Incident broadcast on Syrian television shows Robert Ford being swathed in poster of Syrian leader; the broadcast accuses U.S. envoy of instigating protests.

Syrian troops kill 7 on start of Eid al-Fitr -
Activists say security forces shot at opposition as worshippers left mosques following prayers to mark end of holy month of Ramadan; deaths occurred in Daraa, Homs and Damascus.

By Haaretz 30.08.11

The U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, was attacked in Damascus last week by a supporter of President Bashar Assad's regime, according to a video broadcast on Syrian television.

The American ambassador is seen on video being accosted by a group of protesters, one of whom was attempting to swath him with a poster of the Syrian president.
Diplomatic security officers were quick to intervene and pull Ford away to his car.
The video was initially broadcast on a Syrian television station owned by a close associate of Assad. The broadcast accused the American ambassador of trying to instigate anti-Assad demonstrations in Damascus.
The incident apparently occurred after Ford returned from an unauthorized tour in the Jassem on August 23. The U.S. State Department said it could not verify the authenticity of the video, according to media reports.


Syrian troops kill 7 on start of Eid al-Fitr -
Syrian security forces opened fire on thousands of anti-government protesters Tuesday, killing at least seven people, including a 13-year-old boy, as worshippers poured out of mosques after prayers to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan, activists said.

The bloodshed was in the southern province of Daraa, the central city of Homs and the capital, Damascus, and its suburbs following prayers on the start of Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday following Ramadan.




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