The UN has expressed alarm at reports of ‘widespread violations of human rights and excessive use of force by Syrian security forces’. Photograph: AP The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has told the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, that military and police operations against pro-democracy protesters have stopped, according to the United Nations. In a telephone call [...]

  Saudi Arabia has said it is recalling its ambassador from Damascus in protest against Syria’s deadly crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. A statement from King Abdullah said the violence was “unacceptable” and called for it to stop before it was too late. It came hours after the Arab League issued its first official statement, strongly [...]

  Syrian tanks tightened their occupation of Hama and massed outside a defiant city in the east as President Bashar al-Assad ignored mounting world condemnation of attacks on protesters the United States says has killed 2,000 people opposing his rule. In Hama, residents said tank shelling resumed and they feared higher casualty figures than the [...]

  The UN Security Council has condemned the Syrian government for a deadly crackdown on protesters. It is the first clear condemnation issued by the Security Council, which includes longstanding allies of Syria such as Russia. It was adopted over the fears of some members that any action could lead to Libya-style intervention. It comes [...]

  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sacked the governor of the city of Hama, which saw mass anti-government protests on Friday, state TV has said. It said Mr Assad had signed a decree removing Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz. Friday saw some of the biggest demonstrations yet against the rule of Mr Assad. Hundreds of thousands [...]

  Hundreds of thousands of people have staged anti-government protests across Syria, despite an ongoing military crackdown, reports say. Rights groups say at least three people were shot dead by government troops in the central city of Homs. Protests were reported in the capital Damascus, in eastern and western cities and in towns along the [...]