(Image Source: New York Daily News)
BY ZACH TOOMBS
You're watching multisource world video news analysis from Newsy.
President Barack Obama imposed harsh new sanctions in the United States’ first explicit call for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday.
In a written statement, Obama said:
“The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way. His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing, and slaughtering his own people.”
Obama joined leaders from the United Kingdom, France and Germany in condemning Assad and urging the Syrian leader to step down Thursday.
In a news conference minutes after the White House released Obama’s statement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mirrored the President’s comments and added the Syrian government is left with only one ally. ABC News has her comments.
“The Assad government has now been condemned by countries in all parts of the world and can look only to Iran for support with its brutal and unjust crackdown.”
In the past few months, anti-government protests in Syria have led to a violent crackdown from the Syrian military as Assad attempts to ensure he doesn’t become the latest Middle Eastern leader pulled from power by his people.
Still, with most journalists barred from entering the country, details of the protests and the government’s reaction remain scarce. Sheppard Smith of FOX News has more.
“Human rights groups say that, since March, the Syrian government has killed nearly 2,000 of its own people. And, of course, we can’t confirm that because Syria won’t let our journalists in there to cover this. You’ll recall this all started as a protest movement for civil rights and government reform. Now the Syrian people are demanding death for this man -- their president.”
The White House backed Obama’s harsh words Thursday with strict new sanctions on the Syrian government and business conducted with the country. Politico reports:
“On Thursday, (Obama) signed an executive order requiring the immediate freezing of all the Syrian government’s assets under U.S. jurisdiction and blocking all Americans from engaging in any transactions with the government. The order also bans the import of petroleum that originated in Syria, and prohibits Americans from dealing with the Syrian petroleum industry.”
Arizona Senator John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services committee gave his reaction to Obama’s statement via Twitter, saying:
“US calls for Assad to step down - good news and a much-needed measure. Better late than never.”
Still, Syrian activists are expressing doubt as to whether these actions from the U.S. will affect the Assad government. CNN reports.
As of Thursday evening, Syria is yet to respond in any way to the international criticism.
Transcript by Newsy.
