TUNIS, Feb 24: Syria’s rulers have squandered every chance for peace and, if they do not let aid reach civilians, will have even more blood on their hands, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned on Friday. Clinton told a conference on Syria that President Bashar al-Assad would bear “a heavy cost” for ignoring the international will with his crackdown on the opposition.

“The Assad regime has ignored every warning, squandered every opportunity, and broken every agreement,” she said in Tunisia.

“Faced with determined protesters demanding their rights and their dignity, the regime is creating an appalling humanitarian disaster.” She urged Damascus to respond international appeals to allow aid into the stricken country and called on the government’s allies to consider their responsibility for the bloodshed.—AFP