- Embassies in Syria beset by protests: Throngs of protesters loyal to the embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad descended on the embassies of both France and the United States today, ostensibly to protest ambassadors visiting the violence-stricken city of Hama over the weekend. We say ostensibly because there’s little reason to doubt this was organized by the Syrian government, which has been using violence, intimidation and torture on its citizenry for months — rounding up a posse isn’t as hard when you wield that sort of brutal muscle. The U.S. thinks so, at least: “The Syrian government can organize protests at our embassy if it wants, but the world will not be distracted from the fact that it is the Syrian government that is imprisoning, torturing and killing people who want to peacefully protest,” said press attaché JJ Harder. source