Obama telephoned Berlusconi and Spanish premier Jose Luis Zapatero to discuss the situation in Syria and praise the economic measures announced by Italy and Spain to avert contagion by the eurozone debt crisis, the White House said.
The leaders condemned the Syrian government`s "continued use of indiscriminate violence" against the Syrian people, and agreed to consult further on additional steps to pressure the government and support the Syrian people`s "democratic aspirations," the White House said.
Syrian security forces backs by army tanks killed at least 30 civilians on Tuesday in the countryside around the flashpoint city of Hama and the town of Binnah near the border with Turkey, the Syrian National Organisation for Human Rights said, as Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Syria`s autocratic president Bashar Assad to press for a halt to the crackdown.
Syria`s national human rights watchdog on Tuesday updated the death toll to 2,059 from the government crackdown on demonstrators, including some 400 soldiers and police. It was not clear if the figures took account of the 30 deaths reported that day.
On Monday, Washington said that it was ?encouraged? and ?heartened? by a tougher stand from Arab countries over Syria?s deadly crackdown. The same day, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain announced that they had recalled their respective ambassadors in Syria "for talks".
The head of the highest authority in Sunni Islam added his voice on Monday to international and Arab criticism of Assad?s assault on protesters, describing the bloodshed as a human tragedy that must stop.
Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb, head of Cairo-based Al Azhar University, said: ?This is a human tragedy that cannot be accepted? in a statement carried by Egypt`s state news agency MENA.
"The situation in Syria has gone beyond all limits," El-Tayeb said.
The Syrian uprising began in March following months of protests calling for Assad to step down and greater democratic freedoms amid unrest that has rocked the Arab region this year.
The United Nations Security Council on 3 August demanded "the immediate end to all violence" in Syria, adding that "all sides must act with the greatest moderation".
Last week, Italy recalled its ambassador to Syria due to what it called the "horrible repression" of anti-government protests.
(T.A045/C/H-AK/H-AK) 10-08-2011 10:48:43
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
