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- Dubai 04:20 05:42 12:28 15:53 19:08 20:30
In this Friday, July 8, 2011 file photo, a pro-Syrian President Bashar Assad protester, hold Assad's portrait and wave their country flag as they protest against the visit of the US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford to the Syrian city of Hama, in front the US embassy in Damascus, Syria. (AP)
US envoy to Syria Robert Ford, an open critic of President Bashar Al Assad's crackdown on political dissent, has gone on "indefinite" leave for security reasons, an embassy official said on Monday.
"Ambassador Robert Ford is on leave indefinitely. Washington decided to give him the leave out of concerns about his personal safety," the official told AFP.
Ford has come in for heavy criticism by the government’s supporters in Damascus who have accused him of helping incite violence in the country.
The ambassador has also angered the regime by visiting protest hubs outside the capital in a show of solidarity with pro-democracy demonstrators.
The US Senate earlier this month unanimously confirmed Ford's appointment as ambassador to Syria, calling it "a tough message" to Assad and a sign of US "solidarity with the Syrian people."
"Despite even being physically attacked and assaulted, Ford continues courageously to visit cities under military siege and speak the truth," US Senator John Kerry said at the time.
Washington has called on the UN Security Council and the international community to "dramatically" increase pressure on Syria over its bloody response to opposition to the government in Damascus.
According to the United Nations, more than 3,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the crackdown on the protests, which, inspired by uprisings in other nations in the region, first erupted in March.
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