Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. ambassador to Syria visited the embattled town of Hama Thursday as part of what the State Department called an effort to show U.S. support for Syrians fighting for democracy. 
 
 Ambassador Robert Ford visited Hama "to make absolutely clear with his physical presence that we stand with those Syrians who are expressing their right to speak for change," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. 
 
 Hama has been wracked with violence and a general strike this week after a series of peaceful demonstrations, including a huge anti-government demonstration last Friday. A fierce crackdown ensued in the area, with activists and Human Rights Watch reporting many arrests and deaths. 
 
 President Bashar al-Assad fired the Hama provincial governor Saturday and security forces removed tanks to the outskirts of the city, a sign that the tensions there could be easing. 
 
 Ambassador Ford met with over a dozen Hama residents and visited a hospital that has treated some of those wounded in the security forces crackdown, Nuland said, adding that he was greeted with a "very warm welcome." 
 
 The state news agency SANA reported that a Foreign Ministry source accused Ford of going to Hama without obtaining prior permission from the government. According to the report, the Foreign Ministry official said Ford's visit was "clear evidence of the U.S. involvement in the ongoing events in Syria and its bids to aggravate the situations which destabilize Syria.'' 
 
 Nuland, however, said U.S. officials notified the Syrian government that an embassy team was traveling to Hama. 
 
 "The embassy informed Syrian officials that an embassy delegation, without specifying whom, would be heading to Hama. And they then proceeded to make their way there and were allowed to proceed," Nuland said. 
 
 Ford's delegation did not include any official Syrian "handlers," Nuland said, adding that Syrian authorities allowed him through check points to reach the town. 
 
 "For him to go personally at this time and stand with the people of Hama, I think expresses in physical terms -- not to mention political terms -- our view that the people of Hama have the right to express themselves peacefully and that we are concerned about the posture that the security forces have taken," Nuland said, adding that Ford plans to stay through protests planned on Friday. 
 
 It is unclear whether Hama residents will turn out for nationwide demonstrations on Friday after Muslim prayers. 
 
 Last month, Hama was the site of violent crackdowns by security forces that killed 60 protesters. 
 
 The city is a sensitive spot for Syrian authorities. In 1982, it was the scene of a brutal military crackdown targeting Sunni Muslims by the Alawite-dominated government of Hafez al-Assad, the current president's late father. Thousands were killed, with Human Rights Watch putting the toll at 10,000. ||||| Reports of biggest crowd in Syria so far in city at heart of opposition, as activists say 13 dead across country. 
 
 More than 500,000 Syrians flooded through the city of Hama on Friday, according to activists, in what they claim was the single biggest protest yet against the embattled government of President Bashar al-Assad. The opposition reported 13 protesters killed, including five deaths in the central city of Homs, two in the capital's commercial neighbourhood Midan and six in the Dumair area, east of Damascus. Syrian state-run TV said the deaths in Damascus and Homs were caused by snipers from "armed gangs". An activist told Al Jazeera that Hama, where marchers were seen carrying olive branches, had become a "tangible example of resistance to injustice" in Syria. Hundreds of thousands also protested last Friday in Hama, prompting mass arrests and reports of several deaths when Syrian security forces stormed the city, Syria's third largest, and the surrounding area. "Hama, with all the support it is receiving from all over the country, is becoming a role model for peaceful demonstrations and we are protesting here for all of Syria," the local activist said. Western solidarity Friday's protests followed a visit to Hama by Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, who toured the city on Thursday to show solidarity with residents, the US State Department said. Ford reached the city after passing checkpoints run by the military and Hama residents. A US official said Ford left Hama on Friday afternoon to avoid becoming a distraction during the weekly demonstrations. Diplomats said on Friday that French ambassador Eric Chevallier was also in Hama to show support. Damascus accused Washington of "interfering" in its affairs. "The presence of the US ambassador in Hama without previous permission is obvious proof of a clear evidence of the United States' involvement in current events in Syria and its attempt to incite an escalation in the situation, which disturbs Syria's security and stability," the Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement. In response, the US state department said: "The fundamental intention was to make absolutely clear with his physical presence that we stand with those Syrians who are expressing their right to speak for change." In another development, Washington summoned the Syrian ambassador for talks this week after reports that embassy staff had filmed US protests against the crackdown in Syria. Ambassador Imad Mustapha was called in to meet with top State Department officials "to express a number of our concerns with the reported actions of certain Syrian embassy staff in the United States". 
 
 
 
 Mustapha met with Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Eric Boswell on Wednesday, according to a State Department statement. 
 
 
 
 Fleeing Hama An estimated 1,000 Syrians have fled Hama in fear of another military crackdown on protests calling for Assad to quit and an end to the Baath Party's decades-long grip on power, a rights group said. 
 
 
 
 The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the residents had evacuated to Salamiyah, a town 30km from Hama, on Thursday. The rights group claimed that security forces have killed at least 23 civilians there and conducted mass arrests since Tuesday. 
 
 
 
 Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organisation for Human Rights, said on Wednesday that an influx of troops following the massive Friday protest had brought a dramatic escalation of "killings and arrests in the city". But Al-Watan, a state-run newspaper, said on Thursday that the situation in Hama was calm and the barricades erected in the streets by protesters to keep security forces out had been dismantled. 
 
 
 
 The newspaper said authorities had told demonstrators to avoid any confrontations and clear the streets so residents could go to work. They also told protesters to avoid a "last resort" military operation, the paper said. Hama has been a symbolic city of opposition since the 1982 crackdown on a revolt by the banned Muslim Brotherhood against then-president Hafez al-Assad, father of the current leader. At least 20,000 people are believed to have been killed in the crackdown. There has also been violence in the city of Hasrata just outside Damascus where three people have been killed and nine injured by security forces, sources told Al Jazeera. Government troops surrounded the Hassan mosque on Thursday and fired at people coming out after prayers, the source said. Police also fired tear gas into the local hospital, according to reports. ||||| Image caption The US said the Syrian government had promised to protect the embassy 
 
 The US Secretary of State has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has "lost legitimacy", amid diplomatic tension between the two countries. 
 
 Speaking after a crowd attacked the US embassy in Damascus, Hillary Clinton said Mr Assad was "not indispensable". 
 
 France blamed the regime after its embassy was similarly targeted. 
 
 The embassy attacks came after the US and French envoys visited the troubled city of Hama last week, drawing sharp criticism from Syrian media. 
 
 Pro-government demonstrators have been taking part in protests outside both embassies for the past two days. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hillary Clinton: "We have absolutely nothing invested in President Assad remaining in power" 
 
 On Monday, an embassy official told the BBC that the compound had been assaulted by a "mob", but that no-one had been hurt. 
 
 The residence of the ambassador, Robert Ford, was later briefly attacked, the state department said. 
 
 In Washington, Mrs Clinton demanded that the Syrians "meet their international responsibilities immediately to protect all diplomats and the property of all countries." 
 
 She added: "President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power. 
 
 "Our goal is to see that the will of the Syrian people for a democratic transformation occurs." 
 
 The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington said her statement was cleverly worded - it might convince more Syrians to give up on Mr Assad, while not requiring any action by Washington which can continue to say it is up to the Syrian people to chose their leaders. 
 
 Analysis The state department has summoned the Syrian charge d'affaires in Washington to complain about the "outrageous" attack against the American embassy in Damascus. It will also seek compensation for the damage from the violence. Syrian ambassador Imad Moustapha, who is said to be on holiday, had been summoned to the state department last week. US officials said they were looking into reports that Syrian embassy staffers were conducting surveillance of Syrian citizens in the US with anti-Assad views. The mob attack was apparently in retaliation for ambassador Robert Ford's visit to Hama. But Washington has no regrets about his trip, saying it was intended to show the US stood by the Syrian people demonstrating peacefully. The Obama administration has agonised over how to handle Syria- it has little leverage over Damascus and worries about post-Assad chaos. But the visit to Hama seemed to signal the US has decided to lock horns with the Assad government. 
 
 Our correspondent adds that the US had been wary of a repeat of the Libya scenario, where after calling for Col Muammar Gaddafi to leave power, it has struggled to make that happen. 
 
 State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said a Syrian diplomat would be summoned over attack on the embassy, and compensation for the damage would be demanded. 
 
 Live shots 
 
 Also on Monday, pro-Assad demonstrators assaulted the French embassy, breaking windows and replacing the French tricolore with the Syrian national flag. 
 
 French ambassador Eric Chevallier said the incident had lasted more than three hours, and that the protesters had used a battering ram to try enter the building. 
 
 Three embassy staff were hurt in the incident, according to the French foreign ministry. 
 
 Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said security officers had been forced to fire live warning shots "to prevent multiple intrusions into the compound". 
 
 "It is not with such illegal methods that the authorities in Damascus will turn the attention away from the fundamental problem, which is to stop the repression of the Syrian population," Mr Valero said. 
 
 Human rights groups say at least 1,400 civilians and 350 security force personnel have been killed since anti-government demonstrations across Syria began in mid-March. 
 
 Both Mr Chevallier and Mr Ford made separate visits to the northern city of Hama - a focus of anti-government unrest - last week, expressing support for the protesters. 
 
 Image caption Robert Ford is considered one of the US state department's most proficient Arabic speakers Profile: Robert Ford 
 
 The Syrian government denies targeting civilians, saying it is tackling armed groups. 
 
 The embassy incidents coincide with a government-organised dialogue conference in Damascus that many opposition leaders are boycotting. 
 
 The meeting is discussing possible political reforms, which the government hope will bring an end to the four-month-old uprising. 
 
 As the conference opened on Sunday, Vice-President Farouq al-Shara hinted at allowing political groups other than the ruling Baath Party to operate. 
 
 But Syrian opposition figure Michel Kilo dismissed the meeting saying: "I don't know anyone from the opposition to which I belong who is taking part in this dialogue."
– America's ambassador to Syria visited one of the cities worst-hit by the crackdown against anti-government protesters yesterday, reports CNN. Robert Ford went to the city of Hama "to make absolutely clear with his physical presence that we stand with those Syrians who are expressing their right to speak for change," an embassy spokeswoman says. An estimated 500,000 people joined an anti-government rally in the city last Friday. The Syrian government accused Ford of going to the city without authorization, saying the visit is "clear evidence of the US involvement in the ongoing events in Syria and its bids to aggravate the situations which destabilize Syria.'' An embassy spokeswoman says the Syrian government was told a delegation would be visiting Hama, although no Syrian "handlers" were taken and officials weren't informed about the ambassador's presence. The city has been a symbol of opposition since 1982, when a crackdown ordered by the present Syrian leader's father killed around 20,000 people, al-Jazeera notes.