ANGRY SUPPORTERS of President Bashar Assad’s regime hurled tomatoes and eggs at the US ambassador to Syria yesterday, as he entered the office of a leading opposition figure and then tried to break into the building, trapping him inside for three hours.

Ambassador Robert Ford came under attack by about 100 Assad supporters as he arrived for the meeting with Hassan Abdul-Azim, who heads the outlawed Arab Socialist Democratic Union party.

Abdul-Azim is a strong critic of Assad’s regime and was briefly detained by authorities earlier this year.

Ford, an outspoken critic of Assad’s crackdown on the 6-month-old revolt against the regime, has angered Syrian authorities before by showing support for the uprising. The latest incident promises to raise tensions even further.

The Obama administration blamed the Syrian government for the attack in Damascus, saying it was part of an ongoing, orchestrated campaign to intimidate American diplomats in the country.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the attack as “wholly unjustified”.

Such incidents are usually not spontaneous in Syria, and yesterday’s attack came amid high tension between the two nations, as well as accusations by Damascus that Washington is inciting violence in the country.

The protesters were ready with eggs and tomatoes when the delegation arrived and threw them at the Americans as they entered the building.

In Washington, the State Department said a rowdy, violent mob tried to attack Ford and several American embassy workers in Damascus. Spokesman Mark Toner said Ford and his colleagues were unharmed and are now safe.

However, several heavily armored embassy vehicles sent to help extricate them from the situation were badly damaged with broken windows and dents when the same crowd hurled rocks, White House and State Department officials said.

“This inexcusable assault is clearly part of ongoing campaign of intimidation aimed at diplomats … who are raising questions about what is going on inside Syria,” Clinton said. ”It reflects an intolerance on the part of the regime and its supporters.”

‘Unwarranted and unjustifiable’

White House spokesman Jay Carney called the attack “unwarranted and unjustifiable,” but said the US had no plans to recall Ford from Damascus.

Trying to keep a low profile, Ford and his colleagues had parked about a block away from Abdul-Azim’s office and walked to the building, where they were confronted by the crowd, according to Toner.

Abdul-Azim said Ford was inside his office when the Assad supporters tried to force their way in, breaking some door locks. Office staff prevented them from rushing in, but the ambassador was trapped inside for about three hours.

Ford called the US Embassy for help and alerted Syrian authorities to the situation, but Syrian security forces did not show up for more than an hour.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that as soon as it was contacted by the US Embassy regarding Ford, it called in security authorities, who “took all measures needed to protect the ambassador and his team and secured their return to their work in accordance with Syria’s international commitments.”

Speaking to AP while Ford was still trapped in his office, Abdul-Azim said: “Now that security forces are here, I believe his life is not in danger.”

Scores of angry Syrians stood outside the building ready to pelt Ford again if stepped outside. Smashed eggs could be seen at the entrance as several policemen guarded the gate.

“We don’t want him anywhere in Syria and if I ever see him I will throw whatever I am carrying at him,” said 21-year-old university student Majd Mutlaq, standing outside Abdul-Azim’s office with a bag of eggs and tomatoes. Mutlaq said he showed up after he heard the ambassador was inside.

Another man who joined the protesters, construction worker Mohammed Tawil, said: “We don’t want the American ambassador here and whoever receives him is an agent.”