French, US embassies attacked by Syrian mobs

They tore down US embassy plaques and tried to break security glass, diplomats said, in an escalation of protests against a visit by the US and French ambassadors to the city of Hama, focus of demonstrations against Mr Assad's rule.

"Four buses full of shabbiha (Alawite militia loyal to Mr Assad] came from Tartous. They used a battering ram to try to break into the main door," a resident of Afif, the old district where the US embassy is located, said.

A Western diplomat said: "This is a violent escalation by the regime. You do not bring bus loads of thugs into central Damascus from the coast without its consent."

A French foreign ministry official said the Syrian authorities had done nothing to stop the assault on its embassy.

"They (the attacks] are recurring," the official said in Paris. "The (Syrian] security forces are not doing anything."

France has led Western attempts to pass a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Syria's hierarchy for cracking down on protesters. It says the president has lost his legitimacy because of the number of killings to try to quell protests demanding political freedoms.

The US condemned Syria for "refusing" to protect the embassy from an assault it said had been encouraged by a pro-government television station. No casualties were reported.

Human rights groups say at least 1,400 civilians have been killed since an uprising began in March against Mr Assad's autocratic rule, posing the biggest threat to his leadership since he succeeded his father 11 years ago.

Assad loyalists also attempted to attack the US ambassador's residence in Damascus after assaulting the embassy compound but failed to gain entry.

"It was the same thing, a mob. But everybody is alright," a US official said, adding that Ambassador Robert Ford was at the embassy compound when the assaults occurred and not the residence, located several streets away.