Saudi King Abdullah, Obama say Syrian brutal crackdown ‘must end’ now

EMAN EL-SHENAWI, AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES

Saudi King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama have demanded that Bashar Al Assad’s brutal crackdown on
anti-regime protesters “must end immediately,” the White House said in a statement on Saturday. In a telephone conversation, both leaders “expressed their shared, deep concerns about the Syrian government’s use of violence against its citizens,” the statement read.

Both President Obama and his key Arab ally in the region “agreed that the Syrian regime’s brutal campaign of violence against the Syrian people must end immediately, and to continue close consultations about the situation in the days ahead.”

In the regime’s ongoing attack on civilian protesters, security forces backed by tanks have been trying to crush dissent city by city since pro-democracy protests began in mid-March.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 2,150 people have since been confirmed dead.

President Obama and King Abdullah’s spoke after Syrian troops on Saturday killed at least three people as they pounded the Syrian seaside city of Latakia, a hotspot for anti-regime protests, and raided other towns, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two people were killed and 15 wounded, with four in critical conditions, AFP reported.

Meanwhile on Friday, security forces had shot dead 20 people during nationwide marches demanding the embattled Mr. Assad to step down.

Last week, King Abdullah called Syrian authorities to “stop the killing machine” and recalled his ambassador from Damascus, while the United States slapped additional sanctions on Syria earlier this week and urged countries to stop buying Syrian oil and gas.