Syria apologizes to Jordan over embassy attack

Syria apologized to Jordan on Tuesday over an attack against the Jordanian embassy in Syria's capital of Damascus, the state-run Petra news agency reported. According to Jordan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Kayed, Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad apologized at a meeting with Arab ambassadors in Damascus for similar attacks on several Arab diplomatic missions in the Syrian capital in the last few days, including the Jordanian embassy. Hundreds of angry Syrians assembled late Monday outside the Jordanian embassy in Damascus to express discontent with the Jordanian Monarch's statement calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. Kayed said about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the embassy after King Abdullah II told BBC that Bashar al-Assad should step down, adding that two protesters burst into the embassy and brought down the Jordanian flag. The Jordanian king said in an interview with BBC that if he were in Assad's position, he "would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo."