Obama: Assad is slaughtering his people, must quit
In this photo taken on a government-organized tour, Syrian soldiers salute residents as they sit atop their armored personnel carrier on their way out of the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. State-run news agency SANA said army units began withdrawing from Deir el-Zour Tuesday after ridding the city of "armed terrorist gangs" in an operation that lasted several days. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says the time has come for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign for the sake of his brutally repressed people.
In a stinging written statement, Obama says Assad has overseen a vicious onslaught of his people as they protest for freedoms. He says the Syrian people should decide their country's future and Assad is standing in their way and must go.
Obama also says that Assad's calls for reform ring hollow while he is, in Obama's words, "imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering his own people."
This was Obama's first explicit call for Assad to step down. His administration also is slapping new sanctions on Syria.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is set to speak about the government's tougher stance later Thursday morning.
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Obama: Assad is slaughtering his people, must quit
