Washington, April 23: The White House today expressed concern over the violence in Syria and called on the government and all sides to stop the unrest, after Syrian forces shot dead 38 people during street protests.
“We deplore the use of violence,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, adding the United States was monitoring the situation very closely.
“We call on the Syrian government to cease and desist from the use of violence, we call on all sides to cease and desist from the use of violence.”
`Witnesses in Damascus said Syrian forces shot dead at least 38 people when they moved in to disperse thousands who took to the streets for “Good Friday” protests to test long-sought freedoms.
A day after President Bashar al-Assad scrapped decades of emergency rule, his forces fired live rounds at demonstrators in several towns and cities nationwide, witnesses and activists told AFP by telephone.
-Agencies