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Syria says 35 armed infiltrators repelled Clinton tells opposition tolerance, freedom must be guaranteed U.S. ambassador returning to Damascus

By Arshad Mohammed

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GENEVA — The United States called on Tuesday for a new regime of tolerance and freedom in Syria as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad battled fighters infiltrating the country to join the growing rebel army trying to overthrow him.

Speaking after meeting members of the opposition Syrian National Council in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Syrians must not only remove Assad but also advance towards the rule of law.

“A democratic transition includes more than removing the Assad regime,” Clinton said.

“It means setting Syria on the path of the rule of law and protecting the universal rights of all citizens regardless of sect or ethnicity or gender,” she told reporters.

What began nearly nine months ago as a peaceful protest against Assad, inspired by the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, is creeping closer to civil war as armed opposition groups organise and move into some city districts.The United States, the European Union, Turkey and Jordan have called on Assad to step down in order to bring the violence to an end and permit democratic elections for a new government in a country where the Assad family has ruled for 40 years.