US pulls out envoy form Syria,Damascus responds

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said earlier Monday that US Ambassador Robert Ford returned to the US this past weekend after the US received “credible threats against his personal safety in Syria.’’

The envoy has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs. He has enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful defence of anti-Assad demonstrations and harsh critique of a government crackdown that has now claimed more than 3,000 lives.

“We hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford,’’ Toner said. “At this point,we can’t say when he will return to Syria.’’ Toner said the US embassy will remain open in Damascus and that the threats were specifically directed toward Ford. His return is conditional on a US “assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground,’’ Toner said.

Ford was the first American ambassador to Syria since 2005. President George W Bush’s administration withdrew a full-time ambassador from Syria over charges the country was involved in terrorism and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The Obama administration decided to return an ambassador to Syria earlier this year in an effort to persuade Syria to change its policies regarding Israel,Lebanon,Iraq and support for extremist groups. Syria is designated a “state sponsor of terrorism’’ by the State Department.