U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday called for "friends of democratic Syria" to unite against President Bashar Assad, a day after China and Russia blocked U.N. action against escalating bloodshed in Syria. Clinton said the U.N. had a duty to stop ongoing violence and to promote a transition to a democratic Syria. "What happened yesterday at the United Nations was a travesty," she said of the vote, which came a day after Syrian forces used tanks and artillery to kill more than 200 people in the central city of Homs late Friday into early Saturday morning — the largest single attack since the civilian uprising began nearly a year ago. The other 13 council members, including the U.S., France and Britain, voted in favor of the resolution. More than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria in the past 11 months, according to U.N. estimates.
