Assad one of world's 'most brutal actors': US
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is one of the most brutal actors on the world stage today and his actions against his own people show he is no longer rational, a top US official said Monday.
Asked whether she believed Mr Assad was "evil," State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said that while she "personally would consider what he has done evil" it was not a label the US government was putting on him.
"He is beyond brutal. It is inhumane what he has done to his own people," she told journalists.
"We've certainly said we think he's lost the legitimacy to lead, that he is one of the most brutal actors on the world stage today." On Sunday, in a defiant speech to a packed theatre Mr Assad called for peace in Syria on his terms outlining, in his first speech in seven months, his vision for a way out of the 21-month conflict that has shattered his country.
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