"We condemn all acts of violence including those targeting pro- regime elements," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Washington (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - The United States on Wednesday condemned the attack on a pro-government broadcaster in Syria, placing hope on an international meeting scheduled for Saturday on ways to lead the Middle East country out of a 16-month crisis.

"We condemn all acts of violence including those targeting pro- regime elements," White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a regular news briefing.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also said Washington stands against "any violence against civilians from any quarter," despite "claims and counterclaims" with regard to the attack.

Three journalists were killed early Wednesday morning when armed groups attacked the headquarters of the pro-government al- Ekhbaria TV in a suburban area of the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The groups fired RPG shells on the building before booby- trapping the entire building and blowing it up, Syria`s state TV quoted Emran al-Zoubi, the minister of information, as saying.

Carney said Washington agreed that the situation in Syria is " serious" and "dire" as it is resulting in "tragic and unnecessary deaths of civilians." Again, he blamed Syrian President Bashar al- Assad for the crisis, pointing to his "refusal to respond to the will of the Syrian people" by clinging to power.

Al-Assad said on Tuesday that his country is "in a state of a real war," and that all of the polices and directives should be directed to win the war.

As his six-point peace plan has failed to end the violence and bloodshed in Syria, UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan announced on Wednesday that an Action Group for Syria, involving world powers and regional players, will meet on Saturday in Geneva to identify "steps and measures" to secure full implementation of the peace plan and Security Council resolutions 2042 and 2043, including "an immediate cessation of violence in all its forms."

The envoy said the action group should also agree on guidelines and principles for a Syrian-led political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, and agree on actions that will make these objectives a reality on the ground.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was on a visit to Finland, has announced her plan to attend the ministerial meeting.

"If we agreed to have a meeting, we had some degree of confidence that we would come out of that meeting with more support for the long-suffering Syrian people. So that`s the hope and expectation," Nuland told reporters at a regular news briefing.

Washington and its allies want a transition in Syria with the departure of al-Assad, while Russia and China advocate a negotiated end to the conflict and oppose any outside interference.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012