U.S. secretary of state: Assad must leave power and country

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 7 / Trend A.Taghiyeva / Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should leave power in Syria and leave the country, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a press conference with the Turkish foreign minister, Turkish NTV TV channel reported on Thursday. In turn, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the massacre in the Syrian city of Hama showed that the initiative of Kofi Annan is not conducive to the settlement of the Syrian crisis. "Turkey has decided to strengthen support for the Syrian opposition. If the crisis in Syria is not resolved, the situation could spiral out of control, leading to a human tragedy," Davutoglu said. The night before, the Syrian city of Hama saw massive attacks against civilians, which killed 100 people, 40 - women and children. This is the second report on the massacre of civilians in Syria in recent times. Two weeks ago, similar news came from the village of Houla in the province of Homs. According to international observers, its victims were over 100 people, including women and children. Syria has been covered by anti-government protests for more than year resulting in violent clashes. According to UN figures, the total number of victims in the country exceeds 10,000. In turn, the Syrian authorities say the number of those killed in clashes is over 2000 soldiers and police officers against whom there are well-armed militants. Since April, a truce has been declared in the country in accordance with the plan of the UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. UN observers were deployed in the country to monitor the truce. However, parties to the conflict regularly report new armed incidents and victims. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az