Syrian President called to step down as killings increase

An announcement made by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev incited violence on Friday when he said that the Syrian President “will have to leave power if he fails to implement reforms acceptable to the opposition” and terrorists were once again blamed by Damascus for the current unrest.

Meshaal Tamo, 53, a Kurdish activist and opposition spokesman was killed by four masked gunmen who opened fire when they invaded his house in Qamishli. His son and another Kurdish Future Party activist were also wounded in the attack.

Assad’s regime has reportedly escalated tactics against the opposition leaders using daylight attacks according to the Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the US State Department.

Both opposition leaders were attacked in daylight and have both been condemned by White House spokesman Jay Carney.

''The attacks again show that the Assad regime's promises for dialogue and reform are hollow,” said Carney.