WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday urged the Syrian government to do all it can to protect American diplomats, denouncing the "unwarranted attack" on U.S. ambassador to Damascus "in the strongest possible terms."
"We are demanding that they take every possible step to protect our diplomats according to their obligations under international law," the top U.S. envoy told reporters at the State Department.
"We condemn this unwarranted attack in the strongest possible terms," she said, calling the attack on U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford an attempt to"intimidate our diplomats through violence" and "wholly unjustified," arguing that the envoy was doing normal business.
Reports said that pro-government demonstrators in Syria pelted Ford's car with eggs and tomatoes during his visit to the office of Hasan abdul Azim, a prominent Syrian opposition figure, on Thursday. Witnesses alleged that the ambassador's car hit a demonstrator, injuring him in his forehead.
The ambassador later left the scene on the intervention of a dozen Syrian security vehicles.
Earlier in the day, both White House and State Department spokesmen denounced the attack as "an ongoing campaign" to intimidate and threaten diplomats.
The U.S., along with its European allies, has slapped sanctions on high-ranking Syrian government officials and entities and urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down, as the Arab nation has been plunged into unrest since mid-March.