EU ‘salutes courage of Syrian people’

The European Union praised on Tuesday the resolve of the Syrian people and urged the authorities to halt its crackdown on the opposition. “The EU salutes the courage and determination of the Syrian people which they continue to demonstrate every day despite the repression,” a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said. “The EU demands that [President] Bashar al-Assad and his regime stop their violent campaign without delay and release all detained protesters,” the statement added. The statement also included condemnation of “the killing of human rights activist Ghiath Matar while detained by the Syrian security forces.” Matar, a key figure in the uprising which has rocked Syria since March, died after being arrested on September 6. Rights groups say he was tortured to death. The UN says over 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the protests against Assad. The U.S. and the EU have called for Assad to stand down.