US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has demanded that Syria's ruler immediately cease violence and hailed a UN Human Rights Council decision to send investigators to the country.
Mrs Clinton renewed her call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to 'respond to the legitimate aspirations' of his country's people.
'We continue to condemn in the strongest possible terms the absolutely deplorable actions that the Syrian government is taking against its own people. The violence must end immediately,' she said.
The US yesterday imposed new sanctions against Syria including against Maher al-Assad, the powerful brother of the president and commander of Syria's feared Fourth Armoured Division.
Mr Assad has been trying to end the biggest threat to his family's rule since the 1980s. A rights group said that at least 62 people died yesterday.
The Human Rights Council yesterday endorsed sending a team of investigators to Syria, with Western powers watering down the resolution and rallying African and Latin American nations to overcome opposition by Russia and China.
'The council has stood against attempts to silence dissent with the use of gratuitous violence,' Mrs Clinton said.
'The Human Rights Council has set a precedent which has advanced the importance of this organisation.'
Tension is high in Syria today as democracy activists prepare to bury those killed in yesterday's protests.
There are reports that gunfire has been heard in the southern city of Deraa.
