Perilous
Times
Protesters attack 7 Syrian embassies around world
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Protesters attacked seven Syrian
embassies around the world following reports of the bloodiest
episode yet in Damascus' nearly yearlong crackdown on dissent.
Mobs trashed diplomats' offices from London to Australia and set
the embassy in Cairo on fire.
Protesters chant slogans during the funeral of two comrades killed
in earlier clashes in Idlib, north Syria, on Saturday.
Activists say Syrian forces killed more than 200 people in the
city of Homs before dawn Saturday, pounding restive neighborhoods
with mortars and artillery. The government denies the reports.
Australian police said the mob smashed into the embassy in a
diplomatic precinct of Canberra, the capital, on Saturday night,
causing extensive damage to the ground floor of the two-story
building.
Syrian Charge d'Affaires Jawdat Ali told the Associated Press that
50 men smashed through the front door, destroyed furniture and
stole computers. He said the damage bill had yet to be calculated.
Ali blamed media reports of the conflict in Syria for inciting
what he described as a "barbarian action" and "terrorism."
Protesters also broke into the Syrian Embassy in London on
Saturday. British police used batons to beat them back in a second
attempt. A total of 12 protesters were arrested.
A similar scene played out in Athens, where police said 13 people
were detained after forcing their way into the Syrian Embassy
before dawn Saturday. In Germany, 20 people forced their way into
Syria's Embassy in Berlin on Friday and damaged offices there,
police said.
Syrian protesters in Cairo set part of the embassy on fire Friday
night, while protesters in Kuwait broke windows at the embassy and
hoisted the opposition flag. The Kuwait news agency said a number
of security personnel were hurt in scuffles. Some 300 Syrian
exiles and Libyan supporters also occupied the Syrian Embassy in
Tripoli and hung the Syrian opposition's flag on the gate.
There were also protesters at Syria's embassy in Tunisia, which
decided to expel Syria's ambassador and end its recognition of
President Bashar Assad's regime in response to what it called a
"bloody massacre" in Homs.
Syria's government has called news reports about the Homs attack
part of a "hysterical campaign" of incitement by armed groups
against Syria, meant to be exploited as the U.N. Security Council
voted on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for Assad to give
up power. Russia and China vetoed the resolution despite
last-minute negotiations.
In Canberra, a shattered door, broken picture frames and light
fixtures, and smashed potted plants were stacked or lay strewn
outside the rented embassy on Sunday. Smashed windows had been
temporarily repaired with plastic sheeting. The embassy's brass
name plaque had been ripped from a wall and lay twisted on the
lawn.
Ali said there were two embassy employees in the building at the
time, but they were neither harmed nor threatened. Ten Network
television news reported that they hid in the basement.
The mob fled before police arrived, and there had been no arrests
by Sunday.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd expressed his government's "deep
concern" at the attack.
"Such behavior has no place in Australia," Rudd said in a
statement.
Rudd also said he was "appalled" that Russia and China had vetoed
the U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ending Syria's
bloodshed.
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Cassandra Vinograd reported from London. Demetris Nellas in Athens
and Rami al-Shaheibi in Tripoli, Libya contributed to this report.