Syria: Assad no longer legitimate, says Clinton

Pro-government demonstrators have been taking part in protests outside both embassies for the past two days.The embassy attacks came after the US and French envoys visited the troubled city of Hama last week, drawing sharp criticism from Syrian media.France blamed the regime after its embassy was similarly targeted.Speaking after a crowd attacked the US embassy in Damascus, Hillary Clinton said Mr Bashar was "not indispensable".The US Secretary of State has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has "lost legitimacy", amid diplomatic tension between the two countries.On Monday, an embassy official told the BBC that the compound had been assaulted by a "mob", but that no-one had been hurt.The residence of the ambassador, Robert Ford, was later briefly attacked, the state department said.State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said a Syrian diplomat would be summoned over attack on the embassy, and compensation for the damage would be demanded.Our correspondent adds that the US had been wary of a repeat of the Libya scenario, where after calling for Col Muammar Gaddafi to leave power, it has struggled to make that happen."Our goal is to see that the will of the Syrian people for a democratic transformation occurs."The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington said her statement was cleverly worded - it might convince more Syrians to give up on Mr Assad, while not requiring any action by Washington which can continue to say it is up to the Syrian people to chose their leadersShe added: "President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power.In Washington, Mrs Clinton demanded that the Syrians "meet their international responsibilities immediately to protect all diplomats and the property of all countries."