At least 17 dead in Syria as Arab League meets with Assad

DAMASCUS (BNO NEWS) — Clashes on Wednesday between Syrian security forces and anti-government protesters left at least 17 people killed, a leading activist group reported.

The reported deaths included two children in the city of Homs and another child in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The violence occurred as an Arab League team held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an attempt to mediate with the opposition, CNN reported.

The meeting “was honest and friendly” and the group “felt that the Syrian government wants to work … to reach a solution,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani said, according to Syrian state television.

Meanwhile, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency claimed a large pro-government rally was held in downtown Damascus. The agency said as many as two million people participated, but the claim could not be verified due to reporting restrictions on foreign journalists.

Clashes between government and opposition forces have become more frequent in past weeks. The latest political upheaval came one day after Amnesty International issued a report accusing the Syrian government of torturing wounded protesters at state-run hospitals.

On Monday, the U.S. government decided to pull Ambassador Robert Ford from Syria as a result of ‘credible threats’ made against him. Ford, who has served as U.S. Ambassador to Syria since last year, returned to Washington, D.C. over the weekend.

It was not immediately clear when Ford may return to Syria, which has seen pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown. According to the United Nations, more than 3,000 people have been killed as a result of the violent crackdown.