http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110414/pl_afp/syriapoliticsunrestuskerry Senior US Senator John Kerry on Thursday warned President Bashar al-Assad to refrain from using force against protests planned for Friday and urged him to embrace a dialogue with the opposition.
Assad "should insist that his police and military refrain from using violence against peaceful demonstrators and instead he should seize the opportunity to open a process of real discussion to address the aspirations of the Syrian people," Kerry said in a statement.