SYRIA’S government accused the US ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, of meeting “saboteurs” in the flashpoint city of Hama and inciting protests against President Bashar al-Assad today.

“The US ambassador met with saboteurs in Hama … who erected checkpoints, cut traffic and prevented citizens from going to work,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

“The ambassador incited these saboteurs to violence, to demonstrate, and to refuse dialogue,” with the government, it added.