US condemns 'discriminate acts of violence' in Syria

The US strongly condemned here Thursday any "discriminate acts of violence" against civilians or diplomatic facilities in Syria. State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters: "We do have the same reports you have of intense ongoing violence in Damascus today, including a car bomb that reportedly killed 31 people, most of whom were civilians in the vicinity of the Russian Embassy and the Baath Party headquarters." "We strongly condemn any indiscriminate acts of violence against civilians or against diplomatic facilities which violate international law, and we continue to emphasize that perpetrators on all sides have to be held accountable," she stressed. Nuland underscored that it is "the Assad regime that started this process of indiscriminate attacks against civilians when it first started aerial-bombing its own population, using helicopters to strafe, bombing and attacking in civilian neighborhoods." She added "we want to see an end to the violence. We want to see a political transition process take place." Meanwhile, White House Spokesman Jay Carney reiterated in his briefing "it is still our policy that we are providing nonlethal assistance to the opposition, we are providing substantial humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, and we are working with our allies to put pressure on the Assad regime to bring about a future that the Syrian people deserve, and that's a future without President (Bashar) Assad." He affirmed "we are constantly evaluating the situation in Syria and evaluating our policies with regards to Syria." "We are constantly reviewing every possible option that could help end the violence and accelerate a political transition. The options we have considered include whether the provision of lethal assistance to the opposition would hasten our goal," he said. Carney stressed "as we analyze every option, we must assess whether the action will change Assad's calculus and hasten a transition to a post-Assad Syria. We also must consider whether it will provoke a wider regional conflict and endanger our allies, including Israel, or create a risk that weapons will fall into the hands of extremists." He added "there are no easy answers" but that "right now we are focusing our efforts on helping the opposition become stronger, more cohesive and more organized." "As a result of this effort, we will continue to analyze every feasible option that would accelerate a political transition to a post-Assad Syria," he stressed.