WASHINGTON: The United States said on Thursday it wanted action from Syria after President Bashar al-Assad's government pledged to study the possibility of lifting the emergency law and licensing political parties.
"Words are words. We'll obviously look for action," Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters after the Syrian government announced it may scrap an emergency law in place since 1963 following a week of deadly protests in the southern city of Daraa.
"We were and obviously remain deeply troubled by the violence and civilian deaths, especially in Daraa at the hands of security forces," Toner said.
"We're going to see what happens on the ground." Two US senators, Jon Kyl and Mark Kirk, meanwhile urged the US government to express support for the Syrian opposition and denounce any crackdown on demonstrators against Assad's government. The appeal from the lawmakers, both critics of President Barack Obama, came amid activists' reports that more than 100 demonstrators against Assad's regime were killed by police gunfire in Daraa. On Wednesday, Toner said the United States was "alarmed" at the latest Syrian government crackdown against protesters, as he condemned its "use of violence, intimidation and arbitrary arrests."
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