The United States has closed its embassy in Syria

The United States has
closed its embassy in
Syria and pulled all
remaining diplomats out
of the country, citing
worsening security. The
move came as
government forces
intensified their rocket
and mortar assault on
the restive city of Homs.
The U.S. State Department
said Monday that
embassy functions have
been suspended and that
Ambassador Robert Ford
and other staff have left
the country. The U.S. had
warned last month it
would close its mission in
Damascus unless Syria's
government addressed
security considerations,
including the safety of its
personnel.The move further
isolates President Bashar
al-Assad's government
over its bloody
crackdown on anti-
government protesters
and comes amid more
violence across the
country.
Rights activists said at
least 24 people were
killed and many more
wounded in Homs as
Syrian troops continued a
sustained attack, with
shells slamming into a
field hospital and
residential areas.
Several neighborhoods in
the city, such as Baba
Amr, are under the
control of anti-
government rebels.
Syria's state-run news
agency reported a gas
pipeline also exploded in
Homs, blaming “terrorist
gangs.” The government
denied shelling the city.
At least 10 more people
were reported killed in
violence elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Russia fought
back against mounting
criticism from the West
for vetoing a U.N.
Security Council
resolution that would
have backed an Arab
League call for Mr. Assad
to step aside.
Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said
condemnations of
Moscow's veto last week
had verged on
“hysteria.” He will travel
to Damascus Tuesday
along with Russia's
foreign intelligence chief
for talks with Mr. Assad.
China also strongly
defended its rejection of
the U.N. resolution,
saying the plan's Arab
and Western backers
had pushed through the
vote while different sides
were still “seriously
divided.”
A Chinese foreign
ministry spokesman said
Monday that Beijing's
goal is to avoid more
conflict and that it does
not want to deliberately
oppose anyone, such as
Mr. Assad.
U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton called the
double veto “a
travesty,” while French
Defense Minister Gerard
Longuet said some
political cultures
“deserve a kick in the
ass.” The Syrian National
Council said the Russian
and Chinese vetoes had
given Mr. Assad a
“license to kill.”
In Washington, U.S.
President Barack Obama
vowed to apply sanctions
and increase pressure
on Mr. Assad, but said
the Syrian crisis could be
resolved without outside
military intervention. With
diplomacy at an impasse,
Secretary Clinton has
called for “friends of
democratic Syria” to unite
and rally against the
Assad regime.
Saudi Arabia's King
Abdullah Monday
demanded the
international community
take “crucial measures to
protect innocent lives
and end the bloodshed”
in Syria. He warned the
continued violence
threatened regional
stability.
Syrian army defectors
announced the formation
of a higher military
council to “liberate” the
country from Mr. Assad's
rule. The group, based in
neighboring Turkey,
named the head of “The
Higher Revolutionary
Council” as General
Mustafa Ahmed al-Sheikh,
the highest ranking
deserter to have
defected so far.
Syria's opposition
uprising against Mr.
Assad's autocratic rule
has escalated in recent
months into open conflict
between rebels and pro-
Assad forces. Last month,
the United Nations
estimated the death toll
from the unrest at 5,400
before it stopped
updating the figure
because of difficulties in
obtaining information.