A Syrian man shows support for President Assad during a government-guided tour.
US President Barack Obama has, for the first time, called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave office, saying ''the time has come'' for the Syrian people to determine their future.
The explicit demand for Mr Assad's departure comes more than a month after Mr Obama said Mr Assad had lost legitimacy to lead and as momentum builds at the United Nations for a formal resolution against the bloodshed. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on August 15 that ''time for words will be over'' unless Syria ends military operations against its people.
Mr Obama also signed an executive order freezing any Syrian government assets in the US and banning import to the US of petroleum products of Syrian origin. The order denies Syria access to the US financial system and prohibits people in the US from doing business with Syria, according to a Treasury Department statement.
''The order strikes at a crucial revenue stream for Syria's government'' and will disrupt the Assad regime's ''ability to finance its campaign of violence against the Syrian people,'' Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in the statement.
Human rights activists who have compiled names of the dead since the uprising began five months ago say Syrian forces have slaughtered more than 2400 anti-government demonstrators.
Pressure has been mounting this month for bolder steps against Mr Assad after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Tunisia withdrew their ambassadors from Damascus. In Washington, the Treasury Department last week extended sanctions against Mr Assad and his closest collaborators even though Syria is an economy the US has little influence on.
The Syrian government's crackdown on dissent is so deadly that it merits investigation by the International Criminal Court, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, is prepared to tell the Security Council today.
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