France Renews Call for Assad to Go over 'Crimes'
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe issued a new call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to quit on Thursday, accusing his regime of committing crimes against humanity on a daily basis.
"More than 5,000 killed, three million Syrians are affected by bloody repression, unspeakable abuse and daily crimes against humanity," Juppe told university students during a visit to Libya's capital.
"How many more victims does the world still need before it understands that Bashar Assad must go?
"For nine months, the Syrian people shouted with courage for freedom.
"For nine months, Bashar Assad has remained deaf to these legitimate demands, has refused reforms and has detained peaceful demonstrators for torture, killings and barbarism in response," Juppe said.
His remarks came shortly after Human Rights Watch said in a report that Syrian military commanders ordered troops to indiscriminately shoot at unarmed protests and squash demonstrations "by all means necessary."
"Faced with this wild and murderous rampage, the international community must not remain silent," he added.
Army defectors killed at least 27 soldiers and security service agents south of Damascus on Thursday, a rights group said, in the third straight day of regime losses as Syria's uprising entered its 10th month.
Source: Agence France Presse
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