings on Facebook have provoked thousands of Syrian and other responses, and even some death threats from pro-Assad hardliners.
The US last month decried Ford’s treatment and “unwarranted and unjustifiable”, after Assad supporters tried to force their way into a meeting he was having a prominent opposition figure.
Syrian police were slow in responding, and Ford was trapped inside the building for about three hours. But White House press secretary James Carney insisted at the time that the US had no plans to remove Ford for his safety.
Diplomacy
Haynes Mahoney, the embassy’s deputy chief of mission, confirmed that Ford has left Syria but said Washington hadn’t not formally recalled him – a symbolically significant diplomatic step.
At the time of Ford’s arrival in Damascus, Syria was bouncing back from years of international isolation.
Still, Assad largely shrugged off US attempts to pull it away from its alliances with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah.
And as the Arab Spring protests escalated in Syria, Ford dropped his engagement efforts and took on an increasingly high-profile role defending the rights of Syrian protesters.
Toner lamented that the threats deprived the United States of a valuable emissary to the Syrian people at a time they face daily violence from Assad’s security forces.
Clashes on Sunday saw forces flood into villages where residents have been on strike and shoot two people dead, according to activists.
President Barack Obama has called on the UN Security Council to sanction Syria for using deadly violence against citizens who are rising up against the authoritarian government there.
A seasoned diplomat with extensive Middle East experience, Ford “has worked diligently to deliver our message and be our eyes on the ground” in Syria, Toner said.
“This decision was based solely on the need to ensure his safety, a matter we take extremely seriously.”
